Info: Some interesting bits (for players) from the memorandum

Ferial

Old Alpha
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Chris Ferial Book
Translated some parts of the memorandum (PDF in Swedish) that could be of interest to current players. There might be more, but I am tired atm. Will go through it again tomorrow evening

BULLET POINTS.​

  • Activity increased with COVID and has remained fairly stable since
  • EU has users between 18 and 75 yo, Average age 33
  • The engine change opens up possibilites for other platforms than PC
  • Q1/Q2 2025 UE5 EU Release
  • On average a user generates $1.3 revenue per hour.
  • Average lifetime deposits for a paying user is over $8000
  • 10% of active users are paying users.
  • In 2020 paying users averaged $1,345 in deposits.
  • MindArk plans to conduct a deed sale annually in the future.
  • MindArk gets 50% of revenue generated, Planet Owner receives 25%, User Owner receives 25%
    • Calypso born avatar on Calypso gives MA 100% revenue
    • Calypso born avatar on another planet gives MA 75% revenue, 25% to the planet on which the activity occurs.
    • Planet Partner born avatar on that planet partner gives MA 50% revenue and 50% to the planet partner.
    • Planet Partner born avatar on Calypso gives MA 75% revenue and the Planet Partner on which the avatar was born gets 25%
    • Planet Partner born avatar on a different Planet Partner planet gives MA 50% revenue, the planet partner on which the avatar was born gets 25% and the planet partner on which the activity occurs gets 25%
  • Planet Partners have gotten better at generating revenue the past couple of years.
  • MindArk plans to expand content-creator collaborations with the release of UE5 Entropia. (e.g. Streamers, Gaming Influencers)
  • MindArk plans to expand on the current affiliation program for existing users.
  • MindArk has no direct competitors in the 3D Virtual Universe with RCE segment.
  • MindArks closest competitor is Star Atlas. (Sci-Fi MMO with RCE on Solana Blockchain
  • MindArk has no legal obligation to pay out user funds (This should be apparent to everyone, but including it anyway)(I assumed that this was because EULA allows MA to do whatever they want, discussion made me unsure, thus the strike)
  • Historically 27-35% of deposits are withdrawn

HENRIKS WORDS​


In 2020, we could see that user activity increased greatly as a result of the Covid-19 restrictions.
Even though the restrictions are now largely removed, we can see that user activity is still at a similar level to 2020.

Entropia Universe needs to be at the forefront when it comes to technology, it is what enables us as company to offer customers an experience that does not exist
elsewhere. The decision by MindArk's board to change the game engine to Unreal Engine 5 will not only future-proof Entropia Universe but it also gives us the ability to implement new technologies and increase the number of platforms on which the product is available.
It also allows for the company to increase productivity, create content of higher quality and also have faster development cycles

ENTROPIA UNIVERSE​

Entropia Universe is the only online world with a working monetary system that is not connected to a blockchain, the currency in Entropia Universe has a fixed exchange rate against USD.
The Entropia Universe economy and its connection to the USD is proven and has built a strong and important trust capital during its 20 years of being in full operation.
The dynamic economy of Entropia Universe offers a wide variety of opportunities for users with market instincts and an entrepreneurial spirit to create value for themselves and others.

Entropia Universe users are between 18 and 75 years old and the average age is 33.

THE ENGINE CHANGE​

The deal with Epic Games means that MindArk will continuously receive updates to the game engine Unreal Engine 5 without the Companys own resources being required to develop these systems and this in turn leads to large savings for the company.
This results in a consolidation of the Companys resources and MindArk can thus focus solely on the end customers' needs.

The company assesses that user retention and conversion to active customers will increase in and with the graphics quality improving.
This in turn leads to more users being exposed to the economic system that has historically been the leading factor that made users prone to stay in the Entropia Universe for years.

With Unreal Engine 5, it is possible to create more content faster with improved performance, as well as new functionality for end users that is currently not possible with CryEngine2.
This leads to shorter lead times in the production of content in Entropia Universe

With Unreal Engine 5 being a modern game engine that offers new technical opportunities for developers, MindArk can attract a wider pool of employees and skills.

