What if the games you love weren’t static products locked behind developer roadmaps, but living universes that evolve based on how players shape them? This isn’t a theoretical question anymore. On 12 February 2025, CCP Games officially announced the EVE Frontier × Sui Hackathon 2026—a watershed moment for the intersection of blockchain technology and interactive entertainment.
REYKJAVÍK, Iceland might seem an unlikely epicenter for the next industrial revolution in gaming, but CCP has spent nearly three decades proving that virtual worlds can be more meaningful than real life. Now, in partnership with Mysten Labs, the original contributors to Sui, they’re inviting builders worldwide to answer a provocative question:
What would you create if you could mod the server itself?
Running 11-31 March 2026, this online hackathon offers $80,000 USD in prizes. But for developers, game designers, and Web3 natives reading this, the real value isn’t the purse—it’s the opportunity to deploy code into a live, persistent universe where your modifications become permanent infrastructure that other players can interact with, extend, or even destroy.
Let’s break down exactly why this matters, how you can participate, and why EVE Frontier represents the first genuine breakthrough in blockchain-enforced modding and co-creation we’ve seen since modding culture itself was born.
What Is the EVE Frontier × Sui Hackathon 2026?
The EVE Frontier × Sui Hackathon 2026 is an online, global competition where developers, designers, and creators build mods—either inside the game world via Smart Assemblies or as external applications connected through official APIs—that extend the EVE Frontier universe in real time.
Think of it less as a traditional hackathon and more as an open call to civilization-builders.
The theme, “A Toolkit for Civilization,” isn’t marketing poetry. It’s an architectural statement. EVE Frontier isn’t designed to be a complete game at launch—it’s designed to be incomplete on purpose, waiting for its player base to write the missing chapters.
Key Details at a Glance
| Element | Specification |
|---|---|
| Event Name | EVE Frontier × Sui Hackathon 2026 |
| Announcement Date | 12 February 2025 |
| Hackathon Period | 11-31 March 2026 |
| Prize Pool | $80,000 USD |
| Theme | “A Toolkit for Civilization” |
| Eligibility | Global; individuals or teams up to 5 |
| Registration | http://deepsurge.xyz/evefrontier2026 |
| Official Trailer | Announcement Trailer |
Why This Hackathon Matters: Modding Meets Blockchain Verifiability
EVE Frontier demonstrates the unique power of Sui—supporting galactic-scale battles, true ownership, and persistent worlds through large-scale moddable infrastructure.
Here’s what that means in plain English.
Traditional game modding operates at the client level. You modify files on your computer. Other players need to install your mod to see it. Servers remain agnostic. EVE Frontier flips this model entirely.
Mods can live inside the EVE Frontier game world by running within Smart Assemblies: player-built, in-game structures such as storage units, gates, and defensive systems. These aren’t cosmetic skins. They’re programmable infrastructure powered by Sui’s object-centric blockchain architecture.
When you build a mod and deploy it to a Smart Assembly, you’re not distributing a file—you’re installing new logic into a physical object within the shared universe. That object can be defended, attacked, destroyed, or replicated by other players. Its behavior persists whether you’re online or offline.
This is the next step in game modding: where builders aren’t just modding a client or a tool, but modding the server itself in real time, through systems that are designed to be extended.
The Two Pathways for Builders
The hackathon accepts submissions in two distinct categories:
1. In-Game Mods (Smart Assemblies)
Deployable structures that exist as spatial objects
Examples: automated turrets with custom targeting logic, player-owned stargates with toll mechanisms, storage units with programmable access controls
These act as the physical hosts for player creativity
Fully interactive; can be engaged by other players in real-time combat or economy
2. External Applications
Tools that connect to EVE Frontier through official APIs
Do not exist as objects in space but read and react to live game data
Examples: galactic trade analytics dashboards, fleet coordination platforms, territory control heat maps, economic forecasting tools
Essential for players who prefer data science over combat
What Makes Sui the Right Infrastructure for “Forever Games”?
Sui is a next-generation Layer 1 blockchain, designed as the full stack for a new global economy. Powered by an object-centric model, Sui makes assets, permissions, and user data natively onchain, programmable, and ownable.
But what does that actually mean for someone building a mod in March 2026?
Horizontal scaling. Sui processes transactions in parallel rather than sequentially. When thousands of EVE Frontier players engage in galactic-scale battles, Sui doesn’t bottleneck. Every missile, every module activation, every Smart Assembly state change happens without gas wars or network congestion.
Object-centric architecture. Unlike account-based blockchains where everything is a ledger entry, Sui treats each Smart Assembly as a unique object with its own storage, permissions, and programmable logic. Your turret isn’t represented by a token ID—it is the object itself.
Low latency. Responses happen in milliseconds, not minutes. For a space survival game where split-second decisions determine whether your civilization survives another cycle, this isn’t a feature—it’s a prerequisite.
Adeniyi Abiodun, Chief Product Officer at Mysten Labs, frames it directly: “Our goal is to provide the infrastructure to build ‘forever games,’ moddable worlds that can keep evolving. While EVE and Sui provide the foundation, it’s the builders who drive innovation.”
