EVE Frontier's Founder Access Cycle 3 Will Begin On October 15th

The EVE Frontier website released the news a little early, but the beginning of Cycle 3 of Founder's Access begins on 15 October.

The countdown began a day early

I didn't post early in the morning because I was hoping for CCP Games to issue a press release. I wasn't disappointed. Here is the PR, untouched by AI hands (unless the press release itself was generated using ChatGBT).

REYKJAVÍK, Iceland – 9th October 2025 – Today, CCP Games announced that EVE Frontier will be entering Cycle 3 of Founder Access, starting Wednesday, 15th October at 14:00 UTC.

Titled Silent Tide, Cycle 3 will be a fresh start. All progress from the previous Cycle will be wiped, allowing players to begin again from a level playing field.

Following the launch of Cycle 3, CCP Games will also hold a 10-day free trial of EVE Frontier from October 17th to October 27th, allowing more people to get a taste of the merciless space survival sandbox.

As part of Silent Tide, a host of new content will be introduced to EVE Frontier as the Cycle progresses, with major additions arriving on October 29th to mark the next step in the game’s evolution—timed for when players are ready to make full use of them.

This next Cycle will see the evolution of base-building mechanics, giving players greater creative freedom and enabling new tactical, defense and industry layouts for bases. An update to industry mechanics will also enhance production efficiency by allowing jobs to run continuously as long as structures are powered and supplied.

One of the most anticipated additions is a limited-time in-game event coming in the second half of the Cycle, which will put a prototype of WASD controls in the hands of Founders for playtesting. This new control scheme will put Riders’ navigational skills to the test, fundamentally changing the experience of piloting ships on the Frontier.

Silent Tide also brings new areas of the Frontier to explore. Players will be challenged to put their PVE combat skills to the test in two dangerous new locations and will have the chance to earn two new ships through an enigmatic in-game event running throughout Cycle 3.

Other updates include a wide range of quality-of-life improvements and bug fixes. As part of this, the Clone Death Loop will now allow players to choose where they respawn after dying. Further features of Silent Tide will be revealed soon, including details of an upcoming PVP combat tournament.

Alongside the new content in Cycle 3, CCP Games has published a roadmap outlining the future of EVE Frontier. The roadmap reveals that Cycle length will increase to three months starting at Cycle 4, in addition to more details about new features to look forward to in future Cycles. For more information, please visit https://evefrontier.com/news.

The Frontier team did hold a Twitch stream detailing the roadmap but I had to work and missed it. I'll dive into the roadmap later but for now I'll point out the start dates (or at least start months) for waves 4-6.

• Cycle 3: 15 October 2025 
• Cycle 4: December 2025
• Cycle 5: March 2026 
• Cycle 6: June 2026 

In addition to a press release and medium term roadmap the Frontier team published a dev blog describing the upcoming cycle.

The above graphic is from the roadmap

Important dates are below:

• 15 October at 14:00 UTC - Cycle 3 launches
  
  
• 17-27 October - Free trial
  
  
• 29 October - "A major update changes how you build, create, and survive. Build mode gains freedom of form: vertical placement, closer structures, improved camera control. Industry becomes continuous. Keep your structure fueled and fed, and it will never sleep. When death comes, you decide where to rise again."

Basically, anyone who has just played during free trial periods will not know the latest details about the game. I'm pretty sure that won't stop people from exclaiming throughout the internet how bad Frontier is.

Now for some of the updates from what we saw in Cycle 2.

Basebuilding Evolved 

The next step in survival begins with creation. Build mode will now offer greater freedom and precision. Structures can be placed vertically, and closer together, supported by improved camera control. Shape your base into a fortress or a factory. Your choice, your survival. 

I've wanted to build vertically as well as horizontally. I'm not so big on WASD controls, but I can see how that would help.

Industry 

The machine never sleeps. Industry will now run continuously for as long as your structure is powered and supplied. No more batches, no more breaks, just sustained production. Larger structures process greater volumes, 

This is another change that will help a lot. Hopefully this also allows the automatic transferring of materials to specified storage units. For EVE vets, think planetary interaction only at an individual scale.

Death & Rebirth 

Death is not the end. You will now have the power to choose where you awaken after destruction. Adapt. Reposition. Turn every loss into opportunity. 

Yes! Picking your respawn spot on the fly will really help.

New Sites 

Two new sites will be introduced to the Frontier. Their guardians lie dormant, until provoked. Explore at your own risk. 

I have the feeling these sites are designed for group content.

New Ships 

Two new ships arrive in Cycle 3. However, nothing in the Frontier is freely given. Take part in the in-game event at the start of the Cycle and earn your prize through skill and perseverance. 

New ships are cool, but I hope these aren't ships that last more than one cycle.

Special Events 

Navigation is evolving as well. In the second half of the cycle, you will have the opportunity to try a prototype of a new WASD ship control for a limited time.  

Also in the second half, a PvP tournament will present an opportunity to test your mettle against other Riders. Do you have what it takes? 

Like I said above, I'm not eager to see WASD movement. But as someone who has gotten stuck in my base structures a way to control my ship with finer control would come in handy.