In connection with the transition to the new game engine, it is possible for the Company to realize the plans for a new modular and scalable server architecture and communication model.
These improvements together with Unreal Engine 5 mean that Entropia Universe will become scalable in a new way to quickly and dynamically handle changes in load, sudden or heavy influx of new users or future major technological changes.

The support available in the game engine for, for example, VR and AR will enable the Company to create content for new target groups and thus broaden the product offering.

MindArk already works extensively with AI today.
AI technology is developing rapidly and MindArk, in connection with the Unreal Engine 5 migration, will take advantage of the latest technology has to offer.

Unreal Engine is used today in the market to create games for all major platforms such as consoles, mobile and PC.
This means that the company can increase customer exposure by launching Entropia Universe on other platforms besides PC in the future, this is a technical difficulty with today's game engine CryEngine2.

The implementation of Unreal Engine 5 is deemed to be able to increase MindArks ability to market Entropia Universe to new customer segments, while the Companys conversion of new users is expected to increase.
Overall, this is expected to give rise to revenue increases.
MindArk estimates that the implementation of Unreal Engine 5 will be launched in Q1/Q2 2025.

BUSINESS IDEA AND REVENUE MODEL​

On average, each user generates $1.3 per hour they spend in Entropia Universe.
This revenue per user has been relatively stable, however, with a slowly rising trend.

Total deposits for the average paying user over the lifetime of the user are over $8000.
This group corresponds to approximately 10% of Entropia Universe's total amount of active users.
In 2020, the average paying user totaled $1,345 in deposits

DEEDS​

The Deeds generate periodic payments in PED to the holder based on the activity on the associated property or area.
In December 2021, 800,000 deeds were listed for sale at 10 PED equivalent to 1 USD each.
In 22 minutes all deeds were sold out.
In 2021, revenue from deeds sales accounted for 8.8% of the Companys total revenue, which was an increase from 2.3% in 2020.
In 2022, MindArk did not conduct any new deed sales, but the Company plans to conduct a deed sale annually in the future.

PLANET PARTNERS​

When it comes to planet partners, MindArk always gets at least 50% of the revenue generated on the planets in the Entropia Universe, whoever owns the customer relationship gets 25% and whoever created the planet gets 25%

Historically, MindArks partners have generated a relatively small part of the Companys total turnover.
In 2020, MindArks partners invoiced approximately 5.5% of the total turnover, in 2021 the Companys partners invoiced approximately 6.6% of the total turnover.
Between January 1 and October 31, 2022, MindArk's partners have invoiced 6.8% of the Companys turnover

PARTNERSHIPS​

As of January 2022, Epic Games had 31.1 million active users and 194 million registered accounts.
The agreement MindArk signed with Epic Games in 2021 includes the ability for MindArk to market and offer Entropia Universe on the Epic Games Store.
MindArks collaboration with Epic Games will lead to MindArk being able to focus more and more on the development and operation of Entropia Universe instead of spending resources on the current game engine.

MindArk has continuously had collaborations with so-called "streamers" and other "gaming influencers" on platforms such as Twitch and Youtube.
Part of the marketing strategy is to increase and expand these collaborations in connection with the launch of Entropia Universe in Unreal Engine 5

MindArk plans to expand the Companys current affiliate program for existing users.
MindArk also develops tools for users to create their own events and content inside Entropia Universe to increase activity among users.


COMPETITORS​

Historically, MindArk has had no direct competitor in its segment, three-dimensional virtual universe with a real economy (RCE)

MindArk's closest competitor is Star Atlas, a SciFi-based MMO game with a play-to-earn model that is connected to Solana blockchain technology.
The company themselves assess that they have progressed further in development than Star Atlas and assess that there are many barriers for Star Atlas to overcome before they can be seen as direct competitors

RISKS​

In 2011, a situation arose where the Company had limited liquidity and there was some delay in payments of requested withdrawals, however, the Company did not notice any negative impact on user loyalty or increasing requests for withdrawals.
The Company has no legal obligation to pay out user funds, but if a decision is made not to pay out, it will have a significant impact on user loyalty and the Company's brand.
Historical figures show that between 27 – 35% of deposited funds have been withdrawn by users.
The rest has been spent or remained in users' accounts in the form of digital assets or cash in the form of the virtual currency PED

Currently, MindArk's core product is relatively free from competition while the barriers to entry are high.
However, there are several companies operating in similar markets that probably have capital and to create games similar to MindArks.
Should these actors start selling competing games, it could result in the Company losing both market share and margins, which would then negatively affect the Company's earning capacity, turnover and profit


 
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Very interesting, a few things surprised me.

