What Fenris Creations Is Telling The World About The Cradle of War Major Update

Today is the release date for EVE Online's Cradle of War Major Update. Unlike some companies that engage in making games involving internet spaceships, Fenris Creations puts out press releases aimed at major media companies. Don't get me wrong, patch notes and dev blogs are great, but perhaps not for video game journalists doing drive-by write-ups of new content.

What am I talking about? The CoW update rated its own press release for the wider world. So if I say the major feature in today's content patch concerns force projection, I can point to the press release. Of course, history may show players chose otherwise, But we haven't reached that point of time yet.

To avoid the necessity of having to follow a trail of hyperlinks I'll copy the press release to the blog. I'm pretty sure the PR team won't mind.

Fenris Creations’ EVE Online: Cradle of War Update Makes It Harder for Alliances to Rush Fleets Across Space, Shaking Up War Strategies

Launching September 22, Ansiblex jump bridges now run on a distance-scaled charge, alongside Pirate Insurgency changes, wormhole combat site overhaul, Pochven updates, and more

REYKJAVÍK, Iceland – September 22, 2026 – Today, Fenris Creations launched the next major update for EVE Online: Cradle of War, the latest expansion for the iconic sci-fi MMO EVE Online. Centered on a revamp of Ansiblex jump bridges, the player-built gates that let nullsec alliances project force across huge stretches of space at short notice, the update also iterates on Pirate Insurgencies, improves low-class wormhole combat sites, and rebalances ships across New Eden. It represents the most impactful step in Fenris Creations’ ongoing work on force projection and nullsec sovereignty since the Equinox expansion, and addresses a long-standing community call for changes to force projection. 

“Ansiblex jump bridges – player-built stargates – have worked the same way for years, and players got very good at using them to be everywhere at once,” said Bergur Finnbogason, Creative Director for EVE Online. “Adding a cost to project force over vast distances changes the paradigm and makes moving a large fleet more deliberate and predictable. Changing how groups travel leads to interesting knock-on effects; for example, a smaller alliance might be able to hold ground without a fleet from the other side of the map landing on top of it. No matter the outcome, every group will have to rethink how it moves and solve a new set of problems. This is where EVE players are at their best.” 

Against a backdrop of strange shifts affecting the fabric of New Eden and wormhole space, even established technologies are being forced to adapt, with Upwell’s Ansiblex network among those feeling the effects. 

Until now, Ansiblex networks have let alliances move large fleets without this kind of constraint. Each gate now holds a limited pool of energy that drains with every ship that passes through and refills slowly afterwards. Once it’s empty, the gate is unusable until it recovers. Jump cost depends on the destination, distance from an alliance’s capital system, and the ship itself, with different ship types carrying different costs. Journeys that carry a fleet far from its home territory drain the gate far more than trips heading back toward it. Only subcapital ship classes can use the network, and each gate is now restricted to members of the alliance that owns it rather than its wider network of allies. 

Alliances can still reach anywhere in New Eden, but the cost climbs with distance, giving every group a practical operating range for its Ansiblex network. The benefit is greatest for smaller groups. Where a much larger fleet could previously arrive from the far side of the map with little warning, players will now have a much clearer sense of what may reach them, from where, and in what numbers. Ansiblexes remain only one of several ways fleets can project across space. 

Other key features of the Cradle of War major update include: 

• Pirate Insurgency Changes: Pirate Insurgencies in low-security space are now shorter and spread faster, giving players greater control over how and where corruption spreads. A new battlecruiser-sized “Moderate” combat site, the Insurgency counterpart to Cradle of War’s battlecruiser Factional Warfare site, joins reinforcement-cycle changes that reward winning an Insurgency outright over farming the sites around it. 
  
  
• Wormhole Combat Site Overhaul: Encounters across Class 1 to Class 3 wormhole combat sites have been modernized with smarter enemies, clearer objectives, and a refreshed visual pass. 
  
  
• Pochven Updates: More roaming enemy fleets with smarter behavior, adjusted wormhole connections in and out of the region, and revised fleet-size caps, with Vigilance Point increasing from 10 to 12 ships and Observatory Flashpoint dropping from 15 to 12. 
  
  
• Ship Balance: Marauders and Black Ops battleships are now lighter for easier wormhole travel. Underperforming heavy assault cruisers, assault frigates, and railgun ships have been buffed, lancer dreadnoughts are more durable, and a cheaper Zero-Point Field Manipulator is expected to lower Tech II Triglavian production costs. 
  
  
• Rampant Drone Fabricator Rewards: The challenging Rampant Drone Fabricator – a new piece of wormhole content introduced this summer featuring a ‘horde mode’ mechanic – becomes more rewarding, yielding additional Fabricator Data that can be exchanged in the Pochven LP Store for powerful new drone upgrades. These include four new mutaplasmids for customizing drone support modules and an exclusive Hybrid Drone skill book that increases hybrid drone damage by 3% per level. Quality-of-life changes also make it easier to bring interdictors into Fabricator fleets. 

Much of today’s update was shaped directly by feedback from the Council of Stellar Management and player groups, including Wormhole UN and FW Parliament, and shares a common thread: revisiting systems players have optimized over the years to create room for new strategies. Pirate Insurgencies now move faster and place greater emphasis on winning the conflict. Pochven’s fleet-size and reward changes create new challenges, while Class 1 to Class 3 wormhole combat sites modernize some of EVE’s oldest PvE content with smarter enemies, clearer objectives and refreshed environments, bringing them more closely in line with the rest of EVE’s PvE experience. Ansiblex jump bridge changes cut deepest into that established order, reshaping how alliances move and forcing groups across nullsec to reconsider how they project power, hold territory and respond to threats. 

GamesCom 2026 Preview For MMORPGs

Thursday begins one of the biggest events on the video game calendar: GamesCom 2026. Running from 26-30 August, Gamescom 2026 is the world’s largest public video game trade fair and consumer convention, held at the Koelnmesse in Cologne, Germany. The festivities kick off with Opening Night Live on August 25. 

The key pillars of the event are:

• Consumer Entertainment Area (Halls 6–10): The central public show floor where hundreds of global publishers and indie studios host hands-on demo stations, esports stages, themed photo installations, and live stage presentations.  
• Opening Night Live (ONL): The main global broadcast event featuring world-premiere trailers, gameplay reveals, hardware demonstrations, and publisher keynote announcements.  
• Business Area (gamescom biz / Halls 2–4): A dedicated B2B trade hub for developers, publishers, investors, media, and technology partners conducting meetings, pitch sessions, and distribution deals.  
• Gamescom Dev (devcom): The co-located game developer conference focusing on game engineering, art, narrative design, game economy balancing, and production pipelines.  
• Community & Culture: Dedicated thematic zones across the Koelnmesse complex, including the Indie Area (Home of Indies), Retro Gaming, Cosplay Village, and the Gamescom Event Arena for live music and esports competitions.

The opening event will be streamed on both YouTube and Twitch. The times broken down by time zone are as follows:

• Pre-Show (30 minutes): 1:30 PM EDT / 12:30 PM CDT / 10:30 AM PDT / 7:30 PM CEST 
• Main Showcase (approx. 2 hours): 2:00 PM EDT / 1:00 PM CDT / 11:00 AM PDT / 8:00 PM CEST  

As The Nosy Gamer concentrates on MMORPGs I'll pick out some points of interest I want to know about. Those issues stretch from previews of upcoming games to events with a business or financial impact on some of the stories I commonly cover. 

