How does open-sourcing the 23-year-old Carbon engine impact the EVE Online community and the security of the game?

The Carbon engine that powers EVE Online is now open source [1][2], a move designed to strengthen the community and improve the game’s technology. It also raises some security questions. Here is what the evidence shows about both sides.

Community Impact

Opening the code aims to build a closer relationship between the developers and players.

• Trust through transparency: Fenris Creations said the goal was to “get the code out there for inspectability and building trust with the community” [4][22][24].
• Co‑creation and community growth: The plan is to let players, developers, and even universities experiment with the engine. CCP’s CEO stated the vision is to “open up game development to everyone” and empower creators [11][14]. The hope is that “more eyes on it” will help the community learn, grow, and “do crazy things with it” [5][10][15]. If the community improves the code, “it’s good for everyone” [23].
• Longer life for EVE: The main reason behind the decision is to help EVE Online “go on forever” [13]. Shared code often becomes more robust over time [16].
• Not everything is ready yet: Many main engine parts are still missing, so the release is not yet fully useful for community projects [12].
• Existing private servers: A private server scene already exists for EVE Online [17]. The open‑source move could affect that part of the community, though the evidence does not say exactly how.

Security Impact

The game’s security gets a mix of caution and real benefits.

• Initial worry: Some community members reacted with the question “What could possibly go wrong?” [3].
• Community is already fixing issues: Members have been submitting pull requests (proposed code changes) for security fixes [8][18][25]. Fenris Creations says that having outsiders help close security gaps is “very good” and addresses holes that “would have been there anyway” [6][19][26].
• Hardened by two decades of live service: The 23‑year‑old engine has been “battle‑hardened” by years of real‑world use. The number of security‑related pull requests has been “quite minimal” so far, which is seen as a good sign [7][20][27].
• Sensitive pieces stay closed: The valuable in‑game economy and other game‑specific systems are not open source [9][21]. The team was very careful to separate engine code from those parts to protect the game’s integrity [28].

Overall, the open‑source move seems to focus on building a more creative and lasting community, while the actual security risk is limited by the engine’s age and the fact that the most critical systems remain closed.