Only 10% of active users are paying? That would be a good number if it was total users, but for an active userbase that seems very low, for this type of game anyway. We don't have that many sweaters.. It begs the question, what is their definition of paying user? Lifetime or within a certain time period. I haven't deposited for over 12 months so I might be considered a non-paying user depending how they classify it. All the high end players that are now withdrawing from the system at one point deposited something.

Historically 27-35% of deposits are withdrawn. Very impressive that 2/3s of all deposits are effectively pure revenue. Do Mindark use this figure as a reserve ratio for reinvestment. If not, I wonder what its is? It would be naïve to think that they would keep 100% of our TT value on hand, why do you think we wait 90 days.. Bank run protection.

$8000 average lifetime user monetisation. Pat on the fucking back for that one. Holy shit.
 
Only 10% of active users are paying?
That is how I interpreted this bit:
Total deposits for the average paying user over the lifetime of the user are over $8000.
This group corresponds to approximately 10% of Entropia Universe's total amount of active users.
In 2020, the average paying user totaled $1,345 in deposits
It may very well be wrong, as yes, it does sound very low.
Do Mindark use this figure as a reserve ratio for reinvestment. If not, I wonder what its is?
After a quick re-read of that segment, the continuation of it is something like:

It is essential for the survival of Entropia Universe that MindArk pays out requested withdrawals and therefore the part of unused user funds, which is likely to be a withdrawal, must be entered as liability.

In the Financial Overview section the following is found:

MindArk is under no obligation to refund any of these funds to users. However, it is a prerequisite for the survival of Entropia Universe that MindArk pays out requested withdrawals. The portion of unused user funds that are deemed to be withdrawn by users is entered as a liability in the balance sheet under the heading "Provisions". The real debt is estimated to be around 33% of the nominal debt.

Whatever that means!
 
I urge everyone to google translate the whole released PDF. There is a lot missing here. In general. Shows Entropia is more alive than ever and growing more than ever. Much love all!
 
  • MindArk has no legal obligation to pay out user funds (This should be apparent to everyone, but including it anyway)


When did this change? The Eula/ToS used to say that Mindark owed at minimum the TT value of the items on an account if it got locked or something were to happen, players would lose all MU but would still be able to withdraw TT as long as it was over 1000ped on the account.

They used to have to carry a specific % of money in an escrow account based on the amount of PED in the game in case the game shut down or something of that nature.

Or am I missing something?
 
I urge everyone to google translate the whole released PDF. There is a lot missing here. In general. Shows Entropia is more alive than ever and growing more than ever. Much love all!

I agree, everyone with interest should go and read the whole PDF. I don´t agree that there is a lot missing though, as far as a condensed summary of what could be interesting to players. If you could kindly point out what is missing, I can add it to the OP to make it more accessible.


The Eula/ToS used to say that Mindark owed at minimum the TT value of the items on an account if it got locked or something were to happen, players would lose all MU but would still be able to withdraw TT as long as it was over 1000ped on the account.
Terminated Account (or “Account Termination”) means that the Account is purged and that You will no longer be able to retrieve its contents or to re-activate it to access Entropia Universe. Purging the Account means that, when applicable, all skills will be deleted, any estate deeds will be transferred back to MindArk and/or MindArk's Partner and the virtual objects on the Account will be exchanged for their Trade Terminal (TT) value. The aggregated value will be added to the balance on the PED Card connected to Your Account for You to withdraw if exceeding the minimal withdrawal limit of 1 000 PED. Any pending transactions involving a Terminated Account will be revoked.

I think this might be what you are referring to. That is still there.

I think you should re-read the EULA, if you haven´t done that recently. If MindArk decides they don´t want to pay up, all they have to do is terminate the EULA, which they have the right to for any and no reason. You would then no longer be allowed to withdraw as your right to use that system would be revoked.

MindArk may terminate this Agreement immediately upon notice to You. Such expiration may be made for any reason, and may be for one or more Participants.
 
