Eve Online is finally teaming up with Microsoft Excel

pcgamesn.com:

For more than a decade, the running joke about Eve Online is that it’s an MMORPG that’s also a spreadsheet. That’s a bit unfair – there’s plenty of exploring and space combat in New Eden. But high-level players are always keen on optimising their playtime, and now developer CCP Games is making it official: later this year, Eve Online will add Microsoft Excel integration, making data tracking in the free-to-play game a whole lot easier.

The partnership with Microsoft means that in the near future, Eve players will be able to add a Javascript API to an Excel workbook that seamlessly pulls data from the game. While CCP isn’t ready to go into detail on the functionality just yet, the possibilities are compelling: players could use the feature to track profit margins across a large corporation, or look at fleet damage values over the course of a battle to work out where their strengths and weaknesses are.

Playing Eve on a literal spreadsheet isn’t the only news out of this year’s Fanfest, running this weekend in Reykjavik. The company also revealed plans for a new set of narrative arcs, with the first set to wrap up in a finale at the end of this year. CCP says these new story arcs, focused on players’ chosen home empires, will help new players connect with Eve’s world and give them “more power to shape New Eden’s living universe” through dynamic, player-driven in-world events.

“With arcs, we’re setting EVE up for the next chapter with a steady stream of narrative-driven content that emphasises player actions and decisions,” says Bergur Finnbogason, creative director of Eve Online. “The upcoming stories and events aren’t restricted to veterans, though – with more activities coming soon to the new player experience, all