Pre-GDC: Level 3 Signs CCP, Icarus Studios, Partners With Solid State

Level 3, a fiber-based bandwidth provider, has announced partnerships with developers CCP and Icarus Studios to deliver various bandwidth services for the MMOs EVE Online and Fallen Earth. The company has separately entered into an agreement with game publishing software developer Solid State Networks that will pair Level 3's content delivery networks with Solid State's acquisition and monetization services. "CCP requires a network that can deliver fast, secure, high-quality file transfers to hundreds of thousands of end-users worldwide," said CCP COO Jon Horodal in a statement. "The agility and reliability of the Level 3 network combined with the real-time traffic and user insight of the reporting platform were driving factors in our decision to work with them." Reykjavik-headquartered CCP, which also operates an office in Atlanta, is responsible for the intricate space-set MMO EVE Online. Unlike most MMOs, which split their player bases across an array of game servers, EVE is notable for concentrating all subscribers in one instance of the game's universe. Icarus Studios CEO James Hettinger also had words of praise for the bandwidth provider. "With Level 3, we have increased our bandwidth capacity by 20-fold and supported peaks of up to 4,000 Megabits per second," he said in a statement. Based in Cary, North Carolina, Icarus markets its own MMO development technology, and last year released its first internally-branded MMO, Fallen Earth. Level 3 says its partnership with Solid State will allow faster downloads and improved analytic services for Solid State's game publishing suite. In a statement, Solid State CEO Rick Buonincontri said, "In combining capabilities with Level 3's network, we have an end-to-end solution that improves the overall user experience. With this improved experience also comes richer data, as our customers now have access to both our reporting and the Level 3 analytics platform."