Compare space strategy games
Influence vs. EVE Online
Enjoy the industrial side of a space MMO? Here is how Influence and EVE Online approach building, trading, and finding your place in a shared universe.
The experience at a glance
Both games give miners, manufacturers, and traders a role in a multiplayer economy. EVE connects that economy to a broad space sandbox with ship combat. Influence currently focuses on building and operating industry in the Adalian asteroid belt, with crew management and planned actions at its core.
| What matters to you | Influence | EVE Online |
|---|---|---|
| Your role | Manage crews and industrial operations across an asteroid belt. | Play a capsuleer in New Eden, pursuing industry, exploration, trade, or combat. |
| Industry | Extract resources, refine materials, manufacture products, and assemble ships. | Manufacture using blueprints, with research, copying, invention, and reactions among its industry systems. |
| Travel & logistics | Plan flights around asteroid positions, propellant, cargo, and travel time. | Move ships and cargo through New Eden as part of a sandbox that includes warfare and piracy. |
| Combat | Combat is planned for a future release. Today's playable competition centers on the economy. | PvP and PvE combat are part of the playable game. |
| Progression | Develop infrastructure and choose crew classes and traits. Skill-tree progression is planned for a future release. | Train character skills to access ships, equipment, and activities. |
| Getting started | Desktop browser; Google or email sign-in through Influence Account. Starter packs are available in the game store. | Windows or Mac client. Free Alpha access, with broader skill and feature access through Omega game time. |
For the industrialist
If your favorite decisions are what to produce, where to source materials, and which market to supply, there is a clear overlap. EVE's blueprint-based industry supports a wide range of goods, from ammunition to ships. It also includes research and invention that Influence does not currently offer.
In Influence, the production chain is the main activity. Your crews prospect deposits, run buildings, and move materials between locations. You can specialize in one useful product rather than trying to build an entire supply chain yourself. Storage, lot access, food, and delivery costs are part of the plan.
Choose the kind of pressure you enjoy
EVE offers a place for economic play within a world that also supports fleets, warfare, and piracy. That wider range is a reason to choose it if you want industry and combat in the same game.
Influence is a fit to consider if you want your decisions to concentrate on resources, production, and transport. Combat and skill-tree progression are planned for future releases; neither is playable today. You still face constraints: a profitable order can become unattractive after delivery costs, or a production line can stop when an input runs out.
Plan around your schedule
Influence actions take time. Start work and return when it is ready, while allowing time to plan your next operation. Larger businesses and coordination with other players can demand more attention; this is not a promise of a fixed number of minutes per day.
EVE also has timed industrial jobs and skill training, so its economic careers include planning beyond a single session. Consider whether you want those systems alongside active ship gameplay, or prefer managing crews and infrastructure through a browser.
Why choose Influence?
Consider Influence for industrial planning, an asteroid-based economy, and operations you can start and revisit later. Expect a learning curve, ongoing in-game costs, and a current feature set centered on industry rather than combat.
Why choose EVE Online?
Consider EVE Online when you want manufacturing and trade as part of a larger space sandbox with playable combat, exploration, and character skill progression. Alpha lets you explore before deciding whether Omega suits your goals.
Getting started and costs
Influence's Explorer starter pack begins at US$14.99; check the in-game store for current contents and prices. EVE has free Alpha access and paid Omega game time with broader capabilities. These are different access models: neither removes the need to understand your operation's in-game expenses.
For Influence, sign in with Google or email through Influence Account, choose a starter pack, and customize your crew. The beginner's guide explains the setup and starter missions.
Sources & perspective
An editorial comparison by the Influence team. Competitor details checked against official documentation on ; features and access plans may change.
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