Back in the heydays of this EVE blog, I used to do this thing called the "Speedlinking New Eden", which was a weekly wrap-up of EVE Online news, and then some. So with the excitement around the Fenris Creations rebrand, the Google DeepMind announcement and EVE Fanfest 2026 wrapping up, I thought I'd rekindle this initiative.
Fanfest week. Three days of keynotes, reveals, and blood donations (yes, literally). Fenris Creations came out swinging with a three-expansion arc, a new extraction shooter playtest, a survival sandbox reset, and enough coverage to keep you scrolling for a week.
Let's go.
EVE Fanfest 2026
- EVE Fanfest 2026 is Live Now! | EVE Online — The full livestream schedule for May 15-16 at Harpa. Friday highlights: Opening Ceremony, Oz on what makes EVE markets move, Paul M. Sutter's "How to Die in Space" keynote, The Infinite Game with FC Hellmar and DeepMind's Adrian Bolton (with opening remarks by the President of Iceland, Halla Tómasdóttir), Dr. Beth Healey on surviving hostile environments, and the EVE Fanfest Keynote at 16:30 UTC. Saturday: EVE Vanguard Keynote, the Capsuleer Edda deep dive, Evolving Empires panel, EVE's Art Team on New Eden in high fidelity, EVE Frontier Keynote, the Cradle of War expansion deep dive, Closing Ceremony, and the Creator Awards.
- EVE Fanfest Wrapped | EVE Online — The official wrap-up. Cradle of War announced for June 9. Capsuleer Edda moves forward with capsuleers donating blood for the ink. Alliance Tournament XXIII confirmed, sponsored by the Amarr Empire. Fanfest 2027 dates announced: May 13-15. Early-bird tickets already on sale.
- EVE Keynote | EVE Fanfest 2026 | YouTube — The full keynote recording, kicked off by FC Orca. Cradle of War, Capsuleer Edda, Google DeepMind partnership, and more.
EVE Online: Cradle of War expansion (June 9)
- Cradle of War Expansion Launches 9 June | EVE Online — The official announcement. Military Campaigns, 8 new ships (4 Tech II Command Carriers, 4 Navy Destroyers), the first non-PvP starter region in EVE's history, titles and achievements, new Epic Arc missions (Caldari Prime Breakout, Liberation of Intaki, and more). First chapter of the three-expansion Theatres of War saga.
- EVE Fanfest 2026: EVE Online's Cradle of War expansion sets the universe on fire June 9th | Massively Overpowered — Brendan Drain's on-the-ground coverage. Biggest cheer from the crowd was for Command Carriers. Notes that EVE is "finally getting achievements and titles" after 23 years. Disclosure: Fenris paid for travel.
- EVE Fanfest 2026: EVE Online's Cradle of War Expansion Brings Military Campaigns, New Player Starter System, And More | MMORPG.com — Joseph Bradford's deep dive. Good context on the Jita handover to CONCORD and how it sets up Cradle of War's narrative.
- Prepare for EVE Online's Next Expansion, Cradle of War | CGMagazine — Overview with Bergur Finnbogason quote: "Military campaigns connect player actions into persistent, multi-front wars."
- EVE Online Cradle of War Expansion announced for June 2026 | Shacknews
- The Most Interesting Game Out There Just Got Easier To Start Playing | GameSpot — A Fanfest-on-the-ground feature piece about EVE's new player experience, the Cradle of War starter region, and the community's warmth. Mentions a 70-year-old CSM elected member.
EVE Vanguard: Operation Avalon (July 7-20)
- Fenris Creations Unveils EVE Vanguard's Alpha Playtest: Operation Avalon, Launching July 7, 2026 on Steam | Fenris Creations — Official press release. Rebuilt combat, expanded enemies, new modular weapons, deeper risk-and-extraction loop. Always-on Alpha release via the EVE Launcher coming November 2026.
- EVE Fanfest 2026: EVE Vanguard opens Steam signups for Operation Avalon alpha test | Massively Overpowered — Signups now open on Steam. Notes that Vanguard is "officially leaving pre-alpha" and embracing its extraction shooter roots.
