EVE Online studio Fenris follows through on yearslong promise to make its in-house game engine fully open source
Fenris Creations (formerly CCP Games) has completed the full open source release of its in-house Carbon Engine as of July 1. The engine repositories are now publicly available on GitHub. The Carbon Engine powers EVE Online, the long-running space MMO that has defined the studio for decades, as well as EVE Frontier, its early access space survival game.
This move represents a significant and somewhat surprising decision in an industry increasingly dominated by proprietary game engines. While major studios have historically maintained competitive advantages through proprietary technology, the trend has shifted toward consolidation around third-party engines like Unreal Engine. Recent examples include CD Projekt Red, a studio historically known for its proprietary Red Engine, which has opted to transition to Unreal Engine. Epic Games has recently unveiled details about Unreal Engine’s sixth iteration, reflecting the engine’s market dominance.
Fenris’s decision to open source the Carbon Engine follows years of promises to do so, finally delivering on that commitment. This action stands out as an unusual move in an industry where engine technology is typically closely guarded intellectual property.