CCP Games has revealed that you can finally get what you’ve been asking for over the MMO’s 20-year history and align with pirates in the new Eve Online expansion, Havoc. The Angel Cartel and Guristas pirate factions will recruit Capsuleers in Eve Online Havoc to help them spread corruption.
It’s been 20 years since Eve Online launched, and the one thing that has remained constant in the ever-evolving world of New Eden is the players’ wish to turn to deceit and join pirate factions. CCP Games, which places a focus on expanding its MMORPG with the wants of the players first and foremost, has finally revealed that you can join the likes of the Angel Cartel and Guristas factions to participate in disruption between the major empires.
All of this chaos and deception will take place in a brand new system, Zarzakh, which is owned and controlled by a mysterious new enemy, or ally, the Deathless. These new allegiances and the ability to turn to the pirates for support will disrupt the game’s traditions and cause havoc across New Eden as players will be rewarded for enlisting with pirate factions with a unique currency and access to faction-aligned stores.
Should you choose to protect the empires and opt for anti-piracy measures, you will also be rewarded for your efforts. Speaking at a press briefing at 2023’s Eve Online Fanfest in Reykjavik, Iceland, game director Snorri Árnason says that Havoc is a continuation of the game’s previous two expansions. “Too often in the gaming world the next expansion isn’t connected to the last one,” he explains, “The next expansion is actually mind-blowing from my perspective.”
Creative director Bergur Finnbogason elaborates further on this. “It’s impossible for us to understand or know what will happen here at CCP, and we love it,” he says, referring to a “third vector” that is being added to an existing war over power taking place in New Eden known as factional warfare. “It’s exactly what it sounds like,” he says, “It’s the war between the four core factions of Eve and it’s basically a tug of war.”
Heading up this tug of war are the frontlines, where pirates will be able to place a Forward Operating base, creating a “disease” in the surrounding systems and plunging them into dangerously chaotic places to be. Now that players can align with the pirates, Finnbogason thinks this will introduce “a beauty of destruction and harmony”. You can fulfill your pirate fantasies when Eve Online Havoc is released on Tuesday, November 14, 2023.
The new and exciting content in Eve Online Havoc doesn’t stop there, as CCP has announced that the Angel Titan will be added to the game, and new Battlecruisers and Destroyers will be available for factions. These can be completely customized in the new Skinr feature, which allows players to inject personality into their faction buildings and ships.
With so much potential in CCP’s space game now, we’d strongly recommend reading our Eve Online beginner’s guide to get the most out of this huge game. Before you jump in, make sure your setup is up to the task by checking out the Eve Online system requirements, just in case.