EVE Vanguard is starting to look far more defined than it did the last time it was shown. Fenris Creations’ latest push to bring first-person combat into the persistent universe of EVE Online has evolved across the board, from its visual presentation to the way movement and shooting feel moment to moment. More importantly, the game now offers a clearer picture of what players are actually doing as disposable warclones on the ruined surfaces of EVE’s planets, and how those missions feed back into Avalon, the station where their consciousness waits between deployments.
IGN recently went hands-on with the newest build, titled Operation Avalon, during a closed playtest attended by developers and invited guests. In conversations with game director Scott Davis and creative lead Jamie Stanton, one of the biggest takeaways was the team’s stated goal to have Vanguard linked with EVE Online around the clock by the end of this year, assuming development stays on track.
Right now, though, Operation Avalon is being framed as a tighter, more focused glimpse of that larger vision.
An Extraction Shooter Identity Is Now Front and Center
If there was any uncertainty before about what kind of shooter EVE Vanguard wanted to be, that seems to be fading. According to IGN’s preview, the extraction shooter structure is now firmly at the heart of the experience. Players drop onto a planet in cloned bodies, gather whatever resources they can, and try to extract before getting taken out by rival players or NPC forces from Mordu’s Legion, who protect the most valuable loot.
That doesn’t mean Vanguard is chasing a battle royale format. There’s no shrinking circle and no last-player-standing setup. Instead, the tension comes from deciding how much risk you’re willing to take before trying to get out alive. That approach feels especially fitting for EVE, a universe built on danger, loss, and hard choices.
IGN describes that pressure as constant. Even simple actions, like opening a container, can leave you exposed for a few uneasy seconds while the contents appear one item at a time. It’s a small detail, but one that adds real stress when any rooftop, corridor, or open sight line might be watched by another player waiting for an easy pickoff.
A Planetary Battlefield Built Around Escalating Threats
Operation Avalon unfolds on a new handcrafted map that also includes some randomized elements. Its points of interest are marked not just by what kind of loot they may contain, but also by the strength of the NPC enemies stationed there. That creates a natural gradient for players: lower-tier locations can serve as a safer place to learn systems and pick up basic resources, while more dangerous zones promise better rewards.
Safer, of course, does not mean safe. One of the key ideas in the preview is that Vanguard never really lets players relax. Even areas meant for lighter-risk scavenging still carry the possibility of being ambushed or interrupted.
From there, the map escalates into more hazardous spaces, including locations that may require a keycard discovered elsewhere before entry is possible. Those higher-end zones bring stronger opposition, better loot, and heavier competition. IGN specifically highlights the Command Block in the northwest section of the map, describing it as something close to a raid-style hotspot packed with elite enemies.
Loss Matters, but So Does What You Bring Back
Vanguard’s progression appears to lean heavily into the same high-stakes philosophy that defines EVE Online itself. If your clone dies, everything it was carrying is gone. That alone gives every run weight. But successful extractions can return with more than just immediate supplies—they can also yield blueprints, which seem to be a major part of long-term advancement.
The blueprint system gives failed runs less power to completely erase your momentum. A weapon may be lost in the field, but if you’ve already secured its blueprint, you can manufacture another copy later in orbit using basic materials gathered through activities like mining and looting common containers. It’s a smart way to preserve EVE’s punishing edge while still letting players build toward something over time.
Industry Still Has a Place
That broader EVE-style loop doesn’t stop at weapon recovery. IGN says Vanguard also includes a crafting system for Chipsets, which function as equippable perks and can be combined into something resembling a class loadout. These can affect how a build plays by adding features such as alternate optics, quicker reloads, or changes to weapon behavior.
That blend of scavenging, manufacturing, and loadout planning suggests Vanguard isn’t trying to be just a straightforward sci-fi shooter. It wants industry and preparation to matter, which feels like one of the clearest ways it can maintain an identity tied to EVE rather than simply borrowing its name.
A Better Feel in the Hands
Fenris Creations also appears to have spent serious effort improving the basic shooter fundamentals for Operation Avalon. IGN notes that the current weapon lineup may still be relatively small, but the guns themselves feel satisfying to use. Just as importantly, movement sounds much improved from earlier impressions.
One criticism of last year’s playtest was that controlling a warclone felt less like inhabiting a body and more like steering a floating weapon through space. In the new build, that seems to have changed. IGN says the warclone now carries more weight and physicality, while still moving with an agility that makes it feel enhanced—human enough to feel grounded, but still a little superhuman in a way that suits the fiction.
If that balance holds, it could be one of the most important improvements Vanguard has made. Extraction shooters live or die on atmosphere and tension, but neither one lands if moving, aiming, and surviving don’t feel good at the most basic level.
A Focused Step Toward a Bigger EVE Connection
What makes Operation Avalon interesting is that it sounds less like a complete statement and more like a sharpened proof of concept. The extraction structure is clearer, the connection between combat risk and long-term progression is easier to understand, and the relationship to EVE Online is beginning to feel more intentional than abstract.
If Fenris can follow through on its plan to connect Vanguard to EVE Online on a continuous 24/7 basis by the end of the year, that could become the real differentiator. For now, Operation Avalon seems designed to show that the studio has a stronger grip on what this game is supposed to be: a tense, high-risk FPS where every deployment into a clone body is a gamble, and every successful return helps fuel the next one.
Operation Avalon will be open to the public from July 7 to July 20.
Source: IGN Southeast Asia. Article by Len Hafer, published July 7, 2026.