--- title: "EVE Vanguard’s First Alpha Playtest, Operation Avalon, Deploys Today on Steam and the EVE Launcher  " date: 2026-07-07 category: Games author: "Paul Lombardo" source: https://pressreleases.triplepointpr.com/2026/07/07/eve-vanguards-first-alpha-playtest-operation-avalon-deploys-today-on-steam-and-the-eve-launcher/ markdown: https://pressreleases.triplepointpr.com/md/eve-vanguards-first-alpha-playtest-operation-avalon-deploys-today-on-steam-and-the-eve-launcher.md agency: TriplePoint PR description: "Running July 7–20, the free ‘Operation Avalon’ Alpha playtest introduces a new map, overhauled gunplay, new weapons, expanded enemies, and a deeper risk-&-reward loop LONDON, England – July 7, 2026 – Today, Fenris Creations launched Operation Avalon, the…" --- # EVE Vanguard’s First Alpha Playtest, Operation Avalon, Deploys Today on Steam and the EVE Launcher   Running July 7–20, the free ‘Operation Avalon’ Alpha playtest introduces a new map, overhauled gunplay, new weapons, expanded enemies, and a deeper risk-&-reward loop **LONDON, England – July 7, 2026 –** Today, [Fenris Creations](https://fenriscreations.com/) launched *Operation Avalon*, the first time-limited Alpha playtest for [*EVE Vanguard*](https://evevanguard.com/), the in-development extraction-adventure FPS connected to the iconic sci-fi MMO [*EVE Online*](https://www.eveonline.com/). **Available to access for free from now until July 20 on **[**Steam**](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1872800/EVE_Vanguard/)** and the **[**EVE Launcher**](https://www.eveonline.com/launch), *Operation Avalon* brings *EVE Vanguard’s* core experience into sharper focus, with more responsive combat, expanded enemies, higher-pressure extraction, deeper progression, and escalating risks and rewards the longer players stay deployed. The further Warclones push, the harder the planet pushes back.   **Watch the *EVE Vanguard: Operation Avalon* launch trailer [here](https://youtu.be/A7nBUdHVPfc)** For a deeper look at what players can expect from *Operation Avalon*, including the goals of the Alpha playtest, watch the briefing here: [What Awaits You in EVE Vanguard: Operation Avalon? - YouTube](https://youtu.be/EHTUnhepjUM?si=bdHIIAG6G2wBrqhF)  Set on the hostile planets of New Eden, *EVE Vanguard* casts players as brutal Warclones, technologically immortal mercenaries who can be redeployed after death. In *Operation Avalon*, players drop onto dangerous planetary battlefields to raid enemy sites, gather valuable technology and intelligence, fight rival players and hostile forces, then extract before the situation turns against them. What they recover helps fuel longer-term Warclone progression and supports the fight to establish Avalon, a future sanctuary for Warclones beyond the reach of New Eden’s empires, while the intelligence uncovered on the surface begins to influence the wider conflict unfolding across New Eden.  “*Operation Avalon* is the moment *EVE Vanguard* starts to feel like itself,” said **Scott Davis, Game Director for *****EVE Vanguard*****.** “You drop in with a plan, the planet pushes back, and suddenly you’re deciding whether to run for extraction or push your luck and risk losing what you’re carrying. That tension is the game. We want players to feel powerful, vulnerable, and very aware that every choice on the ground has consequences.”  “*Operation Avalon *is a critical step for *EVE Vanguard* because it marks our move from experimentation into a more focused Alpha phase,” said **Snorri, Executive Producer for *****EVE Vanguard*****.** “The long pre-alpha period has given us the time to refine and battle-test the foundations of the game. With *Operation Avalon*, players will experience *EVE Vanguard* as it was always meant to be: a more complete, cohesive vision where Warclones fight to build Avalon and influence the wider conflict unfolding across New Eden. We’ll continue to evolve that vision together with our players as we head toward persistent 24/7 Alpha later this year.”   **Operation Avalon introduces:**  - **Lost Convoy Map:** Deploy into Lost Convoy, a planetary combat zone set around an Upwell salvage recovery site, where wrecked ships, dig sites, and refineries create high-value targets to raid.  - **Overhauled Gunplay and Weapons**: Gunplay has been rebuilt to make weapons feel heavier, clearer, and more responsive in combat. Players can earn, manufacture, buy, and deploy with five additional weapons, including a bolt carbine, laser pulse DMR, beam rifle, scatter cannon, and slug launcher.  - **Revamped Enemy Response:** Mordu’s Legion now escalates its response as players move through key sites, sending in smarter patrols, drones, marksmen, troop drops, and imposing Heavy Oppressors. The deeper players push into contested sites, the harder it becomes to survive and extract.  - **Harmonic Bridge Extraction:** Recover equipment and resources through Harmonic Bridges, extraction points that must be found and activated during a deployment, burning the Warclone out of the battlefield in the process. Orbital bombardments shut them down over time, leaving fewer ways out the longer players stay.  - **Resource Gathering and Permanent Progression: ***Operation Avalon* expands the ways players build strength between deployments. Gather resources, earn Deathmarks, unlock blueprints, use vendors, manufacture equipment, and develop longer-term progression that persists beyond what is carried into a single deployment.  - **Refined Looting**: Looting now creates greater tension, with items revealed over time as players search enemies, containers, and sites. Choosing when to keep searching, when to move, and when to extract can be the difference between building your arsenal and leaving empty-handed.  - **Fueling Platform Raid**: Track down a Mordu’s Legion Reserve Leader, recover a keycode, and unlock the Fueling Station. Inside, players face a tougher combat encounter with some of the strongest rewards available in the deployment.  - **A Wider War Across New Eden:** *Operation Avalon* begins connecting Warclone deployments with the wider EVE Universe. In *EVE Vanguard*, Warclones fight to recover valuable resources and intelligence in support of Avalon’s future from the surface. In *EVE Online*, capsuleers can hunt roaming convoys, secure Vanguard Tokens, and exchange them within their empire’s space to influence where Avalon will ultimately be established.  The battle for Avalon has begun. Boots are already on the ground, and extraction is not guaranteed.* *For every Warclone deployed to the surface, the rule is simple: adapt, or die.* **Operation Avalon* runs now through July 20, 2026, on [Steam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1872800/EVE_Vanguard/) and the [EVE Launcher](https://www.eveonline.com/launch). In November 2026, *EVE Vanguard* will move into persistent 24/7 Alpha access, available exclusively via the EVE Launcher on PC.  *Operation Avalon*-specific *EVE Vanguard* assets are available in the press kit [here](https://bit.ly/VanguardAvalonAlphaEPK). Additional *EVE Vanguard* press materials are [available here](https://eve.online/vanguardepk). Learn more about *EVE Vanguard* and join the playtest at [evevanguard.com](http://evevanguard.com/).  **About *****EVE Vanguard®***  *EVE Vanguard *is an in-development extraction-adventure FPS for PC set in the universe of *EVE Online*. Players deploy as technologically immortal Warclones onto hostile planetary surfaces to complete high-risk missions, secure resources, battle rival players and hostile forces, and build strength between deployments through persistent progression. Each deployment feeds into a wider war across New Eden, where player actions contribute to an evolving conflict. *EVE Vanguard* will release into live Alpha in November 2026, accessible via the EVE launcher on PC.  [Website](https://vanguard.eveonline.com/) | [Press Kit](https://eve.online/vanguardepk) | [X/Twitter](http://twitter.com/PlayEVEVanguard) | [Facebook](http://facebook.com/PlayEVEVanguard) | [Instagram](http://instagram.com/PlayEVEVanguard) | [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@playevevanguard) | [Twitch](http://twitch.tv/ccp) | [Discord](http://discord.gg/evevanguard)  **About *****EVE Online*****®**  *EVE Online* (PC/Mac) is a compelling, community-driven sci-fi MMO game where players can build and pilot a wide variety of spaceships, traverse vast solar systems for free, and choose their own path from countless options, experiencing space exploration, immense PvP and PvE battles, mining, industry, and a sophisticated player economy in an ever-expanding sandbox. *EVE* is a captivating game in which hundreds of thousands of players compete for riches, power, glory, and adventure, forging their own destinies in a single thriving universe.  [Website](https://www.eveonline.com/) | [Press Kit](https://eve.online/eveepk) | [Bluesky](https://bsky.app/profile/eveonline.bsky.social) | [X/Twitter](https://twitter.com/EveOnline) | [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/eveonline) | [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/eveonline/) | [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/c/eveonline) | [TikTok](https://www.tiktok.com/@eve.online) | [Twitch](https://www.twitch.tv/ccp) | [Discord](https://www.eveonline.com/discord)  **About Fenris Creations**  Fenris Creations is an independent video game developer headquartered in Reykjavík, Iceland, with studios in London and Shanghai. Founded in 1997 on the principle of pushing the envelope and breaking new ground on all levels, the company is on a mission to create virtual worlds more meaningful than real life. With the launch of *EVE Online* in May 2003, Fenris Creations established itself as a pioneer of massively multiplayer online games, earning critical acclaim worldwide for its single-shard universe, player-driven economy, and emergent gameplay. Fenris Creations continues to build deep, persistent virtual worlds designed to evolve over decades in close partnership with their communities.  [Website](https://fenriscreations.com/) | [Press Kits](https://eve.online/fenrisepk) | [X/Twitter](https://x.com/fenriscreations) | [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/fenriscreations) | [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/ccpgames/) | [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@fenriscreations) | [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/fenriscreations/)  **Media Contact**  Journalists seeking information about Fenris Creations or its products, or looking to arrange interviews or request further assets, should contact [pr@fenris.com](mailto:media@fenris.com)  # # #