I think you should re-read the EULA, if you haven´t done that recently. If MindArk decides they don´t want to pay up, all they have to do is terminate the EULA, which they have the right to for any and no reason. You would then no longer be allowed to withdraw as your right to use that system would be revoked.

MindArk may terminate this Agreement immediately upon notice to You. Such expiration may be made for any reason, and may be for one or more Participants.
What if a contract is one-sided?

An unconscionable contract is one that is so one-sided or so unfair that it shocks the conscience. The court usually deems such contracts unenforceable either in whole or in part, depending on if the entire contract is unconscionable, or if only certain terms or provisions identified therein are unconscionable.

This definitely fits the bill. Mindark advertises the game as a real cash economy and the ability for USD to turn to PED and PED to USD.
 
What if a contract is one-sided?

An unconscionable contract is one that is so one-sided or so unfair that it shocks the conscience. The court usually deems such contracts unenforceable either in whole or in part, depending on if the entire contract is unconscionable, or if only certain terms or provisions identified therein are unconscionable.

This definitely fits the bill. Mindark advertises the game as a real cash economy and the ability for USD to turn to PED and PED to USD.

I mean, I am not a lawyer, but I do know we have something similar here "Oskäliga avtalsvillkor" which translates to unreasonable terms.

I don't think it is unreasonable for a service provider to, at their discretion, decide who gets to use their service. Regardless of what the service does.

Regardless of the reason they are not under legal obligations to pay out, since this is something they've added to what it says in the annual reports I assume their lawyers have signed off on it. The fact that it is also in there in two different sections with slightly different wording makes it even less likely a mistake.
 
I mean, I am not a lawyer, but I do know we have something similar here "Oskäliga avtalsvillkor" which translates to unreasonable terms.

I don't think it is unreasonable for a service provider to, at their discretion, decide who gets to use their service. Regardless of what the service does.

Regardless of the reason they are not under legal obligations to pay out, since this is something they've added to what it says in the annual reports I assume their lawyers have signed off on it. The fact that it is also in there in two different sections with slightly different wording makes it even less likely a mistake.
Just because a company adds terms to a EULA doesn't make them legal or binding. They could put anything they want in there, it doesn't mean it is true and accurate.
 
if MA ever decided to pull the rug they probably wouldn't/don't have the assets to pay people back via bankruptcy anyways. if the company went tits up and did have a legal obligation to pay you back, you still would never see that money so who cares
 
10% of active users are paying users.
That's the bit that sticks out most to me. That just simply has to be wrong, surely? It could be that the definition of active is skewed by meaning any non-neglected account, with a huge database of people in limbo.
However, even if you throw out half the names as not really counting, then it would still only be 20% that are paying, but it's a massive divide between the average paying players and the non-paying ones.

On the other hand, was it six million dollars invested in CLDs alone. I calculate the ped payout at something like a rough one million dollars of ped income per year, but not checked it: ballpark only. If those peds are not considered as 'paying' when used in game, then that may be rolling peds for players I guess, but it still doesn't stack up that most people are playing off deed/share income, and then the massive jump to a pretty high average deposit per year and average total. Yes, there are other deeds/shares around, but the payout relative to the cash investments into these is a lot lower.

Even so, that possibility doesn't generate that many non-depositors, surely, whether it be 90% of 'active' users or only 80% off halved 'actives'. Sweaters and swunters? Nah... :unsure:
 
Even so, that possibility doesn't generate that many non-depositors, surely, whether it be 90% of 'active' users or only 80% off halved 'actives'. Sweaters and swunters? Nah... :unsure:
I guess it depends on what mindark considers a "paying" player. They don't seem to have a lot of clearly defined explanation for what constitutes paying and not, among other things.
 
  • Average lifetime deposits for a paying user is over $8000
  • 10% of active users are paying users.

Interesting, thanks for share @Ferial

So 10% of the players are the ones supporting all the game, sounds a bit anecdotal to me, no wonder the paying user lose so much even if he does huge depos every month.

Also almost over $9000 o_O o_O


When is that new game Star Atlas coming out? :scratch:
 
Interesting, thanks for share @Ferial

So 10% of the players are the ones supporting all the game, sounds a bit anecdotal to me, no wonder the paying user lose so much even if he does huge depos every month.

