CCP Marketing Head: EVE Controversy Was Three-Man Conspiracy

In an interview with Gamesindustry.biz focused on CCP's efforts to increase EVE Online's appeal among the uninitiated,the company's marketing head, Magnus Bergsson, said the recent controversy over the game was a "vindictive" effort spearheaded by just three people.

Saying the experience left him "feeling really depressed," Berggson claimed the three people - unnamed in the interview - riled up an in-game alliance "to create false allegations, just because they are feeling vindictive."

The defensive and sharp commentary is a departure from the most recent and more conciliatory CCP statements on the controversy, which centered on concerns over developer bias toward a particular in-game alliance and a lack of overall transparency. The company recently pledged to hold elections for players to choose representatives who would then travel to Iceland and "audit" CCP's involvement with the game.

Berggson, who has also previously said the controversy occurred only because the complaining faction was "losing" the in-game war, went on to say in the interview that the community forums were locked and shut down not because the company disagreed with content, but because of the language used in some posts.

That explanation appears unlikely, as many players have reported that their comments were moderated or deleted despite an absence of any foul language, and because the forums automatically filter out any swearing with asterisks.