At EVE Fanfest 2025, CCP Games announced that EVE Vanguard is getting another playtest event in September, and it’s going for Steam Early Access in summer 2026. A couple years after the game was first revealed, we got to put our hands on Vanguard to check it out as it is now, and while there’s still plenty of polish to be applied, the functions and features of this early version of the game provided a backdrop that continues to build our excitement towards future builds and events.
More shooting & more than just shooting
After a couple years of playtests in which CCP London was trying to get the gunplay of its core weapons right, they finally expanded the arsenal for EVE Vanguard’s Fanfest build. New weapons were available to try in the Shotgun, Marksman Rifle, and Heavy Pistol variants. Mining gameplay was also available, as were versions inventory collection, contracts, and in-field crafting. Throughout our small slice of the game, it was clear that CCP London has been hard at work building out the foundation they started with.
In particular, I was happy with the Shotgun. Every shot out of that thing is a firework show of buckshot that feels impactful and satisfying, but it also has some features that were exciting to figure out. For one, the shotgun’s ordinance ricochets off surfaces, meaning you can bank some of its shots around corners if you’re good. Aiming down the sights also lets you tighten the spread so you can hit a target with more of it at bigger range. CCP also intends to add various degrees of customization to these guns, so I can only imagine what we’ll be able to do with the shotty when that feature rolls in.
It was also interesting to see the mining and crafting systems at play in EVE Vanguard. These features weren’t entirely new to this build, but for my experience, it was nice to see them looking fairly clean. CCP had been promising Vanguard would be more than just a shooter since the beginning, letting players take on roles for their squads such as mining on the go. Sure enough, you can mine various debris and salvage minerals, materials, and broken machinery for your own needs.
The crafting system is one of those needs. As you come up against various planetary threats and other possibly hostile players, you’ll need some extra and specialized gear to get your job done. Ammo is a basic craft I saw in the menu, but you could also choose between kinetic rounds or energy rounds. There were also options to craft valuable materials that could be used to complete contracts. While on the planet, in addition to your main objectives, you’ll be able to take part in contracts of various types, and mining is just one of those types, so it will be interesting to see how that evolves as well.
Shaping up for Nemesis
The EVE Vanguard Nemesis event is coming in September 2025 and will provide select players the opportunity to see what’s next for this multiplayer shooter. More than that, it’s exciting to see the rough edges start to smooth as Vanguard’s development continues. Looking up into the sky on the map and seeing the ship debris starfall of a battle just outside the atmosphere reminded me quickly that it takes place in the EVE Online universe, and being able to see and walk around things like the remains of broken and destroyed ships we’ve seen for years, but at the scale of a regular human, is incredible. But if they continue to tighten and expand the gunplay, crafting, contracts, and gameplay options as they have, this is going to be a game for far more than just EVE fans. Vanguard is slowly fulfilling promises as it grows, and that makes me excited to see what it looks like in the events ahead.
These impressions are based on an early alpha PC version of the game, demonstrated by the developer. EVE Vanguard is coming to Steam Early Access in 2026 and players can register for early playtest access now.
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replyTJ Denzer posted a new article, EVE Vanguard is slowly becoming the sister game to Online it was meant to be
