REYKJAVIK, ICELAND — Fenris Creations, the newly rebranded developer formerly known as CCP Games, unveiled its “Cradle of War” expansion for EVE Online this week with a bold promise: a brand-new, non-PVP starter space where new players could learn the game in complete safety.

“We want new pilots to feel at home before the galaxy burns,” said Fenris Creations CEO Hilmar Pjetursson during the FanFest 2026 keynote, gesturing to a slide labeled “Step 1: Comfort.” “They will dock in beautiful stations, mine asteroids in peace, and gain a genuine appreciation for the game we all love.”

Industry analysts noted the announcement was somewhat undercut by the subsequent slide titled “Step 2: Death.”

The full Cradle of War roadmap reveals that new players will spend approximately 72 hours in the protected starter zone before being automatically enrolled in an “Empire-Driven Military Campaign” that developer notes describe as “a galaxy-wide omniconflict designed to familiarize newer pilots with the concept of getting absolutely obliterated by someone who has been playing for 14 years.”

“The onboarding flow is incredibly intuitive,” explained a Fenris Creations spokesperson. “First, we give them a safe space. Then, we introduce them to the broader New Eden experience, which is mostly being shot at by Goonswarm while they are still in their rookie ship.” The spokesperson paused before adding, “We have actually optimized the new player experience by making the safe space slightly less safe than before, so there is less of a jarring transition.”

Veteran EVE Online players largely praised the approach. “Finally, CCP — sorry, Fenris — is acknowledging that the game is already pure war,” said Marcus “The Mittani” Blight, CEO of the Goonswarm Federation, in a post on social media that was immediately screenshotted and posted to r/EVE with the caption “same as it ever was.” “The Cradle of War is not an expansion. It is a description of the game. It has always been this.”

Other features of the June 9 expansion include eight new capital ships, a revised loyalty point system, and a “Pochven Refit Bundle” that will cost approximately 4,500 Plex and is being marketed as “for the Triglavian-adjacent lifestyle.”

New players who survive their first galaxy-wide omniconflict will reportedly be rewarded with a unique “Cradle Survivor” skin for their pod, which existing players noted is the first step toward eventually being encouraged to purchase a “Cradle Corpse” skin for their capsule.

Fenris Creations stated the expansion would be live by June 9 and that all new accounts created in the past 72 hours had already been flagged for “priority war enrollment.”

r/EVE Reactions:

• [/r/EVE] “Non-PVP starter space LMAO they are literally describing highsec with extra steps” — Posted by u/PochvenPilot_42 | 2,847 upvotes | 312 comments
• [/r/EVE] “I have been playing for 11 years and I still feel like a new player. This is actually realistic.” — Posted by u/Deltoid_Calculator | 1,203 upvotes | 89 comments
• [/r/EVE] “The ‘galaxy-wide omniconflict’ is just Tuesday in EVE but now they are charging $29.99 for it” — Posted by u/HS_For Life | 976 upvotes | 201 comments
• [/r/EVE] “Cradle of War. Get it? Because EVE has been war the whole time. Brilliant marketing.” — Posted by u/Triklestick_Trig | 734 upvotes | 67 comments
• [/r/EVE] “I cannot wait to welcome all these new players to Pochven. They will love it here. We will love them. They will die.” — Posted by u/Clade_Veteran | 612 upvotes | 44 comments

HELSINKI, Finland — Fenris Creations, the newly independent studio formerly known as CCP Games, announced this week the upcoming release of EVE Online: Cradle of War, a new expansion launching June 9 that players are already describing as, quote, “a reskin of the same conflict we have been in since 2003.”

The expansion promises to connect multiple star systems through a series of military campaigns, adding new ships, a non-PvP starter region, and quote, “a refreshed approach to New Eden’s enduring conflict.” Veteran pilots, however, were quick to point out that this description bears a remarkable resemblance to every patch note released in the game’s 22-year history.

“We are thrilled to introduce Cradle of War, which represents a bold new chapter for EVE and our community,” said a Fenris Creations spokesperson in an official press release. The spokesperson, whose name was redacted from all public communications at their own request, added that the expansion represents a departure from previous expansions which represented the same departure from previous expansions that players had already rejected.

Longtime EVE Online player Marcus Chen, a CEO of a mid-tier nullsec alliance, offered a different perspective on the announcement.