Also almost over $9000 o_O o_O


When is that new game Star Atlas coming out? :scratch:
Mindark told me that I have deposited $33k USD since I opened my account in 2017. What does that make me? I don't actively hunt or craft or cycle ped in any form except occasionally during mayhems and in a very limited qty. Most of what I do is services for players. So am I a leech or am I a productive member of EU society?
 
Thanks for this!
 
Thank you for you time Ferial 😉
 
So 10% of the players are the ones supporting all the game, sounds a bit anecdotal to me, no wonder the paying user lose so much even if he does huge depos every month.

I think it is important to consider the fact that EU, because of the monetary system, likely has a significant amount of pseudo-active accounts.
You acknowledge and agree that Your Entropia Universe Account will be deemed inactive if it has not been logged into for a period of ninety consecutive days.

Anyone logging in to keep their account from being purged could then be considered an active user. If this is the case, 10% doesn't sound THAT unreasonable.

I think it is also fair to say that out of people who play actively and are now withdrawing, there's likely a decent portion still in a net deficit.
 
Most of what I do is services for players.
That opens up another interesting aspect in that $33k USD deposited could easily equal a mothership and some shops or an LA and shops. That makes it sound like egg and chips, or sausage and chips, but items/investments other than deeds can also quickly become heavy stuff on your plate in order to be able to provide a service.
I have thought a bit about whether there really are a loads of people whose only activity is to keep their account alive because they could withdraw actual cash if they decided to break the relationship for good. It's plausible. If 75% of what MA calls active is actually just players who haven't officially divorced, then the split would still be 15% left who play without depositing and 10% that deposits.

Even that is hard for me to believe, as that is still 60% of genuinely active avatars that live in EU without new desposits, but adding in service providers with in-game income to those with passive deed investments does give us a chunk of players who have deposited quite a large sum but not withdrawn much of it (also a statistic in the info), as it is tied up (but busy providing ped income).
But the maths also shows that if we have to throw out 75% of MA's paper-only actives, then it is no longer a big leap to saying it could actually be 85% of accounts that fit this category. Then we'd only have a 5% chunk plus the 10% from the original claim (that 10% of actives are depositors). Now that is a ratio I can accept as plausible.

Thus, it's been quite some jiggling about to make the stats fit to something that feels reasonable (to me), but split the registered accounts into really still active and player retention on paper only due to RCE matters... yes, MA may indeed have 'digested' a large number of souls by now, but always with enough food in their 'stomach' to keep the body alive.

An interesting aside would be if MA gave everyone 'active' an unreal token as a present, but in the form of a token(x) like CLD(x). MA could then track how many people even bother to convert these when the time comes... ahhh the EU-unreal !
 
That opens up another interesting aspect in that $33k USD deposited could easily equal a mothership and some shops or an LA and shops. That makes it sound like egg and chips, or sausage and chips, but items/investments other than deeds can also quickly become heavy stuff on your plate in order to be able to provide a service.
First, I want to say thank you for using the information I provided to discuss the topic at hand in the spirit for which it was provided, and not using it as a way to fling insults or make jokes, or game politics concerning my services themselves.

Are you aware of the 80/20 rule? A.K.A. The Pareto Principle? Essentially 80% of any given outcomes are derived from only 20% of the inputs. While Pareto used this in regards to land ownership in Italy, as a general rule of thumb it is pretty accurate when looking at any given data set broadly speaking.

So I can see how Mindark can say that 10% of the player base is carrying the other 90%. Or 10% of the players cycle 90% of the PED in the game, it is not that far of a reach.

An interesting aside would be if MA gave everyone 'active' an unreal token as a present, but in the form of a token(x) like CLD(x). MA could then track how many people even bother to convert these when the time comes... ahhh the EU-unreal !
I think this would be a really great idea to test actual player activity levels. Those who don't play and only log in once every year to keep their account from being deleted probably would not notice the token or know what it is for, and then we would see a lot of comments on the forums asking what their purpose is and how/why they got it.
 
I think this would be a really great idea to test actual player activity levels. Those who don't play and only log in once every year to keep their account from being deleted probably would not notice the token or know what it is for, and then we would see a lot of comments on the forums asking what their purpose is and how/why they got it.
Actually friend of mine logged into game last week after about 8yrs. His net worth of 5$ is still there. Last time he logged in year 2014.
I don't think MA delete any accounts lately (last decade?) , this way they can keep telling us that we have milions of active players lol.
 