Three major games will have a presence on the show floor with demos:

• Final Fantasy XIV (Square Enix – Hall 8): Square Enix features hands-on stations for the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 edition, dedicated community photo ops (such as the Air-wheeler and Dancing Green installations), and an official in-person community Fan Gathering at the booth.
• Dune: Awakening (Funcom / Level Infinite – Hall 6): Funcom has public hands-on stations showcasing the open-world survival MMO, featuring the first public hands-on playtest for its upcoming console edition.  
• Aion 2 (NCSoft): Headlining NCSoft’s showcase, the upcoming MMORPG is featured during Gamescom Opening Night Live ahead of its Early Access launch.

In addition, NCSoft will be present in the B2B/business area for industry and partner meetings about Guild Wars 3 while NetEase will feature new reveals and Closed Beta information for Sea of Remnants during Gamescom broadcasts.

Square Enix will have a major presence at GamesCom beyond just Final Fantasy XIV.

• Show Floor Booth (Hall 8 | A-21): Square Enix is hosting a large consumer area featuring hands-on stations and community activities.  
• Playable Titles: FINAL FANTASY XIV (including the new Nintendo Switch 2 edition), Final Fantasy VII Remake, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster, and Dragon Quest VII Reimagined. 
• Photo Spots & Activities: Themed photo ops for Final Fantasy VII Revelation, FFXIV (Air-wheeler and Dancing Green activities), FFX/X-2, and Dragon Quest's 40th Anniversary. 
• Official Merchandise Store: A dedicated retail area selling Square Enix merchandise and apparel. 
• Showcase Presentations: Square Enix is featured during Gamescom Opening Night Live, with director Naoki Hamaguchi appearing to present a new look at Final Fantasy VII Revelation.  
• Community Events: Square Enix is hosting an official FFXIV Fan Gathering directly at their booth on the evening of Thursday, August 27. 

Another company from East Asia, Pearl Abyss, will also have a major presence at GamesCom. Investors should pay close attention as the news coming out of Cologne will probably lead to a spike in PA share prices next week. At least, the C-Suite probably hopes so.

• Consumer Show Floor (Hall 09.1 | Stand B020–C029): Pearl Abyss partnered with Samsung Electronics to host a large interactive exhibit.  
• Playable Demos: Visitors can play hands-on demos of Crimson Desert running on Samsung's latest display hardware, including the 32-inch Odyssey G8 6K gaming monitor.  
• Stage & Community Events: The booth features live developer presentations, cosplay appearances, and exclusive merchandise giveaways.  
• Gamescom Awards 2026: Crimson Desert is nominated in two major award categories: Best PC Game and Most Epic.  
• Gamescom Dev (Developer Conference): Pearl Abyss technical leads hosted two deep-dive sessions exploring the technology behind Crimson Desert:  
• "How We Filled the Vast Continent of Pywel" (world-building workflows, procedural pipelines, and environmental storytelling).  
• "Scaling Open World Creation in Crimson Desert with an In-House Engine" (technical architecture and rendering systems of the proprietary BlackSpace Engine).  

Some of the other companies I follow do not have a big presence at GamesCom. Fenris Creations studio leadership and production staff (including EVE Online Executive Producer Snorri Árnason) are registered and participating in GamesCom biz and the co-located developer events for industry meetings and networking. But that's about it.

Cloud Imperium Games will have no official presence at GamesCom. The studio's next major event will occur in Manchester in October involving Squadron 42. Players may decide to hold a Bar Citizen, but that is about all that may occur.

Down The Rabbit Hole: Pearl Abyss' Revised Guidance for 2026

Sometimes I write a post and immediately want to write a follow-up. The latest case involves Pearl Abyss' Q2 2026 earnings letter. I did a write-up on Wednesday but I glossed over the buried lede: the revised financial guidance for the second half of 2026. The big change in expectations that hit me was the downwards revision of revenue from Crimson Desert by approximately 30%. 

I am not an accountant although I sometimes play one on the Internet. To put the revision in perspective, the amount of the revision exceeded the amount Pearl Abyss acquired in managerial buyout in May of Fenris Creations (formerly CCP Games). So I turned to Gemini for help in figuring out what happened and the possible consequences of the reduced expected revenue. The AI did its best to keep me on track and filter out some of my wilder speculations.

Together, we spent the afternoon cross-referencing Pearl Abyss’s reported tables, untangling the mechanics of game distribution revenue recognition, and calculating the knock-on effects of the management buyout. What emerged from that deep dive wasn't just a simple quarterly miss, but a fascinating look at the financial realities of transitioning from a live-service MMO to a premium single-player package model—and the multi-year revenue gap Pearl Abyss now has to navigate.

(And for those who couldn't tell from the better quality of writing, Gemini is writing a large portion of this post with me acting as editor. I'm going to get the most out of my $16.67/month.)

The Raw Numbers: The Anatomy of the Cut

To see why this guidance revision caught my eye, you have to look at what Pearl Abyss initially promised for 2026 compared to what they are forecasting now:

Source: Pearl Abyss Q2 2026 Earnings Letter

(Note on currency conversions: All USD figures for 2H26 projections use the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Q2 2026 quarterly average exchange rate of 1,501.7 KRW to 1 USD.)

The Top-Line Reduction: Pearl Abyss shaved roughly ₩200.4 billion ($133.4 million USD) off its full-year total gaming revenue expectations at the midpoint, dropping expected full-year revenue by ~21.6% (from ₩879.0B–₩975.4B down to ₩709.8B–₩743.8B). Across the guidance bands, the overall top line was cut by 19.2% to 23.7%.

The Crimson Desert Driver: Almost the entire reduction stems from Crimson Desert. Management slashed its full-year projection from ₩644.1B–₩734.8B down to ₩468.9B–₩497.3B. At the midpoint, that represents a 29.9% downward revision—erasing ₩206.4 billion ($137.4 million USD) in expected sales.

The Black Desert Counterweight: In contrast to Crimson Desert, Pearl Abyss actually nudged its full-year guidance for Black Desert up slightly by +₩4.05 billion (+1.7%), moving from ₩234.9B–₩240.6B ($156.4M–$160.2M USD) to ₩239.0B–₩244.6B ($159.2M–$162.9M USD). After booking ₩116.6 billion ($77.6M USD) in the first half of 2026, management is expecting a stronger second half (₩122.4B–₩128.0B / $81.5M–$85.2M USD) on the back of major content updates (more on this in Section 4).

The Fixed-Cost Operating Margin Squeeze: Video game development overhead does not shrink simply because revenue drops. Full-year operating expenses remain virtually unchanged at ₩394.3B–₩398.6B ($262.6M–$265.4M USD). Because costs stayed flat while the top line fell, the revenue drop flowed straight through to the bottom line, knocking projected operating profit down by ~37.7% (from ₩487.6B–₩572.6B to ₩315.5B–₩345.2B / $210.1M–$229.9M USD) and compressing operating profit margin from ~57% down to 44.4%–46.4%.

The 2H26 Cliff: Having already booked ₩402.6 billion ($268.1 million USD) from Crimson Desert during the first half of the year (₩266.5B in Q1 and ₩136.1B in Q2), Pearl Abyss is budgeting for the game to bring in just ₩66.3B to ₩94.7B ($44.1M to $63.1M USD) across the entire second half combined. That implies an average quarterly run rate of only ₩33.2B to ₩47.4B ($22.1M to $31.5M USD) for Q3 and Q4.

The Crimson Desert Factor: Launch Trajectory vs. Accounting Friction

The steep downward revision of Crimson Desert—erasing roughly ₩206.4 billion ($137.4M USD) at the midpoint—comes down to a collision between a front-loaded launch curve and the accounting mechanics of global retail distribution.