“Let me get this straight,” Chen said in an interview from his Titan pilot chair. “They are selling us an expansion called ‘Cradle of War’ that adds military campaigns to connect star systems, new ships, and a starter region. You know what we call that? EVE Online. We have had that since launch. I genuinely cannot tell if this is a real expansion or a parody of an expansion.” Chen paused, then added, “I am going to subscribe for another year anyway.”

The announcement comes just weeks after Hilmar, the founder of what is now Fenris Creations, published a letter titled “A New Era” describing the studio’s transition to independent ownership. Players quickly noted that Hilmar has announced a new era for EVE Online approximately every 18 months since 2006, with the previous new era having been declared obsolete by the next one.

Additional features of the Cradle of War expansion include what Fenris describes as quote, “a deeper narrative experience” and unquote. When pressed for specifics, the Fenris communications team provided a graphic showing a spaceship firing a large laser at another spaceship, captioned “DYNAMIC COMBAT.”

The community response on r/EVE was immediate and enthusiastic in the way that only EVE Online players can be.

user StrategicHusbandAlt wrote: “Cradle of War sounds terrifyingly accurate. My alliance has been in a cradle-to-grave war for 6 years. At least this expansion will finally give it a title.”

user PochvenPurgeLord commented: “I have been waiting 22 years for Fenris to finally acknowledge the war. The war was me the whole time.”

user JitaLocalMod added: “New era, new expansion, same Jita gankers. Some things are eternal.”

Fenris Creations has stated that Cradle of War will launch exclusively on PC, with a Mac version described as quote, “coming when the heat death of the universe makes it strategically relevant.” The studio has also confirmed that the existing EVE Online subscription model will remain unchanged, which multiple players interpreted as a promise that nothing would fundamentally change, which they characterized as both good and bad depending on their subscription status.

Pre-orders for the expansion, which is included at no additional cost for all Omega subscribers, open June 1.

Editor’s note: EVE Online has been in a state of perpetual war since its launch in 2003. Players have destroyed an estimated 12?% of all ships ever manufactured in the game’s history, with the majority of those losses occurring in the last 72 hours.

REYKJAVIK, Iceland – In a move that surprised absolutely no one who has been watching the slow-motion trainwreck of Korean gaming conglomerate Pearl Abyss’s finances, CCP Games announced this week that it has officially spun off to become Fenris Creations, an independent entity operating under a new Norse mythology theme and promising that EVE Online will continue for, quote, “decades to come.”

The rebranded company joins a prestigious list of gaming studios that have discovered the secret to longevity: becoming independent from anything resembling a functional parent company. Pearl Abyss, facing declining Black Desert Online numbers and a share price that has performed roughly as well as a C1 mastik riding an express elevator to the bottom of the ocean, confirmed it will focus on its core titles while CCP goes its own way.

“We’re thrilled to return to independence,” said a CCP spokesperson who, sources confirm, read the entire announcement from a script containing the phrase “EVE Forever” fourteen times. “When we chose the name Fenris Creations, we wanted something that symbolized both our Norse heritage and our commitment to building virtual universes where players can experience consequence, loss, and renewal. Also our legal team said ‘Fenris’ was available as a trademark.”

The announcement, posted under the pseudonym “Hilmar” as is tradition, went on to explain that the name Fenris was inspired by the Norse wolf god of destruction, which industry analysts have noted is either a subtle commentary on the game’s player retention rates or simply the only mythological creature from their 1997 startup era that wasn’t already taken.

“Our very first published game carried the name Fenris on the box,” the statement continued, failing to mention that game was called “Fenris” and bore approximately zero resemblance to the spaceships-and-drama simulator that EVE would eventually become. “That belief was there from the beginning. Our very first published game carried the name Fenris on the box.” Sources confirm this is the third time in corporate history the company has referenced this fact.

What This Means For Pilots

According to the announcement, absolutely nothing will change. The teams building EVE Online, EVE Frontier, EVE Vanguard, and EVE Galaxy Conquest remain in place. Studios in Reykjavik, London, and Shanghai continue as they are today. Leadership, creative direction, products, and development plans are unchanged.

“EVE continues,” the statement read, which players have noted is technically accurate and also the bare minimum one might expect from a company that makes its primary revenue from selling subscription time and digital spaceship decorations.

“The people who have been working on New Eden for many years are still here, still building, and still focused on the same goal: making EVE stronger for the long term,” the announcement added, declining to specify what “stronger” means in a game where the primary activities are shooting spaceships, losing spaceships, and occasionally shooting spaceships you own.

