EVE Online’s Fractured Skies expansion is scheduled for November 10, with Military Campaigns starting at launch and the first Conquest planned for February. No launch time has been announced.
In the announcement published on October 20, 2026, Fractured Skies is presented as the second expansion in the Theaters of War trilogy. Its empire campaigns will unfold over several months, separating the start of player contributions from campaign bonuses and the later seasonal conflict.
Military Campaigns start in November
At launch, each empire will offer a Military Campaign with four objectives covering exploration, PvE, PvP and industry. Contributions will extend beyond player combat: participants will collect faction-specific items and deliver them to merchants at their chosen empire’s headquarters. These deliveries will advance the campaign and earn personal rewards.
Campaign bonuses are scheduled to activate in designated faction systems from January 5, followed by a community battle in lowsec later that month. Players can therefore begin contributing in November, but the bonuses have a separate activation date.
The first Conquest is planned for February, later in the expansion’s cycle. Conquests are seasonal Factional Warfare conflicts in which objectives and Directives build Conquest Power. Each conflict ends with a siege, and the winning side must destroy the opposing Conquest Engine. November’s launch begins the campaign activity; it does not mark the opening of that first Conquest.
New battlecruisers and faction-based fitting choices
November will bring four Navy Attack Battlecruisers: the Naga Navy Issue, Tornado Fleet Issue, Oracle Navy Issue and Talos Navy Issue. All four will be available exclusively through Factional Warfare Loyalty Points stores, making those stores the announced acquisition route.
The Naga Navy Issue changes its weapon options, replacing hybrid weapons with cruise missiles and torpedoes. That distinguishes its armament from the hybrid version, but does not establish a combat advantage.
Fractured Skies will also introduce nine sets of synchronizer rigs covering the four empires and 5 pirate factions. Their power increases with matching faction modules fitted to the ship, linking the rigs’ benefits to the wider fitting rather than treating them as isolated upgrades.
The pirate synchronizers are announced to offer bonuses unavailable on existing rigs, alongside greater drawbacks. Their appeal will therefore depend on both the bonus and the trade-off involved, rather than on the new effect alone.
AIR progress resets, while the HUD preview stays optional
The expansion adds thirteen free, pre-fitted AIR Academy ships for combat, exploration and mining. These ships remain in Starter Space, so their availability does not extend their use beyond that area.
The AIR Career Program will move into the Achievements system, resetting its current progress. Capsuleers will be able to complete the program again to earn rewards and achievements. This is a reset of AIR Career Program progress, not a general character reset.
November will also bring the first phase of the new HUD through Feature Preview. It will remain optional for the foreseeable future, letting pilots choose whether to enable the interface preview.
Vanguard’s paid alpha opens on November 10
EVE Vanguard is scheduled to become playable 24 hours a day, seven days a week in paid alpha on November 10. Founder’s Access will be available to purchase through the EVE launcher from that date.
Contracts and expeditions completed in Vanguard are intended to collectively unlock additional combat, hacking and mining sites across the highsec and lowsec space of EVE Online’s four empires. This gives Vanguard activity a shared consequence in EVE Online: opening more sites through collective progress.
For pilots planning around the expansion, November 10 is the start of Military Campaign contributions, while January brings campaign bonuses and February is the planned window for the first Conquest. The immediate account-related change to keep in mind is the AIR Career Program migration, which will clear that program’s progress and make its rewards available to earn again.
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