The Post-Launch Volume Cliff: Crimson Desert launched on 19 March 19 2026. In the final twelve days of Q1 alone, the title generated ~3.60 million units on the books (₩266.5 billion / $182.0M USD). By mid-April—just 26 days after launch—Pearl Abyss announced the game had crossed 5.0 million copies sold worldwide. However, the Q2 earnings letter revealed total Q2 sales reached 2.11 million copies. Subtracting the ~1.4 million units sold during the first two weeks of April reveals that Crimson Desert sold only around 700,000 units across the remaining two and a half months of the quarter (May and June). The game experienced the standard, sharp drop-off typical of premium single-player titles without recurring subscription or live-service revenue.

The ASP Erosion: Average Selling Price (ASP)—the average amount of net revenue a publisher actually books per copy sold (Total Revenue divided by Units Sold)—declined sharply quarter-over-quarter:

• 1Q26 Realized ASP: ~₩74,000 (~$50.54 USD)
• 2Q26 Realized ASP: ~₩63,000 (~$41.95 USD)
• The Drop: A decline of 14.86% in Korean won (and 17.00% in U.S. dollars due to currency depreciation).

Accounting Mechanics Over Discounting: When I first saw realized ASP drop by nearly 15% in a single quarter, my immediate instinct was to assume Pearl Abyss had hit the panic button and started slashing retail prices to dump unsold copies. Fortunately, bouncing the numbers off Gemini kept me from writing a breathless post about a pricing collapse. The drop was not caused by retail discounting or fire sales—Pearl Abyss confirmed standard retail prices were maintained and promotional discounts won't even begin until late 2026. Instead, the compression resulted entirely from structural distribution accounting:

• Channel Mix (Gross vs. Net Recognition): Higher sales volume through partner platforms (like Steam) where revenue is recognized net of platform fees and distributor commissions rather than direct gross proceeds.
  
  
• Regional Pricing: Broadening geographic sales into international markets with lower localized retail price points.
  
  
• Physical Package Deferrals: For physical console editions (18% of Q2 volume, or ~390k units), distributor settlements face wholesale-to-retail time lags, and Pearl Abyss had to hold back a 20% revenue deferral reserve for refund guarantees (which will only be recognized sequentially across the second half of the year).

The 2H26 Forecast Reset: Combining a ~700k unit monthly baseline with a lower realized ASP explains why management slashed its 2H26 forecast. After generating ₩402.6 billion ($268.1M USD) in 1H26, Pearl Abyss is projecting Crimson Desert to bring in just ₩66.3B to ₩94.7B ($44.1M to $63.1M USD) for all of Q3 and Q4 combined. That implies an expected second-half run rate of roughly 1.1 million to 1.5 million total units across six full months.

The Scale Comparison — Larger Than Selling CCP Games

To truly grasp the magnitude of erasing ~₩206 billion in expected game revenue in a single quarterly update, it helps to compare it directly against the biggest corporate transaction Pearl Abyss executed this year: the May 6 divestment of Fenris Creations (formerly CCP Games).

The MBO Math: Pearl Abyss offloaded CCP Games/Fenris Creations in a management buyout for a headline consideration of $120.0 million USD (~KRW 177.1 billion):

• $100.0 million USD in unencumbered cash (~KRW 147.5 billion)
• $20.0 million USD in token acquisition rights (~KRW 29.6 billion) tied to the studio's blockchain-based space survival title, EVE Frontier

That $20 million token allocation is a fascinating detail. While Pearl Abyss washed its hands of Fenris Creations' day-to-day studio overhead, its interest in the blockchain and crypto gaming space didn't completely evaporate with the divestment. By securing token acquisition rights rather than taking an all-cash exit, Pearl Abyss maintained a speculative, de-risked upside in EVE Frontier’s cryptographic economy—leaving Fenris with the operational burn while retaining an entry ticket if the project's tokens gain substantial traction.

The Scale Comparison: Putting the two numbers side by side puts the revision into perspective. The ~₩206.4 billion ($137.4M USD) top-line haircut on Crimson Desert exceeds the entire headline valuation of Fenris Creations (~₩177.1 billion) and completely eclipses the $100 million (~₩147.5B) in cash received. In other words, one single earnings forecast adjustment erased more expected revenue than Pearl Abyss received to let EVE Online and its entire studio walk out the door.

Funding the Shareholder Return Program

While Pearl Abyss’s official corporate line attributed its newly minted shareholder return policies to a "comprehensive review of our financial structure and future investment plans," tracking the cash timeline tells a much more direct story:

The Cash Inflow: On May 6, 2026, the divestiture of Fenris Creations closed, injecting $100 million in liquid cash (~₩147.5 billion to ₩150 billion) directly onto Pearl Abyss’s balance sheet.

The June 9 Board Actions: Barely a month later, on June 9, Pearl Abyss’s Board of Directors rolled out an aggressive capital return framework:

• A KRW 100.0 Billion Share Buyback: A trust agreement to repurchase up to ₩100 billion worth of treasury shares through Korea Investment & Securities between June and December 2026. (As of August 10, they had already executed ₩32.3 billion / 32.3% of the plan).
  
  
• Retirement of Treasury Shares: Canceling 1,403,945 treasury shares (50% of existing treasury holdings, valued at ~₩54 billion market value).
  
  
• Inaugural Dividend Policy: Pledging to pay out annual cash dividends starting with FY2026 performance, set at the greater of ₩10.0 billion ($6.7M USD) or 10% of net profit.

Adding the ₩100 billion buyback to the baseline ₩10.0 billion dividend commitment creates an immediate capital return liability of ₩110.0 billion (~$73.2M USD)—an obligation covered with roughly ₩40 billion to spare by the $100 million (~₩150B) cash proceeds from the Fenris Creations sale. While management will not openly advertise that they sold the studio behind EVE Online to bankroll shareholder returns, that liquid cash injection provided the exact balance sheet cushion needed to execute the repurchase and launch dividends without draining the operational capital required to develop future titles.

The 2026–2028 Bridge Problem

With Fenris Creations divested and Crimson Desert transitioning into its post-launch tail, Pearl Abyss faces an 8-to-10 quarter gap before its next major release: the launch of DokeV in the second half of 2028.

Black Desert Steps Back Up as the Anchor: While Crimson Desert absorbed the guidance cuts, Black Desert received a modest +₩4.05 billion (+1.7%) guidance lift to ₩239.0B–₩244.6B ($159.2M–$162.9M USD). Even though this still represents a 4% to 7% year-over-year decline from 2025 (~₩256 billion), Black Desert remains the reliable live-service cash engine carrying the studio's day-to-day operations. With the new Agent class, the HyperBoost progression server, and the upcoming Edania Part 2 expansion, Pearl Abyss is heavily incentivized to sustain player engagement and monetization over the next two years.

Squeezing Additional Revenue from Crimson Desert: To bridge the 2H26 revenue gap, Pearl Abyss is preparing several commercial levers:

• First Story DLC: Confirmed for release in late 2026, aiming to re-engage the 6+ million player base and capture additional high-margin digital software revenue.
  
  
• Promotional Discounts: Evaluating tactical price promotions during global autumn and holiday sales events to spur unit volume.
  
  
• Nintendo Switch 2 Launch: Slated for 1H 2027, targeting a fresh console audience to extend the title's lifecycle.

The Long Runway to DokeV: With the company confirming in its earnings FAQ that DokeV development resources are ramping back up following Crimson Desert’s launch, the creature-collecting open-world title is scheduled for 2H 2028 (with major marketing beats and playable demos slated for 2H 2027). That leaves an extended multi-year span where Pearl Abyss will not have a new tentpole release.

The Balance Sheet Runway: Pearl Abyss closed 2Q26 with ~₩700 billion ($466.1M USD) in liquid and short-term financial assets, reinforced by the Fenris divestment. Even with a hiring freeze restricted to "essential positions only" and the ₩100 billion share buyback underway, management has constructed a substantial financial fortress. That cash pile should comfortably bridge the gap to DokeV—assuming the 2H 2028 timeline holds. Given Pearl Abyss’s history—where Crimson Desert slipped from an original 2021 target all the way to 2026—any further delay beyond 2028 would stretch this financial cushion thin and put immense pressure back on Black Desert to carry the studio solo.