Player Reaction

Response from the EVE Online community has been mixed, with pilots on r/EVE speculating whether this means the long-rumored “EVE 2” might finally arrive, or if this is simply a restructuring designed to make the quarterly earnings report look more appealing to investors who have never actually played the game.

“Finally they’re free from the Korean overlords,” wrote one pilot in local chat, apparently forgetting that Pearl Abyss’s primary contribution to CCP was leaving them alone to operate while periodically sending emails asking why the MAU hadn’t increased.

“EVE Forever,” replied another, in what has become the official meme of the announcement. “Yeah okay but my Titan is still stuck in Geminate so maybe fix that first.”

A third pilot was seen in Jita local expressing concern that Fenris Creations would have to develop its own Chinese mobile game to stay profitable, before being reminded that EVE Galaxy Conquest already exists and has been quietly absorbing hundreds of dollars from players who just wanted more ship skins.

Fenris Creations is expected to announce further details at Fanfest, scheduled for sometime in the near future, where attendees will learn about new ships, better tools, “beefier tech,” and “a clearer path for new players.” Sources within the company say there will be a slide with the words “EVE Forever” on it, followed by a two-hour presentation about player retention metrics that will make everyone in the audience uncomfortable.

The company’s legal team has reportedly already filed trademarks for the phrases “EVE Forever,” “Death Is A Serious Matter,” and “New Eden,” the latter of which is expected to take approximately eighteen months given the massive backlog at the Icelandic trademark office.

r/Eve Reactions

oiler99: “Finally. Now maybe we can get some actual patches instead of a new SKIN bundle every Tuesday.”

Isogen_4: “EVE Forever until the servers shut down Forever”

Brutor_Rifter: “they literally just changed their name so hilmar could feel like he accomplished something this quarter. the gameplay is the exact same”

ZappBrannigan: “Pearl Abyss was literally just letting them do their thing for 8 years and this is how they repay them. Classic.

CCP_Salesman: “we are thrilled to announce fenris creations. EVE FOREVER. please buy plex”

Aldradic: “the only thing that changed is the logo. same devs, same bugs, same 3 ships getting nerfed every patch”

Posted to r/EVE by [deleted] – 47 upvotes – 89 comments

REYKJAVIK – Just days after rebranding from CCP Games to Fenris Creations and announcing a research partnership with Google DeepMind, the studio behind EVE Online confirmed what many capsuleers had long suspected: the whole point was to replace them.

“We realized that human players are, frankly, the least predictable element of our sandbox,” said a Fenris spokesperson who requested anonymity because they had not yet been trained on the new policy. “AI capsuleers don’t complain about blob warfare. They don’t write 40-page forum posts about Fozzie sov. They don’t ragequit when their Titan gets tackled.”

The DeepMind partnership will train models on 23 years of EVE player behavior, including market manipulation, scamming, betrayal, and the occasional honest trade. “We wanted to make sure the AI captured the full spectrum of New Eden’s culture,” said a DeepMind researcher. “Especially the scamming.”

Players on r/Eve responded with a mixture of dread and grim acceptance. “Finally,” wrote one user, “a bot that will undock for me so I can go touch grass.” The post received 4?k upvotes and was gilded three times.

Fenris assured the community that human players would still be welcome, noting that someone needs to subscribe so the AI has enough ISK to tax.

The announcement comes alongside Capsuleer Day XXIII: Warpath, which disabled CONCORD protections and destroyed all seven stargates into Jita. “We wanted to give the AI a proper welcome,” the spokesperson added. “Nothing says ‘New Eden’ like spawning into a system you can’t leave.”

JITA — In a devastating display of market inefficiency that has left Alliance commanders scrambling and Market CEOs counting their ISK, a lone capsuleer has inadvertently armed what experts are calling the most well-equipped enemy fleet in New Eden history.

The incident occurred when pilot Derien Korrigan, attempting to purchase 1,000 missiles for an upcoming operation, accidentally purchased 1,000 missile launchers from a JITA sell order at significantly below market value.

I just wanted to stock up on ammunition, Korrigan stated in local chat before going AFK. How was I supposed to know the launcher BPO was priced at 50 ISK?

Within hours, the entire WinterCo defensive fleet was spotted sporting brand-new, shiny launchers, with pilots reporting that their DPS had basically doubled and expressing confusion about the sudden gift from the sky.

CCP Games has yet to issue a statement, though sources close to the developer indicate they are looking into whether this constitutes a balanced gameplay interaction.

