CCP, creator of MMOG EVE Online with 170,000 subscribers worldwide, will launch a German version of EVE Online at Games Connection in Leipzig, Germany, August 24-27, 2006. The German client will be the first localized version of the EVE Online client on the Tranquility cluster. Visitors to the Games Connection in Leipzig are welcomed to view the first showing of the German EVE Online client in the CCP stand B05 in Hall 5 of the Leipziger Messe.

"We have been waiting for this moment for a long time to offer localized versions of EVE Online, and this marks the beginning of a new chapter for EVE Online," said Nathan Richardsson, Senior Producer at CCP. "German is the first language we offer besides English on our Tranquility cluster and we hope that the German players will appreciate this new feature. A lot of work has been done to prepare the EVE Online client for localization and we have plans to support other languages in the very near future."

CCP is also announcing support for Direct Debit in cooperation with GlobalCollect and will be ready shortly after the Leipzig show. Direct Debit is the preferred payment method of gamers in Germany and therefore an important payment addition to the already wide selection of payment methods offered by CCP.

Lisette Schipper, Business Development Manager of GlobalCollect said, "We are thrilled to be part of EVE Online’s upcoming localized German launch and to provide Direct Debit, the most popular online payment method in Germany. This will enable CCP to provide their German gamers the option to pay with a local method they are familiar with and most importantly, comfortable using."

EVE Online already supports a Chinese version running on dedicated cluster operated in China in cooperation with Optic Communications. The technical development efforts required to support English, Chinese, and now German, enable CCP to introduce other languages with relative ease.