Greetings spacefriends, and welcome to the final Community Beat of 2025!
As the year winds down and the holiday season settles in, New Eden has kept its trademark energy. Capsuleers have been celebrating in every way imaginable, from chaotic snowball brawls in the heart of empire space, to festive artwork that captures the warmth of winter, to the kind of party where “fireworks” means sacrificing a capital ship on purpose. It is the perfect summary of what makes this universe special: a community that can turn any moment into a story.
Before we jump into 2026, here is one last look at what the community has been up to.
12th Annual Luminaire Snowball Fight: Holiday Chaos at Its Best
Few traditions say “EVE” quite like a massive community event where everyone shows up, not because they have to, but because it is fun. Commander A9 once again rallied capsuleers for the 12th Annual Luminaire Snowball Fight, transforming Luminaire into a bright, noisy, wonderfully unpredictable holiday spectacle.
It is the kind of event that looks like pure mischief on the surface, but underneath it is something bigger. It is a reminder that even in a universe built on conflict, there is always room for community-driven joy. SLOW COMMUNITY was on grid capturing great visuals, and the result is exactly what you would expect from New Eden during the holidays: festive chaos, fully embraced.
A Birthday Party in Misaba: Celebrating the Only Way New Eden Knows How
If the Luminaire snowball fight represents playful tradition, the birthday party in Misaba represents classic EVE celebration. Warlock Industries threw a birthday party that leaned into the spirit of the sandbox. To mark the occasion, he undocked multiple capital ships and turned the event into a true spectacle, finishing the party with a bang when his Avatar was destroyed.
Even without a full video report yet, the screenshots tell the story: friends, ships, excitement, and that unmistakable feeling of “this is why we log in.” It is a celebration style you can only really understand once you have lived in New Eden for a while. In most games, losing a titan-class ship is tragedy. In EVE, sometimes it is a birthday candle.
Festive Art: Winter in New Eden Through Capsuleer Eyes
The holidays also brought out an incredible wave of creativity. Every year, players find new ways to translate the feeling of winter into the language of New Eden, and 2025 was no exception.
Khezu night shared a Christmas scene on the EVE subreddit that captured a cozy, festive vibe. It is the kind of piece that makes you pause, not because it is loud, but because it feels like home, just with more starfields.
Lloyd George painted a Winter Nexus watercolor based on a reference screenshot from SLOW COMMUNITY, and it is another great reminder that EVE’s community does not just play the universe, it also documents it, interprets it, and transforms it into art.
These works are more than seasonal fun. They are proof that New Eden inspires people in ways that go beyond ship fittings and killboards. It inspires stories, atmosphere, and creativity.
Community Tools: The Builders Behind the Curtain
Creativity in New Eden is not limited to art. Some of the most impactful community contributions happen quietly in the background, through third-party tools built and maintained by dedicated developers. These tools help pilots plan campaigns, understand the economy, track activity, and make better decisions, whether you live in highsec or hold space in null.
Here are a few notable updates highlighted in this final beat of the year:
EVE SovMap: Strategy and Awareness at a Glance
Developed by Prozn Zanjoahir, EVE SovMap continues to be a valuable tool for mapping sovereignty, tracking campaigns, and detecting fleets. Tools like this help the community turn raw in-game information into clarity, which is a big deal in a universe where the smallest insight can change the outcome of a war.
Xaroth.nl: A Living Snapshot of Freelance Jobs
Xaroth.nl showcases public freelance jobs, sorted by activity, and updates every few seconds. It is a fascinating view into how active the freelance ecosystem really is. You can practically feel the pulse of New Eden through the constant movement.
RIFT: Expanding Into Freelance Jobs
RIFT rolled out an update that incorporates freelance jobs, expanding what the tool can do and how it supports player activity. The demo shows how quickly community tools evolve when developers listen to what players actually need.
Cerlestes.de Ore Table: Updated After the Catalyst Expansion
Cerlestes.de updated its ore table following the Catalyst expansion, reflecting the latest changes. For industrialists, miners, market traders, and planners, reliable data is not a convenience. It is a cornerstone of success.
All of these updates share the same theme: community members building for the community, strengthening the ecosystem that makes EVE feel alive both inside and outside the client.
A Year in Review: 2025 Through the Lens of New Eden
As the year closes out, Walter Islands looked back on 2025 through a collection of screenshots taken throughout the year. EVE screenshots hit differently because the game’s scale is genuinely cinematic. One moment you are looking at a calm, beautiful skybox, and the next you are watching a battle that feels like a historic event.
A strong year-in-review album does more than show ships and space. It captures moods: tension, wonder, chaos, victory, loss, and the quiet moments between. It is a great reminder that New Eden is not just a place where things happen, it is a place people remember.
EVE Glasgow: Ending the Year Together, In Person
As if the in-game celebrations were not enough, the long-running EVE Glasgow player meetup returns at the end of the month for what promises to be a festive meet. It will be held at the Hillhead Bookclub from 14:00 local time on Saturday, 27 December.
There is something uniquely special about player meetups. EVE is famous for its alliances, rivalries, and wars, but it is also famous for its friendships. When pilots meet face to face, the universe shrinks in the best possible way. Stories become real, voices get attached to names, and the community becomes even stronger heading into the new year.
Closing Thoughts: The Best Part of New Eden Is the People
The final Community Beat of 2025 lands like a highlight reel of what makes EVE, EVE:
- A tradition that turns a system into a holiday battleground of snowballs
- A birthday party where capital ships are part of the celebration
- Artwork that brings warmth to the cold beauty of space
- Tools built by players that power the everyday life of the sandbox
- A year’s worth of moments captured in screenshots
- A meetup that brings the community together beyond the game
However you spent your time in New Eden this year, thank you for being part of the story. Here is to more adventures, more creativity, and more unforgettable moments in 2026.
Happy Holidays, and fly safe.
o7