adminThe Carbon game engine, the technology behind the long-running science-fiction MMO Eve Online, is now available as an open-source project. Fenris Creations says opening the code is intended to build trust, invite community contributions and give developers more room to create tools and experiences connected to the Eve universe.
The company announced its plan in 2024, when it was still known as CCP Games. Core technology teams had been preparing the release over time, with much of the final work completed during the 12 weeks before launch. Senior development director for core technology Ben Hunter says the goal is to make the engine available for people to inspect, improve and build upon.
Image credit: Fenris Creations
Why the Carbon game engine is open source
Fenris sees the release as a continuation of its history of involving the Eve Online community. An earlier example was making the game’s application programming interface (API) available, enabling players and developers to create companion tools. The company now believes that sharing the engine code can bring in more perspectives and help both Fenris and the wider community learn from each other.
Community members have already proposed code changes, including security fixes. There has also been discussion about building a web application for viewing Eve Online content. Hunter says the engine could support a range of projects, although early activity appears likely to focus on uses within the Eve ecosystem.
Carbon is divided into modules and released under several licenses. Most of the code uses the permissive MIT License. Spatial audio clustering is covered by Apache License 2.0, while the IO module uses the Python Software Foundation License. The licenses allow commercial use, so developers can use the technology without paying for it or create a modified version of the engine.
Fenris says generating direct revenue is not the purpose of the release. The company hopes that broader participation will lead people to contribute their time, skills and resources, with improvements potentially benefiting everyone who uses the code.
Security, the Eve economy and open code
Making an engine public means the core technology team must review proposed changes and keep an eye on security. Fenris has been increasing team capacity and reserving time in its development process to assess contributions. Hunter says public scrutiny also raises the bar for reviewing code and making architectural decisions.
At the same time, outside contributors may help identify and fix weaknesses. Eve Online launched in 2003, and its engine and networking systems have undergone years of hardening, partly in response to attempts to disrupt the game’s large-scale fleet battles. Hunter says the number of security-focused contributions so far has been relatively small for a 23-year-old engine.
The game’s economy is not part of the open-source release. Eve Online has a complex in-game trading system, with estimates putting its annual trading volume above $50 million. Fenris carefully separated the engine from systems and licensed middleware that were not suitable for release. Practical takeaway: developers should check the license for each module they use, since not every component uses the same terms.
What Fenris learned from Godot
Fenris consulted the Godot team, whose open-source engine project began in 2014, particularly about governance and managing contributions. One key lesson was that architecture can make community involvement easier to organize. A plug-in model can define clear boundaries for extensions while keeping the core project manageable.
Fenris is working toward a plug-in architecture for Carbon and plans to open-source related tooling in the coming months. The project is also preparing contribution guidelines and pull-request templates, including requirements for testing proposed changes.
Contributors may use large language models (LLMs), but Fenris asks them to disclose that use. The team may review AI-assisted code differently, so clear disclosure helps reviewers assess a contribution appropriately.
Testing Carbon and building for the future
Developing in public is expected to bring more scrutiny to major architectural changes. Fenris also plans to create a simplified example project that developers can use to understand the engine and test changes. Until then, teams have often tested engine updates inside Eve Online or Eve Frontier, which are full games rather than small, focused test environments.
Image credit: Fenris Creations
Eve Frontier is a space-survival game that integrates the crypto token $EVE.
Over the next five years, Hunter hopes to see a substantial community build tools, applications and new experiences around Eve. Earlier API releases encouraged players to make character-skill and ship-fitting tools; Fenris believes access to Carbon could support a broader range of community projects.
Because the Carbon game engine is available under permissive licenses, developers have considerable freedom to experiment, including building their own versions. Fenris hopes those efforts will also enrich the Eve universe, while the open development process gives contributors a way to help improve the technology itself.
