Hilmar Veigar Pétursson
CCP Games
Hilmar has been leading CCP Games’ ongoing success and growth since he was appointed Chief Executive Officer in 2004. Hilmar is a strong advocate for the importance of virtual worlds and the power of games to bring people together and create meaningful social experiences.
Under Hilmar’s management, CCP’s critically acclaimed science fiction game EVE Online has pioneered concepts like player-driven digital economies, democratically elected community governments, and free-to-play mechanics long before they became commonplace in the industry. EVE Online, as the largest living work of science fiction, has been celebrating 20 consecutive years of continuous growth in subscriber engagement with no sign of slowing down.
Hilmar is a driving force behind CCP's commitment to pioneering innovative and immersive gaming experiences, and he has received numerous awards and honors for his contributions to the industry. He has championed cutting-edge technologies in game development to enhance player agency and autonomy, having released spearheading VR games, and his vision for digital economies has helped shape the gaming industry and beyond.
In 2018, Hilmar successfully closed a deal to partner with Black Desert Online developer Pearl Abyss in order to realise CCP’s future-facing changes in strategy and structure.
Hilmar has been a featured speaker at dozens of conferences and events, including the Nobel Prize Conference, Slush, DICE, BMO Capital Markets, Game Developer Conference (GDC), Pocket Gamer Connects (PGC) and Casual Connect, among many others. He is also active on several boards and committees relating to Icelandic information technology and innovation, as well as SIBAC, the advisory council to the mayor of Seoul, Korea.
Before becoming CEO, Hilmar was CCP's Chief Technical Officer, heading the engineering effort required to create the company’s persistent virtual world technology and 3D engine.
Hilmar has a B.Sc. in Computer Science from the University of Iceland.
Hilmar Veigar Pétursson is speaking at the following session/s
The Longest Game – EVE Online’s Blueprint for Resilient Communities & Enduring Games
How do gaming developers and publishers think about their long-term strategy for success? For Hilmar Veigar Pétursson, CCP Games’ CEO, the longest game is exemplified by the power of strategy, innovation, and teamwork to create lasting entertainment experiences. In this talk, Pétursson will showcase how CCP focuses on community building and nurturing a positive culture through EVE Online’s growth and evolution with its players over time. By examining these principles and tools, Pétursson will showcase how to plan for the future while maximizing the present, ultimately creating better art and entertainment for all.
Session Takeaway
- Best practice for (and importance of) collaborating with players on the development of live titles.
- How to leverage and apply the inherent nature of MMO games as friendship-building engines to improve and enhance both your product and its community.
- The ingredients and grit necessary to create, sustain and grow a longtail game universe with the potential to go on forever.
Session speakers
