I spoke about community when it comes to EVE Online at their 2023 Fanfest. Now, two years later, I am back in Iceland at EVE Fanfest 2025, and a lot of the same sentiments ring true. However, with the launch of new games like EVE Vanguard and EVE Frontier, I am beginning to learn just how involved players are in the EVE universe. It isn’t just that the community needs EVE; EVE really needs its community, too.
Of course, every game or franchise needs a community. They need engagement, event turnouts, game sales and microtransactions. EVE Online needs all that too, but it is so much deeper than that with CCP Games and their Capsuleers. Sitting in the main hall during the EVE Fanfest keynote, we were given loads of data regarding player stats, massive battles and what the players have been up to.
The reaction of EVE players when they see their faction, avatar or others they recognize on the big screen in front of nearly 1,500 is priceless. Seeing a company highlight achievements or call out sneaky behaviour—like using over 20 characters in one battle—is refreshing and encouraging. It reminds me of World of Warcraft guilds running for world firsts, but that was a community celebration, not necessarily one from Blizzard.
Something I personally find touching is the anniversary gift that CCP staff members receive at their 10-year mark. This year, CCP Orca announced that some EVE Online players will be receiving a similar award, honouring the long-standing player organizations in EVE that have lasted 10 years or more. At today’s closing ceremonies, there will be a sword ceremony, carrying on this CCP tradition that “now belongs to all of us.”
CCP also has a massive monument in Reykjavík, Iceland, dedicated to its players: “The EVE Monument stands as a symbol of innovation, camaraderie, and the incredible potential of virtual worlds. Located in Reykjavik, Iceland, this monument pays homage to the massive multiplayer online game EVE Online and its dedicated player community.” The monument went up in 2014 and hosts the in-game player names, and it is a popular stop during EVE Fanfest.
Walking through the halls of Harpa, the venue is filled with players of all ages and walks of life. What’s more interesting is that right beside these players are the developers who make the games they love. CCP members go straight from the main stage to the hallway to chat with players, shake hands and talk about these games they care about. They are like local celebrities, but they approach it with all the kindness and excitement a fan could hope for. Hell, they even go by dev names—similar to in-game names—like CCP Okami or CCP Collins.
But with CCP Games, it isn’t just limited to walking the halls with players. The developers invite players into the hallways of their games, so to speak, by bringing them into the development process wildly early—something nearly unheard of in modern game development. And this isn’t just through the occasional playtest or beta when a game nears completion.
EVE Vanguard was announced at Fanfest 2023, very early in development. The game won’t be releasing until 2026 in early access, but players have already gone hands-on with the game more than once. CCP has created something called Founder’s Access, which is a paid service, but it allows players to come into the game when it is still in pretty rough shape.
In EVE Fanfest’s Vanguard keynote, Game Director on EVE Vanguard, Scott Davis, showed pictures and footage of how testers found a way to build a staircase to the sky by stacking in-game items. He mentioned that now they know it is something they need to adjust, though shouts from the audience not to made him laugh, followed by “It’s not a bug. It’s a feature!”
Most developers would shy away from people seeing their games in any state but perfect. Where CCP differs is that they want players there early to help shape the game with them instead of handing them what they think they want and hoping for the best. This isn’t just related to playtesting new games either.
I was able to speak to Game Design Director on EVE Online, Greg Hennessey, about developing a game with live player feedback: “I genuinely think it would be impossible to design for EVE without involving players like this.” He went on to explain a bit about just how players are utilized in development, including the CSM, the Council of Stellar Management, “They’re a large part of every new feature that we develop and typically they do a very good job of coming into edge cases and thinking through all the ways people can abuse things and do all the crazy stuff.”
The CSM is a player advocacy group that CCP Games works closely with in their development. You can read more on this council here, but essentially, they are a group of people elected by players, plus some chosen by CCP who take player feedback into consideration, and help build the world of EVE Online by representing players.
