·event MAJOR
Fanfest 2023 - 20th Anniversary, Havoc and Vanguard Reveal
Image: CCP Games · (c) CCP Games (used under CCP fan-content policy)
EVE Fanfest 2023 (21-23 September, Laugardalshöll) was the 20th-anniversary Fanfest - moved later in the year to anchor the celebration - and on stage announced the Havoc expansion and EVE Vanguard FPS module.
Fanfest 2023 - 20th Anniversary, Havoc and Vanguard Reveal
Fanfest 2023 ran 21-23 September 2023 in Reykjavik, kicking off Day 1 in the Gróska innovation house and moving to Laugardalshöll Arena for Friday and Saturday. The event area at Laugardalshöll was doubled in size from previous years to accommodate the 20th-anniversary crowd.
The on-stage reveals on 22 September were dominated by two announcements:
- The Havoc expansion, launching 14 November 2023, introducing pirate-faction recruitment, the new region/system Zarzakh, Angel-Cartel titan-class ships, and a reworked Corporation Projects system.
- EVE Vanguard, a multiplayer first-person-shooter module built on Unreal Engine 5, with day-one coupling to EVE Online via the Frontline Corruption mechanic. CCP framed Vanguard as the long-term successor to the DUST 514 vision.
The 20th-anniversary framing wove through the entire weekend: a "Fabric of New Eden" mosaic artwork installation, anniversary-branded beer (Lady Brewery) and limited-edition Eimverk whisky and gin, the "Belonging" Fanfest documentary premiere, and a closing party with Daði Freyr.
Although the year's other landmark releases - the Viridian expansion (Tech-II capital ships, June 13) and the Excel-integration partnership with Microsoft (June 20) - had both shipped before Fanfest, the September event was where the player base celebrated those launches in person and where CCP framed the year as the highest-output 12 months in EVE history.