Eve Online Crucible winter expansion release date

The free Eve Online winter expansion, Crucible, will be released on Tuesday, 29th November during "extended downtime", developer CCP has announced.

The expansion brings new ships, nebulae, engine trails and warp tunnel effects, plus "hundreds" of balance changes and fixes.

Full patch notes will be published in "the coming weeks".

"Within Eve's eternal crucible of warfare, politics and industry, even the most passionate and skilled are tested," read a post on the Eve Onilne website. "Eve Online: Crucible pumps the bellows, turning up the heat on the space combat experience in Eve Online.

"In the factional shipyards, new ships have been forged to expand the reach of war and evolve the tactics of space engagement while existing vessels have been re-imagined, bringing greater balance and diversity to large and small scale conflicts.

"This winter, Crucible evolves the graphics, interface and game mechanics with over three dozen updated and improved features based on feedback and challenges put forth by its players."

"This," the post concluded, "is EVE re-forged."