EVE Online, often called probably the most sturdy player-driven persistent on-line world in gaming (by individuals who really play it) and “that space game with all the spreadsheets” (by individuals who don’t), is getting a brand new software for gamers at present. But it’s not new worlds to discover or rebalanced ship stats, it’s integration with the very actual Microsoft Excel desktop and internet program. The spaceships may be fake, however the spreadsheets are actually very actual.

EVE developer CCP Games introduced the partnership with Microsoft back in January, initially planning to launch Excel integration final month. But it’s dwell in today’s Viridian game update, accessible by way of the official EVE Online add-in for Excel. Players can export information from the sport on to Excel — you don’t even want an Office 365 subscription, assuming you solely need the information output.

“By unleashing the full potential of Excel’s robust analysis and visualization tools, players can gain deep insights into their in-game activities, track their progress, and strategize their next steps,” says the official press launch, with no trace of irony.

We can poke enjoyable all we would like, however EVE Online is likely one of the most long-running on-line video games in historical past, celebrating its twentieth anniversary final month and boasting a whole lot of 1000’s of energetic gamers. They’re drawn to the sport’s deep talent system, advanced economies, and wide-open roleplaying. These let gamers take part in simulated companies, organized crime, and big universe-shaking wars, all completely allowed throughout the recreation’s programs.

EVE’s minute-to-minute gameplay doesn’t attraction to everybody, nevertheless it generates among the most attention-grabbing tales of participant exercise ever, like a Hollywood-style heist of a whole participant corp’s property price 1000’s of real-world {dollars}, or a crew of hitmen who spent a yr looking down one of many recreation’s strongest gamers for a contract assassination. With gamers so obsessive about the minutia of their in-game characters and property, it’s no marvel that utilizing real-world analytical instruments like Excel would have its personal attraction.