Everything you need to know about EVE Online's recruitment system, including what rewards both players receive, eligibility requirements, and how to get started.
What Is the EVE Online Recruit a Friend System?
The EVE Online Recruit a Friend program (sometimes called the buddy program or referral program) is CCP Games' official system that rewards players for bringing new capsuleers into New Eden. When someone uses a referral link to create a new account or to retroactively link an existing account, both the recruit and the recruiter receive rewards.
The program has been a part of EVE Online for many years, but received a significant overhaul in November 2022 when CCP introduced the ability for existing accounts to retroactively be recruited. This means that even if you've been playing EVE for years, you can still claim the recruit bonus as long as you haven't used a referral link before.
Rewards for the Recruited Player
As a recruit, you receive the following rewards simply for using a referral link:
1,000,000 Skill Points
Unallocated SP that you can apply to any skill. This is equivalent to approximately one month of real-time skill training, giving you a significant head start in the game.
These skill points are delivered as a redeemable item that appears in your character's redeem queue within seconds of using the referral link. You can choose which character receives the skill points if you have multiple characters on the account.
Rewards for the Recruiter
The player who shared the referral link also benefits from the program. When a recruited player goes on to purchase PLEX or Omega game time, the recruiter receives rewards including:
Skill Points & PLEX
Recruiters receive skill point rewards and PLEX when their recruits make qualifying purchases. The exact rewards may vary based on what the recruit purchases.
This creates a mutually beneficial arrangement — the recruit gets a free million SP head start, and the recruiter is rewarded for growing the EVE Online community.
Who Can Use a Recruit a Friend Link?
The program is available to a wide range of players:
Brand New Players — Anyone creating a fresh EVE Online account can use a referral link during signup to receive the 1 million SP bonus immediately.
Existing Alpha Players — Free-to-play Alpha clone accounts that have never used a referral link can retroactively apply one to claim the skill points.
Existing Omega Players — Even subscribers can use a referral link retroactively, as long as they haven't used one previously.
Returning Players — If you played EVE years ago and are coming back, you can still use a referral link as long as your account was never recruited before.
The only restriction is that each account can only use one referral link, ever. If you have multiple accounts (alts), each one can use a referral link independently.
Ready to Claim Your Recruit Bonus?
Use our referral link to get your 1,000,000 free skill points right now.
The recruited player receives 1,000,000 unallocated skill points immediately upon using the referral link. These can be spent on any skill in the game and are equivalent to approximately one month of normal skill training.
When a recruited player makes their first purchase of PLEX or Omega time, the recruiter receives rewards including skill points and PLEX. The rewards vary depending on the recruit's purchase.
Yes! Since November 2022, CCP allows existing accounts to retroactively use a referral link. The player just needs to click the link and log in instead of creating a new account. The only requirement is that they haven't used a referral link before.