An EVE Online capsuleer ship flies toward a glowing nebula structure

EVE Online’s Fractured Skies Expansion Launches Alongside EVE Vanguard’s Paid 24/7 Alpha

November 9, 2026 Noah Frank-Hotinczan

Developer Fenris Creations, formerly CCP Games, is launching two connected projects at once on November 10. EVE Online receives a new expansion called Fractured Skies, while the companion first-person shooter EVE Vanguard moves into a paid, always-on alpha for the first time. Unlike past Vanguard playtests, this version will not be taken offline between sessions, and progress made in the shooter can now feed directly back into the MMO’s economy and conflicts.

Fractured Skies Reworks Lowsec Faction Warfare

Fractured Skies is the second expansion in a planned trilogy overhauling lowsec faction conflict, following the summer’s Cradle of War update. EVE design director Greg Hennessey told PC Gamer that the new system introduces recurring seasonal Conquests, structured climaxes to factional PvP where players pick a faction, earn points over a season, and build toward a scheduled final battle. The first Conquest is set for February. Hennessey said the goal is to give newer and returning players an easier path into EVE’s famous large-scale space battles, which have historically taken new players thousands of hours to meaningfully join. Conquests will also ripple into EVE’s player-driven economy, affecting resource and ship prices, while outside factions can intervene to tip the balance. The expansion additionally brings an updated HUD and new ships alongside further new-player experience tweaks.

A capsuleer ship approaches a nebula-wreathed structure in EVE Online, where Fractured Skies brings new ships and a reworked HUD.

EVE Vanguard Learns From a Rough July Playtest

EVE Vanguard’s 24/7 alpha is playable through the EVE launcher starting November 10, with a formal Steam early access release planned for late 2027. Vanguard game director Scott Davis said the team focused on tougher NPC enemies and clearer new-player tutorials after many players bounced off the game during a July playtest, explaining the shooter’s weapon upgrading and healing systems had been too confusing for newcomers. Davis described the confusion as accidentally creating the most hardcore extraction game of all time. New players will now be eased in through a co-op PvE mode before unlocking the existing PvEvP mode and a new PvP-first mode pitting three teams of three against each other in a procedurally generated labyrinth, where only one team can escape. The alpha also introduces the first layer of interoperability between the two games, letting Vanguard mission completions unlock mining and combat activities in EVE Online, with a deeper connection, including empire allegiance tied to EVE’s Military Campaign and Conquest systems, planned for the second quarter of 2027.