Developer CCP Games is delivering on its promise to run a live alpha test of EVE: Vanguard this year. Announced today, ‘First Strike’ is going ahead, with the upcoming live event offering an exclusive pre-alpha playtest for its dedicated players in December. Slated to run from midday UTC on December 7 to midday UTC on December 11, 2023, it’s available to play for EVE Online players with an active Omega account.
EVE Vanguard First Strike Event to Deliver First Extraction Shooter Thrills
Vanguard was first announced at EVE Fanfest 2023 back in September, the annual EVE Online fan celebration held in Iceland, in which The Nerd Stash was in attendance. During the anticipated keynote, we watched CEO Hilmar Veigar Pétursson introduce the game for the first time to raucous applause from the crowd.
Playable either solo or with buddies in a squad, Vanguard is essentially an extraction shooter integrated into the EVE Online client. Players will descend to the gritty surface of dangerous planets to shoot and loot their way to better equipment and resources. As was the case with CCP’s 2013 Dust 514 for PS3, EVE Vanguard will be connected to the wider EVE Online experience, with actions on the planet’s surface having a tangible impact on the shape of New Eden.
Speaking with Pétursson at Iceland earlier this year, he told me that the development team was highly confident in the game’s potential, having now been “informed by more than a decade of shots on target.”
For eager participants holding Omega subscriptions, you’ll be granted the opportunity to delve into the EVE Vanguard experience by selecting the Vanguard character profile in the EVE launcher once the event commences. You can expect The Nerd Stash to get involved, so we’ll have some early impressions for you next month.
