8 Massive Online Community Events That Changed Video Games

EVE Online's brand of intergalactic space warfare is a formula that has won over millions of players. Its most notable element is the ability to transcend regular MMO boundaries and create its own society and economy, one that players inhabit closely to the point it becomes a second life.

The title has become so valued by some players that it manifests itself in real-world costs. Vast wells of in-game resources are traded back and forth, players form clans and rivalries, and last but not least, immense clashes inside the game world can unfold.

I am of course talking about the Bloodbath of B-R5R5, which unfolded in January 2014. It was considered the largest player-controlled battle in gaming history at the time and was fought between Clusterf*ck Coalition with support from the Russian alliances and the N3 and Pandemic Legion.

Over 5000 capital ships comprising 7548 active combatants joined the 21-hour war, which unfolded in the south-eastern territories. By the time the battle was over, an exorbitant $300,000 to $330,000 of damage had been done. The greater impact lay with the game itself. It drastically changed the landscape of the MMO with multiple territory changes and enormous costs in resources and the overall economy.