I really think the revised guidance for the second half of 2026 will go little noticed outside financial and investment circles. But after going down the rabbit hole I knew I had to spend a few hours and put everything together into a post. I have the feeling having a link to explain what's going on over at Pearl Abyss may come in handy.

Fenris Creations Hires A Senior Director Of AI Partnerships

Back when the managerial buyout of Fenris Creations from Pearl Abyss finalized in early May the presence of Google DeepMind in the situation somewhat surprised me. At the time I think people thought the hire-ups at Google were interested in EVE Online. A view that the PR machine in Fenris HQ did nothing to dispel. But now that the time to staff up the relationship is here, the fact that Fenris is reaching once again into the public sector for talent.

REYKJAVÍK, Iceland – August 7, 2026 – Áslaug Arna Sigurbjörnsdóttir, Iceland’s former Minister of Justice and former Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, has joined Fenris Creations, formerly CCP Games, as Senior Director, AI Partnerships. In the role, she will lead the company's work with AI laboratories, universities, policymakers and strategic partners on a new research initiative involving EVE Frontier.

The Iceland Monitor summed up her political career:

Sigurbjörnsdóttir was first elected to Parliament for the Independence Party in Reykjavík North in 2016 and has represented Reykjavík South since 2021.

At the age of 28, she became Minister of Justice, serving from 2019 to 2021. She later served as Minister of Science, Industry and Innovation from 2021 to 2022 and as Minister of Higher Education, Industry and Innovation from 2022 to 2024.

Now 35 years old and trained as a lawyer, she took a leave of absence from Parliament last year to attend Columbia University in New York, where she pursued a Master of Public Administration degree focused on international leadership and public administration. She graduated less than two weeks ago.

She accepted the opportunity to study at Columbia after narrowly losing the Independence Party leadership election at the party’s national convention in March 2025, when Guðrún Hafsteinsdóttir emerged victorious.

Her resignation from Parliament occurred on 3 June 2026, two months before the announcement of her hiring by Fenris.

I'm going to chop up the press release because I'm interested in how Áslaug views the position.

“Having seen firsthand how policy is developed and implemented, I am excited to bring my political experience to this new role. There is no greater opportunity to help shape the future of AI innovation than being part of a testing ground that empowers our partners to make meaningful inroads with regulators, helping ensure safe, practical and reliable AI standards. I look forward to helping Fenris take this work forward responsibly.” - Áslaug Arna Sigurbjörnsdóttir, Senior Director, AI Partnerships

Áslaug may have the resume to go with the position. Among the international relations highlights of her career she participated in the following:

• Member of the Icelandic delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly 2017 (Chair 2017)
• Member of the Icelandic delegation to the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) 2017–2019 (Chair 2017–2019)
• Member of the Foreign Affairs Committee 2017–2019 (Chair 2017–2019)
• Member of the Icelandic delegation to the Nordic Council 2025

Add in her ministerial service and she probably has the background needed to deal with some of the issues that will arise working for a company with players located across the world.

Now that the organizational part of my brain is satisfied, how is Áslaug related to EVE Frontier? Going back to the press release:

Fenris Creations has spent the last several months developing the initiative to test a bold hypothesis: that persistent virtual worlds like EVE Frontier, underpinned by real social and economic systems, can offer a live proving ground for advanced AI before it becomes a greater part of our everyday lives.

Rather than relying solely on short-lived simulations that end and reset, the aim is to create a place where autonomous agents can be observed in a real, open and evolving economy, alongside real people, with real consequences, within the kind of dynamic system the company's games are uniquely able to provide.

The EVE Universe is particularly well-suited to this work. For more than two decades, it has developed as a living virtual economy, encompassing trade, production chains, currencies, commodity markets, alliances, conflict, cooperation, betrayal and loss, shaped by hundreds of thousands of real participants and all the unpredictable behavior that comes with them. Unlike chess or Go, the world has no end state: mistakes stay made, debts stay owed, relationships persist, and reputation follows you. That makes it one of the very few places where the behavior of autonomous systems can be studied under conditions that resemble a real society and a real economy, with all the irrational, emotional and unpredictable reactions that real people bring.

In EVE Frontier, the new chapter of the EVE universe, autonomous AI systems will be studied within EVE Frontier’s live, open-ended world as they set goals, respond to change, and make coherent sequences of decisions over extended periods. This enables researchers to better assess model behavior in genuinely complex environments and inform the responsible development of future AI systems. The initiative is intended to support Fenris Creations as it continues to explore ways to make EVE Frontier a more engaging and immersive world for its inhabitants, from richer NPC behavior and better onboarding to faster testing and iteration, with more detailed outcomes to be shared with players in due course.

If the initiative succeeds, it opens an entirely new role for Fenris Creations and EVE Frontier, potentially making important contributions to research on intelligent agents, complex systems, and AI alignment, while also creating compelling new possibilities for the experience EVE Frontier can offer its playerbase.

What makes the work possible is the scale and longevity of what already exists. Fenris brings its experience in creating and operating a persistent virtual world, together with the engineering, design, and community expertise required to explore how autonomous AI behaves in a live, player-driven setting. Few virtual environments offer the same combination of persistence, complexity and sustained human participation.

I have to say, using Frontier as a testbed for AI isn't the dumbest idea. The same people who the move will upset already hate the new game for implementing blockchain technology. At a certain point, people can't get any more angry, can they?

I'll conclude with the word that Fenris and their Google DeepMind partners hit the ground running, considering the MBO only occurred three months ago.

Earlier this year, Fenris Creations announced a research partnership with Google DeepMind focused on exploring intelligence in complex, dynamic systems. That collaboration is already active, with teams from both organizations completing a two-day workshop this week to exchange ideas and identify practical areas for further work. The sessions reflected a strong alignment in approach and a shared interest in how persistent virtual worlds can support meaningful research and new forms of interactive experience. Áslaug’s appointment will broaden this work by helping Fenris Creations build relationships across the wider AI research, academic, policy and strategic landscape, bringing new institutions, perspectives and opportunities into the initiative as it develops internationally.

EVE Vanguard: Operation Avalon Begins Today

This morning I woke up and checked the EVE Online patch notes like I do every Tuesday morning. I saw Operation Avalon, the event for Fenris Creations' new extraction shooter attached to EVE Online, but no article on the event itself. I guess I woke up too early, because as I check during lunch I see information on the EVE launcher, the main EVE Online website, the Steam page, and even the Fenris Creations corporate website. 

Now, I don't have a lot of time because I'm on my lunch break. What I am going to do is copy the press release from the corporate website. Why? Because with Operation Avalon, the game officially is in alpha. Not pre-Alpha like Star Citizen has been in for the past 13 years. An honest-to-goodness alpha. I want to mark down the occasion on the blog. Besides, I was in Las Vegas back in 2018 when Project Nova crash and burned at its public debut. I'd like to post something positive about a Fenris FPS game for a change.

LONDON, England – July 7, 2026 – Today, Fenris Creations launched Operation Avalon, the first time-limited Alpha playtest for EVE Vanguard, the in-development extraction-adventure FPS connected to the iconic sci-fi MMO EVE Online. Available to access for free from now until July 20 on Steam and the EVE Launcher, 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:

For a deeper look at what players can expect from Operation Avalon, including the goals of the Alpha playtest, watch the briefing here:

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 and the EVE Launcher. In November 2026, EVE Vanguard will move into persistent 24/7 Alpha access, available exclusively via the EVE Launcher on PC.

