EVE Online creator director sees Cradle of War as fertile ground for new players

At Fanfest 2026, we learned about the new Exordium starting zone coming in the Cradle of War expansion, which the team has been discussing for over a decade.

EVE Online has a steep learning curve. It is exacerbated by the fact that at any given point, you are at the mercy of an unforgiving universe where any given player flying by could decide that your ship would look better if it exploded. Creating a safer space for players to get their feet wet before they venture into the depths of EVE has been discussed for a long time, but making sure that it isn’t a squatting spot is also important. That’s why the new starting zone coming to EVE Online’s Cradle of War expansion is so important to Creative Director Bergur Finnbogason and the team at Fenris Creations.

At EVE Fanfest 2026, Finnbogason and I spoke at length about how important this is. Exordium offers a place where you cannot engage in PvP. The various systems in the starting point teach players about the intricacies of mining, battle, shipbuilding, upgrades, armaments, politics, factions, and so much more.

The zone doesn’t ban veterans either, so knowledgeable players can come to Exordium to help newbies learn the ropes and even help mentor or recruit newbies for their organizations. In exchange for not allowing PvP, the rewards in the zone are quite weak, and the taxes for staying there are high. That was also a big priority for the team, making sure that Exordium was only meant to be a temporary stop in your EVE career.

“Exordium is set up in such ways that you don’t want to stay there forever,” Finnbogason explained. “The taxes are quite high and the content of Exordium will push you out of Exordium… The goal of the system is not to have you hang out there for a month. The goal of the system is that you should be moving out in a week, 10 days, two weeks… all depending on how confident you are.”

And that’s a big deal because up to this point, Bergur admits that while EVE has best-practice guidelines, especially for the treatment of new players, that doesn’t always stop the risk of someone ganking another player where they just attack another player full-on knowing it’s probably going to result in them getting blown up as well.

Between new military campaigns and the upcoming ships, there's a lot to be excited about in the Cradle of War expansion, so be sure to read up on it ahead of its June release. You can also check out the rest of our EVE series content for more news and updates from Fanfest 2026, EVE Online, and more.

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