EVE Online's Carbon engine is now open source: Fenris Creations explains why
Fenris Creations (formerly CCP Games) has officially open-sourced its Carbon engine, the foundation of the long-running MMO EVE Online, after years of planning and a recent push. This strategic move aims to leverage community contributions for code inspection, security hardening, and fostering new experiences within and beyond the EVE universe. The story appeals to HN for its deep dive into the practicalities of open-sourcing a complex, battle-hardened engine, its licensing considerations, and its future implications for game development and AI integration.
The Lowdown
Fenris Creations, known previously as CCP Games, has announced the open-sourcing of its proprietary Carbon game engine, which has powered the critically acclaimed sci-fi MMORPG EVE Online for over two decades. This initiative, years in the making, seeks to open the engine's codebase to the wider development community, fostering collaboration, transparency, and innovation. Ben Hunter, Fenris's Senior Development Director for core technology, detailed the company's motivations, challenges, and future aspirations for this significant undertaking.
- Motivation & Transparency: The primary drivers for open-sourcing Carbon are to build trust with the community, enhance code inspectability, and leverage external contributions to improve the engine. Fenris believes that "rising tides lift all ships," and community involvement will ultimately benefit the entire EVE ecosystem and beyond.
- Licensing & Accessibility: Most of Carbon is available under the permissive MIT License, with spatial audio clustering using Apache License 2.0 and IO using a Python Software Foundation License. All components are free for commercial use, allowing developers to create their own MMOs or fork the engine.
- Security & Scrutiny: Fenris acknowledges increased security concerns with open-sourcing but views external eyes as beneficial for identifying and fixing potential vulnerabilities. They highlight the engine's 23 years of "battle-hardening" against malicious actors. Crucially, the sensitive in-game economy components of EVE Online are not open-sourced, reflecting careful deliberation on what intellectual property to release.
- Architectural Guidance & LLMs: The company consulted with the Godot engine team for advice on governance models, emphasizing the importance of architectural choices like a plug-in model to manage contributions. Fenris is also integrating Large Language Models (LLMs) into its workflows, requiring contributors to disclose LLM usage, and plans to open-source its internal LLM tools gateway.
- Future Vision: Fenris intends to develop Carbon in the open, anticipating a need for greater scrutiny on architectural changes and the creation of a dedicated test project. The long-term goal is to cultivate a large, "Eve-centric" community that builds augmented game experiences, infrastructure, and applications around the EVE universe, similar to the ecosystem that emerged after EVE Online's API release.
The open-sourcing of Carbon represents a bold move for Fenris Creations, transitioning a mature, battle-tested engine into a community-driven project. By embracing transparency and collaboration, the company hopes to secure the engine's future, foster new development opportunities, and deepen its long-standing relationship with its passionate player base, all while navigating the complexities of security, licensing, and emerging technologies like AI.