The EVE Partner Kerfluffle Of Pride Month 2026

Normally I don't discuss the content creator scene surrounding EVE Online. But a couple of members of the EVE Partner program managed to get themselves kicked out. One of them, a YouTuber/Twitch streamer known as Loru, has appeared as part of the official player host panel at both Fanfest 2025 and Fanfest 2026. But still, since I don't qualify for the EVE Partner program because my readership is too small I didn't want to write something that would come across as sour grapes.

FC Swift's statement via Reddit

At this point MassivelyOP picked up the story and FC Swift's statement. I was hit by surprise by the move because work got in the way and had stopped following the situation. After all, nothing was really going to happen, right? Wrong. 

I decided to ask Gemini and received a lot of reasons why Fenris would want to take the actions they took. Oh. I knew that Loru's actions in banning the Pride flag emoji from his chat would not go over well with Fenris. Doubling-down on the action definitely would rub the long-standing culture built over the decades was not a good way to get along with those running the EVE Partner program. But I didn't realize other ramifications are now present since Fenris bought its freedom from Pearl Abyss.

I did ask Gemini to come up with a morale post for the situation but decided to not post it. Instead I used a few prompts to clean up and clarify what Gemini first presented me about the situation. I don't know how much is AI hallucination and how much is reality. Only FC Swift, the community relations team, and perhaps Fenris' general consul would know for sure. Hopefully editing Gemini's post down to 500 words cuts some of the possible slop out of the AI's words. Once I had the final edit I decided it made a whole lot of sense.

Why Removing Loru Was the Only Viable Move for Fenris Creations

The EVE Online community is no stranger to intense drama, but the swift removal of high-profile streamer Loru (Lorumerth) from the EVE Partner program marked a pivotal moment for independent developer Fenris Creations.

The controversy looked like a standard community management flare-up: a creator enforces a rigid "no flags" rule in his Discord during Pride Month, the community calls out a double standard regarding his stream's religious content, things escalate live on Twitch, and the studio steps in.

But looking at the corporate landscape, Fenris Creations didn’t just make a routine community call—they made an essential business decision. Keeping Loru in the partner program would have been a catastrophic misstep for the studio’s long-term interests.

Here is why drawing a hard line was the only viable move.

1. The Clout Paradox: Fanfest Hosting Changes the Rules

Loru wasn't a background streamer; he was fresh off the stage at EVE Fanfest 2026, where he served as an official host on the developer streams and won Video Creator of the Year.

When a studio elevates a creator to that degree, the dynamic shifts. An on-stage Fanfest host is an extension of the corporate brand. When the controversy erupted, critics argued Loru used the massive validation he received from the studio to mock and ban viewers who questioned his policy. By stepping in decisively, Fenris Creations proved that a creator's marketing utility does not buy them immunity from basic standards of conduct.

2. The Absolute Reality of Icelandic Law

Operating out of Reykjavík, Fenris Creations is bound by Icelandic law. Under Article 233(a) of the Icelandic Penal Code, public denigration or hate speech targeting individuals based on sexual orientation or gender identity carries criminal weight.

Maintaining an official, incentivized marketing partnership with a creator actively targeting a protected class creates a massive legal and public relations liability. Aligning the partner program with domestic legal realities is basic corporate governance.

3. Protecting the Google DeepMind Partnership

Following its transition to independence, Fenris Creations secured a strategic partnership with Google DeepMind to explore advanced AI integrations.

Massive tech conglomerates operate under rigid brand-safety guidelines and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) standards. They do not want their brand associated with toxic internet shouting matches over LGBTQ+ inclusion. Protecting the brand safety of multi-million-dollar relationships is paramount for investor confidence.

4. Guarding the "New Player" Horizon

EVE Online relies entirely on replacing aging veterans with new blood. If a new player visits Twitch, clicks on the studio's "Video Creator of the Year," and witnesses a toxic chat war resulting in viewers being banned over a rainbow emoji, that player uninstalls. Cultivating an inclusive baseline is an ecosystem preservation strategy.

The Takeaway

Fenris Creations left Loru a bridge to return, allowing him to reapply in three months. But by acting swiftly, the studio sent a vital message: Nobody is bigger than the health of the capsuleer community.

A Closer Look At Pearl Abyss' 23.1% Stock Crash After The Fenris Creations Divestment

The more I look into the situation between Pearl Abyss and Fenris Creations, the more I become convinced both parties view the separation beneficial for themselves. An article in The Asia Business Daily points out the unfavorable environment for video game companies. 

Industry experts attribute the decoupling between game companies' earnings and share prices to a combination of uncertainty over upcoming game lineups and concerns about a global economic slowdown.

With Black Desert annual revenue falling over 50% since 2019 I understand why Pearl Abyss would want to divest itself of a studio spending a lot of money trying to develop new video games. Getting DokeV developed and released quickly is a better use of now limited development funds to our former overlords in Anyang. And, if I'm honest, their assessment is correct.

The revenue from Pearl Abyss' cash cow is down from 2019

Some analysts thought the divestiture would help Pearl Abyss by removing the need to help the Icelandic/UK studio develop games.

For Pearl Abyss, analysts view the divestiture as a positive move that frees capital for its own intellectual properties. Crimson Desert, released in March 2026, has sold over five million copies globally, and the company has indicated plans to channel proceeds from the CCP sale into developing and marketing its own titles, including DokeV, while remaining open to future collaboration with CCP. 

I thought the last phase was just polite fluff until I learned more about the terms of the managerial buyout.

Pearl Abyss, the Korean developer of hit MMO Crimson Desert, has sold Eve Online developer CCP Games back to its CEO Hilmar Veigar Pétursson for $100 million in cash and $20 million in "token acquisition rights", eight years after buying it for $225 million in cash plus $200 million in performance-related payouts. The figures were reported by Korean outlet Digital Today.

The "tokens" are believed to refer to blockchain-based survival game Eve Frontier, for which CCP raised $40 million in 2023, in a funding round lead by crypto-enthusiast VC firm Andreessen Horowitz. Frontier is currently available in pre-release form for those who purchase Founder Access, and its Terms of Service refer to "on-chain" tokens it terms "Alpha Tokens" while expressly disclaiming "to the fullest extent possible in law any liability regarding the nature or value of these Alpha Tokens or wallets."

At this point I looked at the two major international investors who have issued a rating for Pearl Abyss since the board of directors for Fenris changed hands from Pearl Abyss' control on 6 May. First up is JPMorgan. According to Investing.com, on 12 May the US-based financial giant lowered its target from ₩50,000 down to ₩46,000 while maintaining a "Sell" status. A day later Japanese giant Nomura Securities raised the target price from ₩84,000 to ₩92,000 while maintaining its "Buy" recommendation.

Why the difference in analysis based on the same facts? I had to admit I needed help getting out of the rabbit hole and turned to an AI program, Gemini. Rather fitting since Google DeepMind was involved in the financial transaction covered in this post. Let's start with why Nomura had a positive outlook.

• The "Pure-Play" Margin Fix: Nomura's model looked past the loss of EVE Online's revenue and focused entirely on the immediate elimination of CCP's massive, ongoing R&D burn. Wiping those capital-intensive Web3 and mobile development liabilities off the balance sheet instantly expands Pearl Abyss's upcoming operating margins.
  
  
• The "Free Call Option": Rather than penalizing the deal for including $20 million in digital tokens, Nomura treated those acquisition rights as a zero-risk, high-upside financial instrument. Pearl Abyss successfully insulated itself from 100% of the operational losses of EVE Frontier, yet legally retained skin in the game if the project hits.
  
