MANILA, Philippines – CCP, the developers behind massively multiplayer online space simulation EVE Online, announced the results of their most successful charity fundraising drive to date, with more than US$190,000 earned for Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) relief.

The company’s PLEX for Good program allowed players to donate an in-game item that could be purchased – a PLEX, short for a 30-day Pilot License Extension – to a character in the game, with the company donating $15 for every PLEX donated.

The PLEX allows for 30 days of additional play time within the game world, and can be purchased for real money offline and traded for in-game currency.

The fundraising drive culminated in an 8-hour online telethon, where developers from the company pledged to do certain activities during the telethon when certain fundraising targets were hit. (View the YouTube playlist of the CCP telethon here.

The events during the telethon included male and female head-shaving, a developer cooking competition, and mixed martial arts sparring sessions during the show. One developer also pledged to be shot by a paintball for every $2,000 milestone reached.

With 12,726 PLEX (equivalent to 1,060 years of playtime) donated to the cause, a total of $190,890 in donations was collected.

Hilmar Veigar Petursson, CEO of CCP, noted how the outpouring of support shows the dedication of the EVE playerbase.

“We often talk about how EVE is ‘real,’ a simulation of humanity where there are few rules and all the economic, political and social forces of human nature push the boundaries of morality in all directions,” Petursson said.

He added, “We’ve seen the passionate side of our players over the past decade, but truly nothing could prepare us for this level of generosity from them. It is humbling. It is beautiful. It is what EVE is really about.” – Rappler.com