- EVE Vanguard Alpha Playtest Operation Avalon announced for July 2026 | Shacknews
- EVE Vanguard Is Getting A Brand-New Overhaul Update & Alpha Playtest Window | CGMagazine
- EVE Vanguard Alpha Playtest: Operation Avalon Comes To Steam In July | Worthplaying
- Operation Avalon | Alpha Playtest Trailer | YouTube — Official trailer from Fenris Creations.
EVE Frontier: Cycle 6 - Sanctuary (June 25)
- EVE Frontier Enters Cycle 6: Sanctuary on June 25 | Fenris Creations — Full server wipe. Modular ships, Dormant Gates, environmental hazards (thermal, electromagnetic), new Feral enemies, Leeches that harvest your resources and evolve into Wreck Stalker mini-bosses. Manual firing and skill shots.
- EVE Frontier's Cycle 6 Announced, Brings Full Server Wipe To Founder's Access | MMORPG.com — David Bowman: "This is our most impactful update yet."
- EVE Frontier Cycle 6: Sanctuary announced for late June 2026 | Shacknews
- EVE Frontier's Cycle 6 "Pushes Deeper Into The Unknown" On June 25 | CGMagazine
Fenris Creations / business news
- Pearl Abyss Q1 2026: Black Desert and Crimson Desert push Pearl Abyss to huge revenues – without CCP Games | Massively Overpowered — Bree Royce on the first PA earnings without CCP. Crimson Desert and Black Desert carrying the load.
- Fenris Creations announces updates for Eve Online, Eve Frontier, and Eve Vanguard | GamesBeat — Comprehensive roundup of all three product announcements from Fanfest.
- EVE FanFest 2026 Reveals Multiple New Additions Across The Board | Bleeding Cool — Good summary of every major announcement across all three EVE titles.
Other EVE Online news (May 11-17)
- Claim Capsuleer Day's Biggest Rewards | EVE Online — May 11 was the last day to start logging in and still claim the big 325K SP haul. Capital support sites live in lowsec.
- Capsuleer Day XXIII PLEX and SKINs Offers | EVE Online — May 15 and 17 store offers for Capsuleer Day. Stock up on PLEX and look your best.
- Patch Notes (updated 2026-05-13) | EVE Online — Mid-May patch notes.
EVE blogsphere & community
- Friday EVE Online Bullet Points on Thursday for EVE Fanfest | The Ancient Gaming Noob — Wilhelm's Fanfest preview. Highlights the Crucible-era gameplay stations nostalgia trap, the $80K EVE Frontier hackathon prizes ("a blockchain boondoggle"), the dead CCP Twitch channel that doesn't redirect to Fenris, and PLEX For Good going permanent.
- EVE Online Is Shifting Fast — Here’s Everything You Missed - Kekbur
- Flying Solo In EVE: Prelude To Fanfest 2026 | The Nosy Gamer — Weekly ACU numbers at 26,000, session-by-session preview of what to watch at Fanfest, and thoughts on the rebrand timing.
- Capsuleer Day XXIII: Warpath and the Event So Far | The Ancient Gaming Noob — Hands-on impressions of the Warpath event. Comparisons to the Gallente Presidential Election event. CCP learned lessons and upped the difficulty.
- From CCP to Fenris Creations: EVE Online enters the Age of AI | CrazyKinux's Musings — Deep dive into the rebrand, the DeepMind partnership, and what it all means. Covers the Fenris name's connection to CCP's 1997 origins as Loki Multimedia, breaks down what DeepMind might actually do with EVE's 23 years of behavioral data, and flags the risks of AI messing with the game's core systems. "I know how to be excited and skeptical at the same time. I've had practice."
- What DeepMind's partnership could actually mean for EVE's future | CrazyKinux's Musings — Follow-up post digging deeper into the DeepMind angle.
- Fanfest 2026 Stream Review from Home - Greybill reviews the EVE Fanfest 2026 streaming experience, the news, the content, and his thoughts.
- EVE Creator Awards - Rixx Javix reflects on his winning the Polaris Award, and the journey that got him there.
Ping me with links that I've missed, and I'll make sure to add them to this Speedlink, and track them in the future!
Fly safe!
o7
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