Today, Fenris Creations launched Operation Avalon, the first time-limited Alpha playtest for EVE Vanguard, the in-development extraction-adventure FPS connected to the iconic sci-fi MMO EVE Online. Available to access for free from now until July 20 on Steam and the EVE Launcher, Operation Avalon brings EVE Vanguard’s core experience into sharper focus, with more responsive combat, expanded enemies, higher-pressure extraction, deeper progression, and escalating risks and rewards the longer players stay deployed. The further Warclones push, the harder the planet pushes back.
For a deeper look at what players can expect from Operation Avalon, including the goals of the Alpha playtest, watch the briefing here: What Awaits You in EVE Vanguard: Operation Avalon?
Set on the hostile planets of New Eden, EVE Vanguard casts players as brutal Warclones, technologically immortal mercenaries who can be redeployed after death. In Operation Avalon, players drop onto dangerous planetary battlefields to raid enemy sites, gather valuable technology and intelligence, fight rival players and hostile forces, then extract before the situation turns against them. What they recover helps fuel longer-term Warclone progression and supports the fight to establish Avalon, a future sanctuary for Warclones beyond the reach of New Eden’s empires, while the intelligence uncovered on the surface begins to influence the wider conflict unfolding across New Eden.
“Operation Avalon is the moment EVE Vanguard starts to feel like itself,” said Scott Davis, Game Director for EVE Vanguard. “You drop in with a plan, the planet pushes back, and suddenly you’re deciding whether to run for extraction or push your luck and risk losing what you’re carrying. That tension is the game. We want players to feel powerful, vulnerable, and very aware that every choice on the ground has consequences.”
“Operation Avalon is a critical step for EVE Vanguard because it marks our move from experimentation into a more focused Alpha phase,” said Snorri, Executive Producer for EVE Vanguard. “The long pre-alpha period has given us the time to refine and battle-test the foundations of the game. With Operation Avalon, players will experience EVE Vanguard as it was always meant to be: a more complete, cohesive vision where Warclones fight to build Avalon and influence the wider conflict unfolding across New Eden. We’ll continue to evolve that vision together with our players as we head toward persistent 24/7 Alpha later this year.”
Operation Avalon introduces:
- Lost Convoy Map: Deploy into Lost Convoy, a planetary combat zone set around an Upwell salvage recovery site, where wrecked ships, dig sites, and refineries create high-value targets to raid.
- Overhauled Gunplay and Weapons: Gunplay has been rebuilt to make weapons feel heavier, clearer, and more responsive in combat. Players can earn, manufacture, buy, and deploy with five additional weapons, including a bolt carbine, laser pulse DMR, beam rifle, scatter cannon, and slug launcher.
- Revamped Enemy Response: Mordu’s Legion now escalates its response as players move through key sites, sending in smarter patrols, drones, marksmen, troop drops, and imposing Heavy Oppressors. The deeper players push into contested sites, the harder it becomes to survive and extract.
- Harmonic Bridge Extraction: Recover equipment and resources through Harmonic Bridges, extraction points that must be found and activated during a deployment, burning the Warclone out of the battlefield in the process. Orbital bombardments shut them down over time, leaving fewer ways out the longer players stay.
- Resource Gathering and Permanent Progression: Operation Avalon expands the ways players build strength between deployments. Gather resources, earn Deathmarks, unlock blueprints, use vendors, manufacture equipment, and develop longer-term progression that persists beyond what is carried into a single deployment.
- Refined Looting: Looting now creates greater tension, with items revealed over time as players search enemies, containers, and sites. Choosing when to keep searching, when to move, and when to extract can be the difference between building your arsenal and leaving empty-handed.
- Fueling Platform Raid: Track down a Mordu’s Legion Reserve Leader, recover a keycode, and unlock the Fueling Station. Inside, players face a tougher combat encounter with some of the strongest rewards available in the deployment.
- A Wider War Across New Eden: Operation Avalon begins connecting Warclone deployments with the wider EVE Universe. In EVE Vanguard, Warclones fight to recover valuable resources and intelligence in support of Avalon’s future from the surface. In EVE Online, capsuleers can hunt roaming convoys, secure Vanguard Tokens, and exchange them within their empire’s space to influence where Avalon will ultimately be established.
