"Eve Online" was released in North America and Europe in May 2003. It was published from May to December 2003 by Simon & Schuster Interactive, after which CCP purchased the rights and began to self-publish via a digital distribution scheme. On January 22, 2008, it was announced that "Eve Online" would be distributed via Steam. On March 10, 2009, the game was again made available in boxed form in stores, released by Atari, Inc. In February 2013, "Eve Online" reached over 500,000 subscribers. On November 11, 2016, "Eve Online" added a limited free-to-play version.