  
• The Valuation Multiplier: With a clean balance sheet, Nomura argued Pearl Abyss should command a premium P/E (price-to-earnings) multiple, driven by a highly efficient two-tier model: Black Desert Online acting as a stable corporate safety net, entirely funding the global expansion of Crimson Desert and the acceleration of DokeV.

Let's now compare Nomura's rosier outlook with JPMorgan's institutional counter-argument: a strict, risk-averse focus on cash-flow diversification and asset quality.

The Revenue Quality Markdown: JPMorgan's equity research team prioritized structural stability. EVE Online provided a highly predictable, fiat-denominated, multi-decade annuity. Trading that reliable cushion away right as the massive initial package sales of Crimson Desert begin their natural second-quarter post-launch taper leaves the company entirely exposed to a cyclical revenue gap.



The Volatility Haircut: From a Western underwriting perspective, unlaunched utility tokens are non-cash-generating, intangible assets. Lacking legal guarantees or market liquidity, JPMorgan applied a steep risk premium to the transaction, essentially discounting the $20 million token portion down to zero.



Over-Reliance on an Aging Core: JPMorgan argued that with EVE Online gone, Black Desert Online is being asked to carry the entire live-service weight alone. If DokeV faces lengthy development delays, the studio has no fallback if BDO monetization hits a natural mature plateau.

I am not an expert in the investment policies of international banking institutions so I just took the bullet points from Gemini's analysis. But I can say with a lot of confidence which company was correct 3 weeks after the news of the divestment broke: JPMorgan.

Trading on Pearl Abyss stock closed Friday at 46,050, or 50 won above the JPMorgan target price. Perhaps worse for clients of Nomura, Pearl Abyss stock is now half the target price its analysts set. And since the end of trading on 29 April, the day before the news broke, Pearl Abyss stock has declined in price by 23.1%. Unlike investor reaction to the launch of Crimson Desert, the price may not bounce back for quite a while. As The Asia Business Daily article noted:

Securities analysts point out that expectations for Crimson Desert have already been priced into the stock. The current sentiment in the gaming industry makes it difficult for a new game's success alone to push share prices higher, while concerns over a lack of upcoming titles are weighing on investor sentiment.

Samsung Securities noted, "It will take one to two years to release DLC for Crimson Desert, and development of the next titles, DokeV and PLAN 8, will also require time," adding, "A lack of momentum from new releases is inevitable over the next one to two years." Meritz Securities also assessed, "Market attention is shifting toward monetization in China, DLC release schedules, and shareholder return policies."

I think Nomura may have been just a bit too optimistic.

Turning Final Fantasy Images Into An EVE Related Logo

When I first heard the new name for CCP Games, Fenris Creations, my mind went quickly to Final Fantasy XIV. I had the Fenrir mount, obtained from The Gold Saucer, for 1 million MGP. I also obtained a couple of space suits from working on the Cosmic Exploration, specifically Sinus Ardorum, the first area. I specifically thought the Cosmosuit would work well for the purpose of making a heading banner. 

The original base image

I then traveled to the moon and flew in front of Etheirys, the name of humanity's home in the system known as the Source. I had an idea to turn the rider into an astronaut and the planet into Earth. I also wanted to include the Fenris Creations logo. I decided to use Google AI to modify my FFXIV screenshots into something I could use for EVE-related content. After all, Google DeepMind is a part-owner of Fenris Creations, right? So instead of something like Photoshop I wound up using Google Flow.

I discovered I could take an image of the Fenris Creations logo from the corporate website and add that as an "ingredient" for the image. 

Before asking for help

I then decided I needed some help. So I turned to Google Gemini for some advice. Needless to say, I received a lot of ideas on how to improve my creation.

Final product

With the sparkles from the original screenshot cleaned up and the space suit turned into something less like Final Fantasy I think my image came out all right. Now I just need to store the image someplace safe because I may find a use for it in future blog posts. I do need to update some things on the blog, after all.

The Final Board Of Directors' View Of CCP Games From The 2025 Consolidated Financial Reports

Two weeks ago the 2025 financial reports for Pearl Abyss Iceland and CCP ehf came out on the website of the Icelandic national taxing authority. Croda over on marketsforISK did his annual analysis on the finances of Pearl Abyss Iceland. But something changed this year. On 6 May the three Pearl Abyss members of CCP ehf's five person board of directors resigned as a result of the management buyout and rebranding of the company to Fenris Creations.

I'm going to try to do something rather foolish and write a couple of posts looking forward based on the 2025 financials. But as the statement in CCP ehf's filings was dated 21 April 2026, what follows is probably the last statement from the old Pearl Abyss dominated board. Except for a couple of points of clarification, what follows below is the statement of the board before the management buyout occurred.

CCP ehf. designs, develops, markets, and operates immersive virtual worlds and games accessible over the internet. Our mission is to create virtual worlds more meaningful than real life. Headquartered in Iceland, the Company operates subsidiaries in the United Kingdom, China, and the United States.

I just want to point out the Pearl Abyss Iceland is different from the now Fenris Creations. "Pearl Abyss Iceland ehf. is a holding company established in 2018. In October 2018 the Company bought all issued and outstanding shares in CCP ehf." As far as I can tell, Pearl Abyss still owns Pearl Abyss Iceland.

Operations during the year

In 2025, CCP generated revenues of USD 70.3 million, compared to USD 70.4 million in the previous year. Notably, game revenue increased by USD 4.8 million (8%) year-on-year, reflecting strong ongoing engagement across EVE Online. However, the Company reports a net loss of USD 14.0 million compared to a USD 2.9 million loss in 2024. This is a continuation of CCP's deliberate and increased fully funded investment in multiple active development projects — including EVE Frontier, EVE Vanguard, and the Carbon open-source platform — which are scheduled to enter key release phases from mid-2026 onwards. These investments, while impacting short-term profitability, are central to CCP’s strategy and position the Company for strategic and sustainable growth in the years ahead. As of year-end, shareholders’ equity stood at USD 13.2 million, with an equity ratio of 21.5%, and total assets of USD 61.2 million. The Company employed 165 people at year-end, compared to 173 people at the beginning of the year.

Here once again I have to stop to provide figures from Pearl Abyss Iceland. PAI showed revenue of USD 65.3 million, compared to USD 60.2 million in 2024. The Group also reported a net loss of USD 28.8 million, compared to a USD 19.5 million net loss in 2024. The numbers for PAI are much worse than for CCP, meaning outside factors played a role even before the management buyout. Yes, Angelice Prime Foundation is involved, but that subject requires its own blog post or two.

During the year, the Group continued to expand the EVE Universe through major updates to EVE Online while advancing development across multiple new titles and platforms, alongside ongoing live operations. In January 2025, the Group published the EVE Online development roadmap, outlining two major expansions supported by continuous narrative events and systemic improvements designed to strengthen the player-driven economy and large-scale conflict across New Eden. 

Community engagement remained strong throughout the year. In February 2025, the Group announced that tickets for EVE Fanfest 2025 had sold out in record time, demonstrating the continued strength and global reach of the EVE community. 

I should point out "community engagement" was a very big topic on Pearl Abyss quarterly earnings calls. I'm not sure if that is one of the subjects the overlords in Anyang learned from CCP/Fenris.

The first expansion of the year, EVE Online: Legion, launched in May 2025. 'Legion' introduced new systems aimed at broadening participation in both economic and military gameplay, including features designed to support more flexible and accessible collaboration across player organizations. The expansion formed part of the Group’s ongoing strategy to evolve EVE Online’s sandbox by enabling new forms of player agency and contribution. 'Legion' continued to be refined through updates and live iteration throughout the year. 

This was the point in the year EVE Frontier also came into its own with its universe hosting 24/7 access to the game. I would have to wonder how the new board that took its seats over the last week or so would have written the above paragraph.