“A Toolkit for Civilization”: What the Judges Want to See
The hackathon theme invites mods from the supportive to the bizarre. CCP Games isn’t looking exclusively for combat-focused entries. Some of the most compelling possibilities lie in economic, logistical, and social infrastructure.
High-Potential Mod Concepts to Consider
For Smart Assemblies (In-Game):
Automated resource refineries that process raw materials more efficiently than baseline stations
Beacon systems that transmit distress signals or trade offers across star systems
Defensive grids that coordinate fire patterns based on threat prioritization algorithms
Market kiosks that execute limit orders and provide liquidity in remote systems
Memorial structures that commemorate fallen corporations or historical battles
For External Applications:
Route optimization engines that calculate safest/fastest trade corridors based on real-time pirate activity
Alliance reputation trackers that monitor diplomatic standings and alert users to shifts
Industrial blueprint repositories with searchable, community-rated schematics
War analytics platforms that predict likely invasion vectors based on territorial control patterns
Entries can be deployed into the live server, where players can use them as part of the judging process, with the community vote playing a key role in deciding the winners.
This is critical: your submission isn’t evaluated in a sandbox. Real players interact with your creation in the live universe. Feedback loops are immediate. If your turret design is exploitable, players will find the exploit within hours and share it across Discord. If your trade analytics tool saves corporations millions in ISK-equivalent value, adoption will be viral.
How to Register and Compete
The hackathon is open globally to individuals and teams of up to five participants.
Registration opens immediately, though the development window doesn’t begin until 11 March 2026. This extended runway—over a year from announcement to competition—is intentional. Smart Assembly development requires thinking in terms of systems, not scripts.
Full details on registration, timelines, submission requirements, and modding resources are available at: http://deepsurge.xyz/evefrontier2026
Recommended Preparation Timeline
| Phase | Period | Action Items |
|---|---|---|
| Discovery | Feb–May 2025 | Study Sui Move language; join EVE Frontier community Discord; identify pain points in current gameplay |
| Prototyping | Jun–Dec 2025 | Build small-scale Smart Assembly experiments; test external API connections |
| Iteration | Jan–Feb 2026 | Stress-test mods; recruit team members; conduct closed playtests |
| Submission | 11–31 Mar 2026 | Deploy to live server; engage with community; respond to feedback |
What “True Ownership” Actually Means in EVE Frontier
The phrase true ownership gets thrown around casually in Web3 gaming. Most implementations mean “you can sell your sword on a marketplace.” EVE Frontier means something deeper.
When you build a Smart Assembly and deploy it to the EVE Frontier universe, you own the logic. You can:
Grant other players permission to use your assembly
Restrict access based on alliance affiliation or reputation scores
Transfer ownership to another player or corporation
Program the assembly to self-destruct under specific conditions
Allow other builders to extend your mod with additional functionality
This last point is revolutionary. Mods can stay active over time, be expanded by others, and continue to affect the shared universe across the entire galaxy. Your contribution isn’t a dead file—it’s a living system that evolves alongside the player base.
You awake from stasis as the last relic of humanity from a lost age. Civilization has decayed in the ruin of its ambition, feral drone swarms scour its wastes, and survivors fight to gain control over its resources. In the shadow of the Trinary, who will you become?
This is the narrative framing, but the mechanical reality is this: you are not playing a character. You are playing a civilization founder.
Why Experienced Modders Are Taking This Seriously
To understand why this announcement matters, look at CCP Games’ track record. EVE Online, launched in May 2003, remains the only MMO where a single player-led corporation executed a $300,000 USD equivalent heist after infiltrating an enemy alliance for over a year. The game doesn’t script these events. It provides infrastructure, and players write the stories.
EVE Frontier extends this philosophy from emergent gameplay to emergent infrastructure.
Hilmar Veigar Pétursson, CEO of CCP Games, positions this as logical evolution: “EVE Frontier is built on the idea that a virtual world shouldn’t be static. This is the next step in game modding.”
For developers who grew up modding DOOM, Quake, and Half-Life, this represents a return to first principles. Modding isn’t about cosmetics—it’s about fundamentally altering how a game behaves. The difference is that 1990s mods remained local. 2026 mods become part of the shared canon.
Community Voting: Your Users Are Your Judges
The community vote plays a key role in deciding the winners.
This creates an interesting incentive structure. You can’t win by building something technically impressive but incomprehensible to average players. Your mod needs to be useful, discoverable, and valuable to the people actually flying ships through EVE Frontier’s persistent universe.
Consider building:
Tutorial modules that help new players understand Smart Assembly mechanics
Visual indicators that communicate your mod’s status at a glance
Documentation written in plain English, not developer jargon
Feedback channels within your mod for users to report issues
Quick wins: Mods that solve immediate quality-of-life problems tend to outperform ambitious but unstable systems during voting periods. Balance innovation with reliability.