Not only is this kind of council unheard of in gaming, but CCP takes it a step further. They include the CSM in many of the game changes and updates, but they even go so far as to fly the council out to Iceland for a 5-day summit each year, taking on all travel costs. CCP is paying out of pocket for this feedback, and it is clear just how valuable they believe this development strategy is.
Hennessey explained his outlook on using something like the CSM in game development, “They’re honestly a part of most of what we do. Like, there isn’t any feature that we release, barely, that we don’t at least kind of run past them. It’s really easy for us to make mistakes and to do something that will just explode the game. So it’s nice to have that sort of first wave of like, “Okay, how do you feel about this?”.
Though not a lot is known about EVE Frontier, the new survival game CCP is working on, what is public knowledge is that the entire game will be open source. This means that players can go into the code of the game and fundamentally change it themselves. “EVE Forever” is a common phrase at CCP Games and in the EVE community, and this is truly a massive leap toward that.
We have games like Roblox or Fortnite where players can jump in and design their own levels and worlds, but that is nothing near being able to change the main game and how it works, in a way that will affect anyone who comes near it. If anything were to happen to CCP, EVE Frontier could theoretically live on through its players. If that isn’t “forever”, I don’t know what is.
But, EVE is a game that is wildly complicated. It has been told to me more than once this week that not a single person knows everything about the game or its universe, not even Hilmar! That makes it an extremely intimidating universe to jump into. How can a game be forever, if its player base will eventually fade out? They’ve thought of that, too!
First, we can talk about the two new expansions that EVE Fanfest featured this year, EVE Vanguard and EVE Frontier. Expanding the universe is one thing, but bringing on new genres in the same universe is another. We have about a thousand Call of Duty spinoffs, but they are all similar. CCP wants to bring in not just MMO players, but players of other genres to New Eden, too.
Vanguard is an MMOFPS, and though it stays in the MMO category, it is vastly different from a spaceship MMO. Players are clones on the ground of the planets of New Eden, with some badass-looking weapons for face-to-face combat. EVE Frontier is a survival game, and though not a lot is known there, the survival genre is vastly different from a standard MMO and could bring an entirely new crowd. I have seen firsthand how small tastes of New Eden can pique curiosity, and I don’t doubt this could bring new players to EVE Online as well.
Also announced at EVE Fanfest 2025 is the newest expansion, EVE Online: Legion. Though there are many new additions to the game, in terms of community, the new Freelance Jobs are going to change the way people play EVE. Essentially, Corporations will be able to put out quests that players can pick up and do themselves.
Corporations are like a guild, and it can be hard to get involved with them. It can also be difficult to figure out where to start as a new player, so these Freelance Jobs will help guide new players and give them a way to connect to these corporations and get them noticed. I spoke to Hennessey about how this supplements the “EVE Forever” motto:
“I really think our sort of direction of trying to put more of the game in players’ hands is a big part of this. It’s slight steps away from user-generated content…So I think because it’s such a big game, because there are so many things to do, and we’re like a relatively small team for an MMO, we’re just never going to be able to create enough content that satisfies everybody. So the more we can put tools in players’ hands to create content for each other, I think that will just keep EVE going forever.”
As I mentioned last year, CCP puts on a pub crawl where devs and players trek through the streets of Reykjavík together, sharing stories, battles and excitement for the game they all love. I even met a player in his 50s, NIGHTFLYER, who was genuinely surprised when he started his EVE journey five years ago and has since found himself attending two Fanfests in Iceland, as well as events in Las Vegas—travelling the world with friends he met in the game. EVE hosts events across the globe, bringing players and developers together, and that camaraderie alone could keep EVE going forever, even if it’s just through the friendships it builds.
So CCP Games knows that its fans, their feedback and their involvement are vital to its survival. It also knows that highlighting their achievements and celebrating with them is what brings developers and players together. Events like Fanfest foster not just a sense of community, but of family—and sharing a drink or two makes it feel like home.
After spending yet another weekend at EVE Fanfest, celebrating EVE Online, EVE Vanguard, EVE Frontier and more, it’s clearer than ever that CCP Games is banking on its fans for success. Keeping them involved and engaged is key to truly creating an “EVE Forever” world.