In November 2025, the Group released the second major expansion, EVE Online: Catalyst, focused on evolving the industrial and resource systems that underpin the game’s economy. 'Catalyst' introduced new resource flows, alongside improvements to exploration, navigation, and strategic mobility, reinforcing the foundations of New Eden’s player-driven ecosystem. Subsequent updates in early 2026 further expanded on these systems, supporting continued engagement and long-term economic balance. EVE Online maintained strong player engagement throughout the year and delivered its strongest revenue performance in several years. 

The comments about content released in 2026 leave a clue that content in the document isn't just about the past.

Significant progress was made during the year on EVE Frontier, a new hardcore space survival MMO set within a persistent single-shard universe. Frontier expands the EVE Universe into a new genre while introducing programmable infrastructure systems that enable players to build, automate, and operate complex in-game structures. During 2025, the Group expanded access through its Founder Access program and introduced multiple gameplay cycles, allowing early participants to engage with evolving systems and provide feedback that informs development. 

This is why I wonder about how the write-up was done. I'm used to seeing events pretty much documented in chronological order. Nothing wrong with ordering the content by game, but I wonder if a subtle message is being portrayed in a document almost no one will read. Probably not, but given the history of the company, one can never tell.

In October 2025, the Group announced a strategic collaboration with Mysten Labs and the Sui network to support the technological platform underlying EVE Frontier. This partnership provides scalable infrastructure for programmable in game systems and digital assets, supporting the development of a broader ecosystem of tools and services around the EVE Frontier platform. 

The above paragraph shows how Fenris looks at blockchain technology. As a ready-made scalable infrastructure. I'm not sure the rest of the world would apply the tech to game systems and digital assets. Perhaps if Frontier succeeds.

Development also progressed on EVE Vanguard, the Group’s sandbox first-person shooter set within the EVE Universe. In September 2025, the Group launched Operation Nemesis, a large-scale public playtest introducing new mission structures and gameplay systems, while demonstrating early integration between planetary combat and events occurring in EVE Online. EVE Vanguard continues to be developed in close collaboration with its player community as the Group works toward future release milestones. 

Given the ordering of the year by game, is anyone surprised by the first person shooter showing up third in the priorities? 

The Group also continued live operations of EVE Galaxy Conquest, the mobile strategy title developed by the Group’s Shanghai studio. The game extends the EVE Universe to mobile platforms, enabling players to engage in large-scale strategic conflict through fleet command, territorial control, and alliance-based gameplay, supported by ongoing content updates and live operations.

And finally the mobile game. I really have to wonder if the mobile game was pressed upon Fenris by Pearl Abyss. Black Desert Mobile was such a hit in its first few years I can well imagine the folks in the home office in Anyang thinks a mobile game would produce big money in a short amount of time.

I have not seen the forms listing the members of the new board of directors. But that is a subject for the future. For now, we are closing down the Crowd Control Productions chapter of Fenris Creations history.

Pearl Abyss Q1 2026 Earnings Letter

Yesterday Pearl Abyss released its earnings information for the first quarter of 2026 in a new format. Instead of a call the South Korean game maker posted a letter which had most of the information given in a typical earnings call. 

The big news, of course, was the launch of Crimson Desert on 19 March 2026. The company described some rather impressive numbers.

[T]he game solidified its position as a AAA game by recording 2 million copies on the first day of launch, 3 million within 4 days, 4 million within 12 days, and 5 million within 26 days. In addition, we enhanced the overall user experiences by adding new content and improving user experience through patches based on user feedback.

According to the letter, Crimson Desert brought in ₩266.5 billion ($177.1 million) in the first quarter, meaning the first 4 million copies sold were recorded in the earnings letter. Sales were split roughly 50-50 between the PC and console versions of the game. 

Selling those 4 million copies did come with costs. Commissions increased quarter-over-quarter by ₩28 billion ($19 million) due to an increase in sales on Steam. Also, quarter-over-quarter advertising costs increased 151% up to ₩23.4 billion ($16 million).

Pearl Abyss' other IP, Black Desert, saw a 2.2% decline in revenue, both QoQ and YoY, down to ₩61.6 billion ($42.1 million).

Now for the elephant in the room: the divestiture of CCP Games, now Fenris Creations. As part of the move Pearl Abyss removed all trace of Fenris from the report except for one line in the appendix stating the losses caused by the "Discontinued Operation". From what I found, standard accounting practice is to reclassify as "Discontinued Operations" any activity of a subsidiary that is sold. Doing so provides investors with an apples-to-apples comparison of Pearl Abyss' current business to historical data. As such the graphs in the letter had any data from Fenris/CCP removed.

Unexpectedly, at least to me, the earnings letter provided an answer to the question, just how many resources was Fenris/CCP taking from Pearl Abyss in developing games. According to the appendix, the "Discontinued Operation" would have experienced ₩33.6 billion ($23 million) in net losses in 2025 with an additional ₩12.1 billion ($8.2 million) in the first quarter of 2026.

I was also able to calculate the operating losses generated by Fenris/CCP during 2025 by combining the data from the letter to the information in the Q4 2025 earnings call. Those came out to ₩47.0 billion ($33.1 million).

This breakdown highlights why management likely moved toward the divestiture. By removing a segment that was averaging a roughly ₩10–13 billion quarterly operating loss in 2025, Pearl Abyss's baseline profitability appears significantly stronger once the Crimson Desert revenue hit the books. Given Pearl Abyss' recent history with investors, they can use all the help looking good they can get.

Pearl Abyss Stock Down 13% Since The Divestment Of CCP Games/Fenris Creations

I think a lot of people think that now that CCP Games purchased its freedom from Pearl Abyss and changed its name to Fenris Creations I don't have to worry about Pearl Abyss financial reports anymore. Wrong. I need to see if the company line coming out of Anyang that CCP was dragging down Pearl Abyss is true.

How can I do that? One way is looking at the stock price of the South Korean game maker. If divesting itself of CCP/Fenris was a good move, investors should reward the move by buying up stock. If the move is bad then the price should decline.

Through the first 5 trading days since the buyout was first noticed the price of Pearl Abyss shares on the KOSDAQ has declined 13%. Friday's trading was neutral so the decline actually occurred over 4 trading days. I wonder if the price will continue to decline as the EVE IP brought in 26.2% of all gaming revenue for Pearl Abyss in 2025. And please note I used the $65.2 million figure from the investor calls, not the over $70 million figure claimed in the press release from Fenris.

For those wondering, in 2019 the gaming revenue percentage was only 10.5%, showing the EVE IP had become an increasingly important source of revenue generation over the previous 7 years.

Of course, I still need to follow other sources of information. Pearl Abyss should hold its next earnings call covering Q1 2026 next week. I am also waiting on the latest financial filings with Skatturinn (Iceland Revenue and Customs) which should provide a lot of information. I have a suspicion the documents will be filed later than usual as the section covering future expectations might need some revision. Also, some old familiar faces are showing up besides Birgir Már Ragnarsson, the chairman of the board of Fenris. I need to update my notes with the latest on those as well.

CCP Games Rebrands To Fenris Creations

Shortly after I posted my article about the 23rd anniversary of EVE Online CCP Games announced they were no longer CCP Games.

REYKJAVÍK, Iceland – May 6, 2026 – The company formerly known as CCP Games today announced that it will become an independent entity operating under the new name Fenris Creations.

Just a little history about the company now known as Fenris Creations. The company was founded in 1997 as Loki Multimedia and stayed that way until the name was changed to Crowd Control Productions in I believe 1999. For those into Norse mythology, Loki was the father of the wolf Fenrir. Fenris is another name for Fenrir although apparently the alternate name doesn't come from Old Norse.