Strategic Considerations for Builders and Teams
1. Auditability Is Feature, Not Compliance
Because Smart Assemblies run on Sui’s blockchain-enforced infrastructure, every state change is recorded. This isn’t surveillance—it’s debugging superpowers. When something breaks, you can trace exactly when and why.
2. Expect Hostile Environments
Other players can attack your assemblies. Build redundancy. Design for graceful degradation. Mods that assume peaceful operation will fail spectacularly. This isn’t a bug—it’s emergent gameplay.
3. Collaboration Outperforms Competition
The most successful EVE Online players historically are those who form alliances rather than lone wolves. The hackathon permits teams of up to five, but your mod’s long-term survival may depend on allowing other builders to extend your work. Consider open-sourcing core logic.
4. External Tools Have Lower Barriers to Entry
If Smart Assembly development in Sui Move seems daunting, start with external applications. Maps, dashboards, coordination platforms, and analytics services are equally valuable to the ecosystem and carry lower deployment risk.
The hackathon is open globally to individuals and teams of up to five participants. Full details on registration, timelines, submission requirements, and modding resources are available at: http://deepsurge.xyz/
For more information about EVE Frontier, visit www.evefrontier.com. An FAQ can be found at www.evefrontier.com/faq.
About CCP Games
CCP is a leading independently operated game developer that has been praised for its artistry, technology and game design that facilitates emergent behavior, empowering players with compelling means of self-expression. Founded in 1997 on the principle of pushing the envelope and breaking new ground on all levels, CCP is on a mission to create virtual worlds more meaningful than real life. With the launch of EVE Online in May 2003, CCP established itself as a pioneer of cutting-edge massively multiplayer games, winning numerous awards and receiving critical acclaim worldwide. CCP is headquartered in Reykjavik, Iceland, and has additional studios in London and Shanghai.
Website | Twitter/X | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | LinkedIn
About Sui Foundation
Sui is a next-generation Layer 1 blockchain, designed as the full stack for a new global economy. Powered by an object-centric model, Sui makes assets, permissions, and user data natively onchain, programmable, and ownable. Its unified stack of protocols and primitives provides a composable, end-to-end toolkit for market transformation, delivering centralized-quality performance on decentralized infrastructure. Learn more at sui.io.
About EVE Frontier®
EVE Frontier is an online space survival game. You awake from stasis as the last relic of humanity from a lost age. Civilization has decayed in the ruin of its ambition, feral drone swarms scour its wastes, and survivors fight to gain control over its resources. In the shadow of the Trinary, who will you become? Learn more: www.evefrontier.com.
Website | Twitter/X | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Discord
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: When does the EVE Frontier × Sui Hackathon 2026 take place?
A: The hackathon runs from 11 March 2026 to 31 March 2026. Registration opens immediately at http://deepsurge.xyz/evefrontier2026.
Q: What is the prize pool?
A: $80,000 USD total, distributed across multiple categories. Full breakdown will be published on the registration portal.
Q: Do I need blockchain experience to participate?
A: Not necessarily. External application submissions using standard APIs require no blockchain development. For Smart Assembly mods, familiarity with Sui Move is recommended. Learning resources are available through the hackathon portal.
Q: Can I participate solo or do I need a team?
A: Both individuals and teams (up to five members) are eligible.
Q: Where do mods live?
A: Two options: inside Smart Assemblies (in-game structures that exist as physical objects) or external applications (connected via API, no in-game presence).
Q: Who owns the mods I create?
A: Builders retain ownership of their deployed logic and can set permissions, transfer ownership, or allow extensions by other players.
Q: How are winners determined?
A: Community voting plays a significant role, alongside judging by CCP Games and Mysten Labs representatives. Mods are evaluated in the live server environment.
Q: What is a Smart Assembly?
A: Player-built, in-game structures such as storage units, gates, and defensive systems that can host programmable logic. They act as the physical hosts for player creativity within the EVE Frontier universe.
Q: What blockchain does EVE Frontier use?
A: Sui, a next-generation Layer 1 blockchain designed for horizontal scaling, low latency, and object-centric asset management.
Q: Where can I learn more about EVE Frontier?
A: Official website: www.evefrontier.com. FAQ: www.evefrontier.com/faq.
Q: Is this only for professional developers?
A: No. The theme “A Toolkit for Civilization” welcomes contributions from designers, writers, economists, and systems thinkers—not solely programmers.
CCP Games and Sui have provided the foundation. The infrastructure is live. The prize pool is funded. The server is waiting.
Between 11-31 March 2026, a new generation of builders will deploy code that becomes permanent infrastructure in a persistent, player-owned universe. Some submissions will be forgotten within hours. Others will become essential—stargates that define trade routes, defensive algorithms that protect capitals, analytics platforms that expose market inefficiencies.
EVE Frontier is designed to be built by players, not just played by them.
The question isn’t whether you have the technical skills. The question is whether you have the vision to see what’s missing and the conviction to build it.
Registration is open. The toolkit is waiting. Who will you become in the shadow of the Trinary?
