EVE Online: Rubicon announced, CCP want to give players more power over New Eden than ever before

CCP have announced the 20th free expansion for the jerk-filled MMO sandbox EVE Online. It's called Rubicon, and it won't just be the usual round-up of new features and balance tweaks. Instead, according to senior producer Andie "CCP Seagull" Nordgren, it marks the first step in a plan to give players "more power over this universe than ever before".

In Rubicon, that will mean a number of ways in which players can break free from the Empire. That includes taking control of Hi-Sec Customs Offices, giving players the chance to tax the flow of resources being harvested, and the ability to deploy temporary mobile structures, "to support your industrial operations and wartime efforts". The combat system will also be tweaked, to allow for guerilla tactics against even the biggest strongholds.

You can find more details on the EVE Online: Rubicon microsite , or watch the hour-long announcement stream below. Rubicon is due out November 19th.

Phil has been writing for PC Gamer for nearly a decade, starting out as a freelance writer covering everything from free games to MMOs. He eventually joined full-time as a news writer, before moving to the magazine to review immersive sims, RPGs and Hitman games. Now he leads PC Gamer's UK team, but still sometimes finds the time to write about his ongoing obsessions with Destiny 2, GTA Online and Apex Legends. When he's not levelling up battle passes, he's checking out the latest tactics game or dipping back into Guild Wars 2. He's largely responsible for the whole Tub Geralt thing, but still isn't sorry.