Google DeepMind Partners with Fenris Creations to Advance AI Research in EVE Online
Key Takeaways
- ▸Google DeepMind has entered a $120 million research partnership with EVE Online developer Fenris Creations to advance AI research using the game as a testing environment
- ▸The partnership will explore long-horizon planning, memory, and continual learning within EVE Online's complex player-driven universe
- ▸Fenris Creations separated from Pearl Abyss and rebranded under new management to gain independence for long-term development of persistent virtual worlds
Summary
Google DeepMind has announced a research partnership with Fenris Creations (formerly CCP Games), the developer of the long-running MMO EVE Online. The partnership, valued at $120 million, follows Fenris Creations' separation from parent company Pearl Abyss and its rebranding under new management and investor control.
The collaboration will use EVE Online as a testing ground for advanced AI research, focusing on areas including long-horizon planning, memory, and continual learning. DeepMind will work with an offline, local version of the game to explore both AI capabilities and new gameplay experiences enabled by these technologies. Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis highlighted the significance of games as training environments for AI algorithms, pointing to past breakthroughs like AlphaGo and AlphaStar.
The partnership reflects Fenris Creations' commitment to evolving EVE Online for the long term as a persistent, player-driven virtual world. The deal provides the studio with greater independence and direct ownership to invest in sustained development, while supporting DeepMind's research objectives in a uniquely complex gaming environment.
- DeepMind will work with an offline version of EVE Online to explore both AI capabilities and new gameplay experiences