Meanwhile, Goonswarm leadership has reportedly placed a bulk order for accidentally dropped T2 rigs in enemy territory.

This article is satire. Unless it isnt.

JITA – In what can only be described as the most expensive typographical error in New Eden history, a local capsuleer accidentally purchased 1,000 missile launchers instead of the 1,000 missiles they intended to buy, resulting in an 800 million ISK mistake that has since become the talk of the Jita undock.

The incident occurred when the pilot, who wished to remain anonymous, was restocking their Cormorant destroyer before heading out on a mission. After carefully comparing prices and navigating through the complex market interface, the pilot confidently clicked what they believed to be “EMP S” missiles.

“I could have sworn I clicked the right thing,” said the devastated pilot in a Reddit post that has since garnered over 80 upvotes. “Eight hundred million ISK. That’s my Titan funding. That’s my monthly PLEX budget. That’s my entire wallet after insurance payouts.”

Market analysts at the Jita Trading Channel were quick to respond, with one prominent trader noting that this is “literally the most EVE thing that’s ever happened.” Another commenter pointed out that the pilot could have simply bought from the “See Also” section where compatible modules are conveniently listed.

CCP Games has yet to comment on whether they will intervene, though sources close to the development team suggest they’re “still trying to figure out how to add a confirmation dialog that says ‘Are you sure you want to buy 1,000 launchers instead of ammo?'”

The pilot has since created a Change.org petition demanding that CONCORD implement a “Are You Really, Really Sure?” confirmation window for purchases over 100 million ISK.

This article was brought to you by Skill Extractors: Now With 50% More Regret.

NEW EDEN — In what experts are calling the most significant development in artificial intelligence since the inception of capsuleer warfare, a non-player character has officially outranked thousands of human pilots in CCP Games’ recent PvP Fest event, proving once and for all that the game’s NPCs finally have something to contribute to combat.

The rogue AI, operating under the designation “RANDOM_FRIGATE_0847,” managed to secure a spot in the top rankings by allegedly doing absolutely nothing except existing in space, a strategy that veteran players have long criticized as “overpowered” and “fundamentally broken.”

“I’ve been playing EVE for fifteen years, and I’ve watched my Titan die to a gate gun seventeen times, but I never thought I’d live to see the day where a frigging Velator would flex on my killboard,” said veteran pilot and former CSM member Dmitri Voronov, who placed 847th in the event, just behind the aforementioned NPC.

CCP Games released a statement expressing “surprise” at the development, though insiders suggest the development team had explicitly coded the NPC to participate in the event as part of what insiders called “Project: Why Are Player Numbers Down.”

The gaming community has responded with the measured, rational discourse they’ve always been known for, with multiple forum threads already calling for the immediate removal of all NPCs from the game, a complete rework of the event structure, and a congressional inquiry into CCP’s alleged “AI agenda.”

Meanwhile, the NPC in question has reportedly accepted a position as FC for a wormhole corporation and is currently accepting applications for “like-minded drones who understand the struggle.”

This article was brought to you by Insert Generic Ore here: Now With 50% More ISK Efficiency.

NEW EDEN — In a stunning turn of events that has left the entire EVE Online player base questioning their life choices, a rogue Sansha NPC has officially outranked every single participant in CCP Games’ recently concluded PvP Fest event.

The NPC, identified as a Level 4 Sansha Incursion Commander, secured a top 10 position on the official leaderboard by simply doing what it has done for the past 15 years: existing in space and shooting at anything that moves.

“I don’t understand what the fuss is about,” the NPC reportedly told sources close to the constellation. “I was simply doing my job. I saw a ship, I locked it, I fired. That’s literally all I’ve ever done. The players were the ones who decided to fly into my triggered spawn.”

CCP Games, who organized the PvP Fest as a celebration of player-versus-player combat, has declined to comment on how a non-player character managed to accumulate more ranking points than thousands of paying subscribers who spent weeks preparing doctrine ships and coordinating stratops.

“Honestly, this tracks,” said one wormhole resident who requested anonymity. “We’ve been saying for years that NPC damage is overtuned. The game has been NPCs vs. Players: NPC wins, for years. This is just official recognition of what we’ve all known.”

The PvP Fest organizers have announced they will be awarding the stolen ranking position back to the human player who technically placed 11th, though sources say he has reportedly quit the game out of sheer existential shame.

At press time, the NPC had begun farming the Jita undock, showing no signs of stopping.