Today we learnt that CCP Guard has decided to leave CCP and take up a new adventure in another company in Iceland. I have no doubt that this was a difficult decision to make, after all he has been at the company for a significant amount of time (I think its 16 years), has seen changes in the game, in the staff and in the community and for many he has been the face of CPP.
It goes without saying that he will be missed.
But what does CCP Guard mean to me...
I first met Sveinni when I was lucky enough to win a pass to the CCP offices back in 2013 - I turned up with a 1yr old child strapped to me and 5 year old not really sure why we were in an office building on his holiday to Iceland - rather than drag the 5yr old around the office Sveinni arranged for him to hang out in the "playroom" with a few of the devs and compete for glory on the playstation - that simple action showed me how people focussed he is, quite simply he cares..he wants to make people happy..
I attended Fanfests over the years and saw him from afar, people see him as the entertainer, the joker, the Bad F1 pilot...
However, in the last 18 months I have had the privilege of getting to know Sveinni through streamfleet. He has championed us from day 1, been an avid supporter, understood what we wanted to achieve with the community and helped make it a reality. We really wouldn’t be in the position we are today - an active community with hundreds of streamers - without his encouragement, advise and laughter.
For me, personally, he has always made himself available, now lets be honest you are never going to be the most organised person in the world Sveinni and yes i would get so frustrated at times - but it made you all the more loveable. That cheeky smile let you get away with murder...we have had moments of frustration (hmmm equipment at Vegas) but many many more moments of pure joy - singing Permaband songs in the back of a lost Uber to an aspiring rapper still to this day makes me smile.
Behind the scenes you do so much, support for the charity events, arranging for people to be married at the Harpa, sending thanks to people who have helped - all without any wish for publicity and in a very humble way.
Sveinni, you are a true gentleman and I am proud to be able to call you my friend. I am going to miss those late night pings, the crazy ideas forming and the laughter...we will party in Amsterdam but not as a final farewell. I truly hope that we see you at future events, that I can fly with you in game and hear your laughter in comms.
For now, I wish you the best of luck in your future, whatever you do, wherever you go, you will simply smash it.
Fly safe dude
Moses xxx