Back in August 2023 - you know, when summer dared to feature sunshine - Just About was still unproven. Yet CCP Games believed in our vision and Just About EVE Online was born. We knew we wanted to put together something special, so at launch we dropped a mysterious $500 bounty with a description that simply read: ‘???’. In August this year, that bounty was completed. This is the tale of how: 

The beginning

Before the $500 challenge could be tackled, our community had to solve four warm-up stages, each with their own $100 prize. Stage One involved devilishly difficult riddles, enigmas, and cryptic puzzles revealing obscure in-game locations that players had to photograph to progress. 

Here’s a video that Stage One winner Wadd Enderas made about the challenge: 

The hostile takeover

Stage Two introduced Mŷs Tæ Rae, self-proclaimed master of mysteries. Mŷs Tæ Rae ‘hacked’ Just About, hiding challenge-blocked puzzle pieces both inside and outside the platform. Once assembled, these pieces formed a further puzzle of extraordinary difficulty.

Yet EVE players are renowned for their acuity, and Wadd Enderas beat out Brother Grimoire to claim a second victory:

The pirate prince

To coincide with EVE’s piratical expansion, Havoc, Stage Three introduced the unconvincing Captain Jackbeard. Players who destroyed a capital-size ship unlocked Jackbeard’s route through the most dangerous locations in New Eden. The catch? The route had to be completed in one of the highly unsuitable new pirate ships.

Seemingly indomitable, Wadd Enderas scooped up a further $100 prize.

The bloodthirsty grandmother 

Stage Four introduced the terrifying Granny Jabaddon, who threatened, cajoled, and otherwise menaced players into participating in her 40 Days of Devastation. The goal? Destroy as many player ships from as many different player corporations as possible. 

Overcoming stiff competition, Rixx Javix claimed victory after inflicting devastation to a whopping 194 corps.

The epic conclusion

Mŷs Tæ Rae, Jackbeard, and Granny returned for the Grand $500 Bounty. Each of them set miniature versions of their warm-up challenges, the completion of which would unlock a fragment of a URL. Once assembled, those URL fragments led to a mysterious distorted audio message.  

Brother Grimoire decoded the message first, revealing it to be David Bowie’s Space Oddity played in reverse - an allusion to EVE Online’s notoriously elusive easter egg: ‘Major Tom’s Shuttle’. Brother Grimoire rallied his Discord, and together, they tracked down Tom’s floating tin can.

In a lovely piece of unplanned serendipity, the challenge ended almost exactly a year after it began. Wadd, Rixx, and Brother Grimoire (as well as all the others who took part), your names will live on in Just About legend.