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Actually friend of mine logged into game last week after about 8yrs. His net worth of 5$ is still there. Last time he logged in year 2014.
I don't think MA delete any accounts lately (last decade?) , this way they can keep telling us that we have milions of active players lol.
Did your friend just have 5 ped on the account or did he have all sorts of items? If he still have the items then, Mindark probably can't delete those older accounts completely because they never agreed to a EULA/TOS that had the 365 account deletion stipulation. So the probably delete them temporarily until someone actually tries to log in again, and because they signed in, they can be deleted after a year of inactivity according to the changes.


This brings me around to the bank account where they hold funds in escrow. They are supposed to keep X amount of dollars in that account based on the total amount of TT possessed by the player base to pay them off if they shut down because that's what they advertised. But they decided to change the TOS with the 1 year inactivity rule because there were so many accounts accruing over the 15-17 years they have been running, a lot of dead ped as it were. (Hey at least they know our pain and a lot of the newer weapons use more ammo that decay!) This freed up a lot of $$$ out of that escrow account so they could go do something stupid like buying another castle.(What was the official explanation for this horribly costly decision?) And now if those old players show up, they give them back everything so they don't have to deal with lawsuits or bad pr, and can just take it away if they go inactive again since they agreed to the new TOS, helping to keep that escrow account as small as legally required.


But maybe they don't have to keep anything in escrow anymore, or I could be wrong about it entirely and they never had it in the first place.

That is just my thoughts.
 
When did this change? The Eula/ToS used to say that Mindark owed at minimum the TT value of the items on an account if it got locked or something were to happen, players would lose all MU but would still be able to withdraw TT as long as it was over 1000ped on the account.

They used to have to carry a specific % of money in an escrow account based on the amount of PED in the game in case the game shut down or something of that nature.

Or am I missing something?
This has changed years ago already.

When MA changed their Financial auditor to a professional one, the new auditor forced MA to restructure alot in their almost criminal haywired finacial settings.
The player assets TT value is deemed to be a MA's liability. If Mindark wants to allow withdrawings, then they have to keep something around 30-35% reserves of that liability for withdrawings (i forgot the exact percentage).
The financial restructuring and putting ~33% to reserves broke MA's financial neck and another bankruptcy was... hmmm... censored by EULA
Ingame deed's fundraising and other financial stunts were needed to fill the holes in MA's first professional checked balances.
Due to this the major owner of MA's new and old shares is now an ukrainian internet porno starlet. Credible...

And no, MA is not obligated to pay out any withdrawings.
They only decide to do so not to hamper their credibility in the player's eyes. As long as it doesnt hamper their profit.
They can legally pull their server's plug at any moment they want and pay out zero, null, nil, zilch, nada, niente.

So better dont build your retirement fund on this.
 
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Actually friend of mine logged into game last week after about 8yrs. His net worth of 5$ is still there. Last time he logged in year 2014.
I don't think MA delete any accounts lately (last decade?) , this way they can keep telling us that we have milions of active players lol.
I'd suggest you ask you friend to log in more often.

From mindark report.
2 new forms income here's one.
One such case arises when a user stops participating and has not been active for one year. Any remaining funds on the user account are reclassified as income. If the user becomes active again, the funds will be reclassified back to unspent user funds.

This could very well change. That's from latest report.
 
if MA ever decided to pull the rug they probably wouldn't/don't have the assets to pay people back via bankruptcy anyways. if the company went tits up and did have a legal obligation to pay you back, you still would never see that money so who cares
Even if so here in Holland Tax Office always is first so bye bye to the peds :king:
 
WOW thank you bro, Ferial

Anyway, all these are nothing new.... am I right?
It has been on-going since 8 years ago and I do not see anyone interested to discuss about it.
 
I'd suggest you ask you friend to log in more often.

From mindark report.
2 new forms income here's one.
One such case arises when a user stops participating and has not been active for one year. Any remaining funds on the user account are reclassified as income. If the user becomes active again, the funds will be reclassified back to unspent user funds.

This could very well change. That's from latest report.
So this worked exactly as I said it does.
 
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