Today, CCP announced the launch of the Arms Race update for EVE Online, their in-depth and uniquely player-driven spaceship MMO game, which introduces even greater accessibility and wider gameplay variety to players with free-to-play accounts, known as Alpha Clones. Introduced in last year’s Ascension expansion, Alpha accounts enable players to permanently join hundreds of thousands of established users in EVE Online’s massive space sandbox for free. Now, CCP Games has opened up the ability for Alpha pilots to train many more skills, fly more impressive spaceships and equip more advanced weaponry.

“There has never been a better time to join the universe of EVE and begin your own unique space adventure, or re-join and continue your journey,” said Hilmar Veigar Pétursson, CCP’s CEO. “The increased flexibility and depth of the free Alpha Clone experience means that EVE is more accessible than ever. EVE players can return and fly their favorite ships for free, re-uniting with old corpmates or continue forging their own destiny to make their mark on the universe.”

To mark this release, CCP has issued a new video highlighting the vessels now accessible for free.

The Arms Race update immensely increases Alpha Clones’ options for skill training, allowing them to pilot the mighty Battleship and Battlecruiser classes of vessel, as well as many ships from across all of EVE Online’s stalwart Empires and infamous pirate factions, which represent some of the most popular ships in the game. To supplement this change, free access has also been granted to skills that allow for the use of upgraded weapons systems.

Alpha pilots will now be able to enjoy an even greater feeling of immersion and participation in the universe of New Eden. This update also provides a great incentive for any veteran pilots interested in returning to EVE Online, enabling them to fly powerful ships in their old player groups once again without a subscription.

The Arms Race update also brings a new training option for Alpha Clones, with the ability to accrue skillpoints on a daily, rather than monthly basis using Daily Alpha Injectors. While these injectors can only be used once per day, per Alpha character, they can be activated immediately to add 50,000 skillpoints into a pilot’s unallocated skillpoint pool.

With the release of this update, EVE Online’s players can enjoy an event catered toward the newfound power of Alpha Clones. Running from December 5 – 12, the Arms Race event celebrates free access to Battlecruisers and Battleships, and provides rewards themed around them.

In addition, the Arms Race update includes many other enhancements and refinements for EVE Online. The Resource Wars feature will see the introduction of a new role that allows players to fly as a support pilot, earning rewards by providing remote logistics to fellow players, plus vessels from the Empire that they support. Players will now take on an elevated threat, with Pirate Forward Operating Bases becoming easier to find and engage with. Furthermore, as part of CCP’s ongoing commitment to keeping New Eden as visually stunning as possible, players will be also able to enjoy improved textures on structures found in missions and deadspace areas.

The Arms Race update also sees the appearance of a new in-game monument to commemorate the efforts of all all the EVE Online players who contributed to real science through the development of the Human Protein Atlas as part of Project Discovery.