Deployment of the summer expansion, EVE Online: Invasion, is scheduled for next Tuesday, May 28th during an extended daily downtime.

Downtime will begin at the usual time of 11:00 UTC and will run for a total of 30 minutes, during which EVE Online: Invasion will be deployed. Tranquility is expected to be back online and accepting connections by 11:30 UTC.

EVE Online: Invasion sees the Triglavian Collective emerge from the Abyss for the first time, in an invasion that will begin on May 28th and intensify in the following days and weeks. Capsuleers across the cluster should be prepared to meet this new threat head on, facing formidable enemy fleets and escalating consequences to earn lucrative rewards.

In addition to this, there’ll be the introduction of the first Tech II Triglavian ships, as well as new mutaplasmids for damage controls, assault damage controls and both ancillary armor repairers and shield boosters.

Industry changes are also coming with the Invasion to accommodate the new Tech II Triglavian hulls, including brand new skills for Triglavian invention and manufacturing as well as new Tech II Triglavian components, datacores and some tweaks to Triglavian ship and module production.

The EVE Dev Team’s focus on quality of life improvements will also see the next stage of war declaration changes arrive with EVE Online: Invasion, as well as tweaks to Tech II ammo types, allowing them to be loaded into all Faction, Storyline, and Officer weapon variations.

Quality of life improvements don’t stop there, with this expansion also offering an entirely redesigned experience for The Agency, with a focus on making content and activities in New Eden more discoverable and accessible to both new and established pilots alike. The Agency will see the return of the agent finder, as well as a visual overhaul to make activities, resource gathering and exploration clearer and more concise.

And of course, earlier than planned due to the incredible level of support that CCP has seen in testing from the EVE Community, the deployment of EVE Online: Invasion will also include an opt-in open beta for the 64-bit EVE Online client. There’ll be more information on how to opt into this on release day. You can check out the full patch notes here.