EVE Online Theaters of War Exclusive Preview: 3 Expansions, 1 Universe of Conflict

If you've heard about EVE Online in passing, it's probably something related to the massive player wars taking place out in the unrestricted PvP frontier of "Nullsec" space, where NPC empires and organizations hold no sway. But with the upcoming trilogy of expansions to the venerable spaceship MMO – themed as "Theaters of War" – Fenris Creations (formerly known as CCP) wants to bring more focus and dynamism back to the inner spheres. Over the next year or so, huge changes are coming to the new player experience and empire space, as well as the integration of first-person shooter combat with EVE: Vanguard, and we got an exclusive look at the big picture.

Cradle of War

The foundation of the trilogy is Cradle of War, coming in hot on June 9, which has already been shown off at the latest EVE Fanfest. The marquee feature here is a new region of space called Exordium that is looking to overhaul new capsuleers' introduction to the wild and dangerous galaxy. While the NPC police known as CONCORD have always been around in high security space to provide some protection from (or at least stiff consequences for) ganking, Exordium is truly a safe space to get your footing before heading out into the galaxy at large.

Unlike anywhere else in New Eden, PvP is completely disabled by default in this new region.“

This fresh region is pretty spacious with 53 star systems, including seven for each of the main NPC empires and a central trade hub that is easily accessible. Unlike anywhere else in New Eden, PvP is completely disabled by default in this region, which did make me raise an eyebrow a little. It almost seems like it's not in the spirit of EVE at first. But you won't be able to hang out here forever due to lower rewards for activities and high taxes that make it sub-optimal for established groups, and Fenris Creations believes that bringing in new players who were too intimidated to even try EVE previously will be a positive for everyone.

The other big advantage of this new zone will be collecting new players into a single, centralized area of the galaxy. Previously, you would be scattered among the stars based on a faction choice that wasn't super well-explained, which could leave you cut off from your friends who started the same day by hours of travel time across dangerous PvP space. This hub also makes it easier for player corporations to come and set up something like a job fair to recruit fresh blood.

It's not just an expansion for newbies, though, as the introduction of structured military campaigns will bring months-long PvP clashes with set objectives that can have long-lasting consequences.

Going Planet-Side

As we get further out into what I'll just be calling Expansion 2 and Expansion 3 for convenience, plans aren't completely set in stone for some features. But a huge part of Expansion 2 will be integrating the new first-person shooter EVE Vanguard fully into the shared EVE Online universe. Vanguards on the ground will interact directly with capsuleers up in space in carefully limited ways at first, allowing wars to be fought at both titanic and personal scales. These connections will deepen into Expansion 3 and beyond.

Vanguard has been in and out of various stages of testing since we played it last year, including some major changes to the gunplay inspired by games like Battlefield 6. By November of this year, Fenris has the goal of running both games in parallel with a 24/7 connection.

Beyond that, military campaigns will be evolving into a seasonal faction warfare system. Each season of around five real-life months will come with a different conflict in focus, and maybe even variant rules, seasonal modules, and seasonal ship blueprints. Themed around EVE's NPC empires, the outcome might be the creation of a new trade hub, new hyperspace routes, or revealing phased areas of high value resources permanently or for a limited time. The idea here is to let faction warfare have lasting effects on the galaxy that go beyond star systems trading hands back and forth.

New players fresh out of Exordium will be funneled into faction warfare as a sort of default endpoint to graduate into, as it's a semi-controllable constant that doesn't come and go with the whims of player Nullsec corporations. This will come alongside efforts to make faction choice feel more purposeful and meaningful, as opposed to something you do before even loading into your first ship. You can, of course, "drop out" of the program and go join your friends in Nullsec or otherwise find your own way.

Expansion 2 will also bring the first bigger pass at modernizing elements of the UI, which is another component of helping onboard new players. My old WoW guild used to jokingly call EVE Online "Spreadsheet Commando," and looking at the current interface, it doesn't take long to see why. These efforts will be ongoing, but are geared toward providing better information more conveniently without having to have a dozen browser tabs of a wiki open.

See You on the Other Side

Things are even murkier when it comes to talking about Expansion 3, but the big idea is to tie everything from Cradle of War and Expansion 2 together in a more connected, dynamic way that lets players engaged in faction warfare experience a changing, living galaxy the way Nullsec corporations already do out on the fringes.

Continuing the theme of faction pride and player identity, titles, achievements, and other ways to show off your street cred are also planned. As creative director Bergur Finnbogason described it, "It's not just about learning what buttons to push. It's about finding your passion, your purpose." EVE Online is a game where it can be difficult to tell if you're doing well unless you ask someone. Past additions like the AIR career tracks have provided some benchmarks for directionless lone wolves like myself. But this trilogy is meant to start over and build those ideas more holistically into the experience, especially for new players, and provide a lot more direct feedback.

This will also include the addition of new Epic Arcs – basically EVE's version of scripted story quests – that ease you into the fantasy of being anything from a warrior to an industrialist, alongside letting you relive some momentous, faction-defining moments from New Eden's history. Fenris Creations wants you to feel like you're playing a cutscene with some of the more dramatic battles in these stories. We'll see if good ol' Spreadsheet Commando can make good on that promise. Their trailers set a high bar, but presenting the story in-game in ways that don't feel a bit rote and understated has not previously been their strong suit.

From the cradle to the stars, the picture of EVE Online's next three expansions that is taking shape is exciting. From integrating Vanguard ground combat to completely overhauling the new player experience to fully realizing the big idea of military campaigns, it's tough to boil it down to a common theme. But when the hull hits the hyperlane, the outline speaks of a heavily mythologized, 23-year-old space MMO that isn't afraid to rethink the basics, push more ambitious systems, and extend a steady hand to everyone who's always found it interesting, but too daunting to get started. And that's no small task for a game as complex and ruthless as EVE. As someone who bounced off of New Eden a couple times before I finally found my place in it, I definitely think it's an admirable one to tackle.

Leana Hafer is a contributing freelancer for IGN with a specialty in RPGs, strategy, horror, and survival games. She has been reviewing video games professionally since 2010 and is one of IGN's most prolific contributors, with more than 100 reviews published. You can also find her work on sites like PC Gamer and PCGamesN.