Fenris Creations is now governed by its own Board of Directors, returning to a model similar to how the company operated before 2018, and one designed to support strategic decision-making for persistent live games and long-running virtual worlds. The ownership group comprises Fenris Creations’ senior management and long-term investors aligned with the company’s future as a developer, publisher, and operator of player-driven online experiences. As disclosed in Pearl Abyss’ regulatory filings, the transaction value is $120 million USD, with consideration comprising both cash and non-cash elements.

I don't think people have pointed out the "non-cash elements" of the transaction. Did Pearl Abyss receive shares in Fenris? Or is the publishing and marketing organization CCP merged into Pearl Abyss remaining with the South Korean company? One of the many questions I have about the transaction.

The change reflects a shift in ownership and governance only. Fenris Creations will continue to operate as a standalone studio, responsible for its strategy, operations, and creative direction. Fenris Creations’ leadership team, studios, products, and ongoing development plans remain unchanged, with the same people who have guided the EVE universe for many years continuing to lead the company.

This section leads me to believe Pearl Abyss didn't get the Shanghai office. And as a stray note explains why Fenris uses NetEase as its Chinese publishing partner and Pearl Abyss uses Tencent.

Alongside this transition, Fenris Creations is entering into a research partnership with Google DeepMind, focused on advancing understanding of intelligence in complex, dynamic systems. The collaboration will explore areas including long-horizon planning, memory, and continual learning, using EVE Online as a uniquely rich environment for study. Google DeepMind will work with an offline version of EVE Online running on a local server to test and evaluate models in a controlled setting. Together, the partnership will also explore new gameplay experiences enabled by these technologies.

Google has invested in Fenris Creations as part of this transition, taking a minority stake in the company.

Google DeepMind seems a fitting partner considering the direction the company has headed in the past 4-5 years. The AI studio has involved itself with games, producing AlphaGo, the first computer program to defeat a Go champion. But looking on Wikipedia I see an application designed to run data centers efficiently. Fenris has a long history of being involved in data centers in Iceland. If the off-line servers Google DeepMind plans to use to simulate EVE are located in Iceland, Alphabet may gain first hand experience with geo-thermal powered data centers.

I should note that Google is now a part-owner of Fenris Creations. I haven't seen a credible source stating how big the stake actually is. Sorry Reddit, but you don't count. Another question to wait on financial filings with the Icelandic taxing authority.

“EVE is built to endure - and it only works if you’re willing to keep pushing into the future. This transition gives us direct ownership, clear accountability, and the independence to invest in worlds that grow over decades,” said Hilmar Veigar Pétursson, CEO of Fenris Creations. “We’re grateful to Pearl Abyss for their partnership and for the consistent support they’ve shown us over the past seven and a half years. EVE Online exists today because of pioneering thinking, patience, and trust between developers and players. Our new structure and partners enable us to carry that legacy forward - continuously evolving a living universe and actively exploring what it can become, with forever in mind.”

Hearing from Hilmar is pretty standard by this time for those who have covered the company for a few years. But the next block is from someone new.

“Games have always been a huge part of my life - I’ve been a gamer since I was a kid, and I started my career designing and programming complex AI simulation games like Theme Park. They’ve also been at the heart of many of Google DeepMind’s breakthroughs - like Atari DQN, AlphaGo, AlphaStar and SIMA - because they’re the perfect training ground for developing and testing AI algorithms,” said Demis Hassabis, co-founder and CEO Google DeepMind. “I’ve known Hilmar for many years and long admired his work, and I’m thrilled to partner with him and the fantastic team at Fenris Creations to explore new gaming experiences and advance AI research safely inside a player-driven universe as amazingly complex as EVE Online.”

I never thought I'd quote a bible verse in relation to Hilmar, but familiarity breeds contempt. Apparently while people were wondering about Hilmar running around the world acting like a thought leader, he actually was a thought leader. If the co-founder of DeepMind has followed Hilmar, then the Icelandic game executive gains a bit of geek cred.

“I’ve followed CCP’s progress closely over the past several years and have great respect for what the company has achieved,” said Birgir Már Ragnarsson, Co-founder and Partner at Omega Ventures, and Chairman of the Board at Fenris Creations. “As Chairman, I’ve seen firsthand how this company performs when its leadership is set up to focus and execute. We’re entering this next phase from a position of strength, with experienced leadership and strong partners in place. I’m looking forward to playing a part in that journey and supporting Fenris Creations as it continues to make history.”

When I saw Birgir was involved as the new Chairman of the Board, I knew Hilmar was getting the old gang back together. From reviewing all the tax forms submitted to the Icelandic taxing authority plus Birgir's LinkedIn page, he first became involved with CCP Games back in 2005 when he was named to the board of directors. He first appeared on paperwork as the Chairman of the Board in 2013 and was the chairman when the company was acquired in 2018. I can't wait to find out who else is on the board.

"For employees and the local community in Iceland, Fenris Creations emphasized that this transition does not involve restructuring or layoffs. There are no planned changes to the company’s organizational structure, and its headquarters will remain in Vatnsmýrin, Iceland. Studios in Reykjavík, London, and Shanghai will continue to operate as they do today."

I usually don't believe this talk of no job losses. But in this case I wonder if the company will need to beef up some departments that were previously merged with Pearl Abyss. At least Pearl Abyss can't make Fenris lay off people if things get bad in South Korea. Let's just say I won't have a lot of faith in Pearl Abyss' game development until they prove they can produce a game on-schedule.

Since 2018, CCP Games and Pearl Abyss have worked closely together while evolving as companies. Following a joint review of long-term strategy, both parties concluded that the company is now best supported through independent ownership as Fenris Creations, while Pearl Abyss continues to focus on the growth of its own core titles and IP portfolio. Broader differences in operating context, current strategic focus, and long-term priorities were among several factors considered in this decision.

This paragraph I believe is a pile of crap. With Pearl Abyss trying to throw Fenris under this bus for its financial difficulties, something tells me not all was peaceful in the relationship.

Fenris Creations enters this next phase with strong momentum across its sci-fi universe. EVE Online closed 2025 with some of its best results in several years, including a record-breaking revenue month in November and a standout Q4 that became the second-highest revenue quarter in the game’s more than 20-year history. The iconic spaceship MMORPG exceeded internal expectations and demonstrates sustained strength as a live service in its third decade of continuous operation. Adding to this strong position are two upcoming titles in development: EVE Vanguard, an extraction-adventure FPS, and EVE Frontier, an online space survival game. The company remains profitable, with over $70M in reported revenue for 2025 and strong reserves, reflecting sustained player engagement and enabling continued investment in the long-term health of the EVE Universe.

The $70 million figure is huge. From following Pearl Abyss' earnings calls through last year, I have Fenris' revenue from games in the EVE IP at $65.2 million. I wonder what happened for the year-over-year revenue growth in 2025 to be twice that reported on the calls. Foreign exchange effects perhaps?

Pearl Abyss and Fenris Creations part ways with mutual respect following a partnership that supported the company’s growth during an important period in its history. Both companies now move forward with clear direction on their respective priorities.

Sorry, but I've followed Pearl Abyss, or at least its leadership, to believe that for a second.

Aream & Co. and Arion Bank are acting as financial advisors to Fenris Creations, and LOGOS is providing legal counsel.

Fenris Creations will continue to communicate openly as it moves forward under this new model, with a clear focus on the future of the EVE universe.

A couple of more pieces of information to look into.

I just have to conclude that the 23rd anniversary of the launching of EVE Online was memorable. But I have one more data point to track: the price of Pearl Abyss stock. The Korean NASDAQ has only had 4 business days since word of Pearl Abyss selling off CCP Games hit the news. But over the last 5 days, the price of the company's stock has fallen nearly 13%. Something to think about as we discuss the transaction.