EVE Online’s 2026 roadmap teases multi-expansion “Theatres of War” as Vanguard slips past Summer 2026

CCP has laid out its plans for EVE Online in a new Directors’ Letter, and the big takeaway is a shift toward longer-running conflicts that stretch across multiple expansions. The studio also confirmed that EVE Vanguard, its FPS spinoff, is no longer targeting a Steam Early Access launch in Summer 2026 and has been pushed back to an unspecified date after that window.

According to the official post, CCP is framing the next year of updates around “Theatres of War,” which will play out over the next three expansions. Two of those expansions are still planned for this calendar year. The idea is to stop packing entire story arcs into a single release and instead let Factional Warfare conflicts and related events evolve over time.

CCP says these Theatres of War will include more than just PvP combat objectives. The letter points to activities across different playstyles, including industry and mining, alongside the usual faction conflict beats. It also positions the new structure as a way to make the game’s ongoing narrative and activities easier to follow for newer players, particularly solo pilots.

On the EVE Vanguard side, CCP didn’t give a new date, only that Early Access is “moving beyond Summer 2026.” The studio says it will show another preview at this year’s Fan Fest and will keep running open and closed playtests in the meantime.

CCP also briefly teases more near-term EVE Online updates, including technical “EVE Evolved” infrastructure work and a major update coming in March, plus additional changes slated to land during and between expansions.