"Eve Online": Google DeepMind to use Sci-Fi game as research environment

Google DeepMind wants to test AI models in the sci-fi simulation “Eve Online.” For this purpose, the research company is investing in the Icelandic development studio behind the online game, according to a press release. The exact amount of the investment is not known. Previously, the studio, long known as CCP Games, bought itself out of publisher Pearl Abyss for $120 million and renamed itself Fenris Creations.

The goal of the cooperation is to deepen the understanding of intelligence in complex, dynamic systems, according to the Fenris Creations statement. “The collaboration will explore areas such as long-term planning, memory, and continuous learning, using 'EVE Online' as a unique research environment.”

DeepMind lets AI play offline

“EVE Online” allows players to forge their path in a simulated universe. The MMO game depicts not only massive space battles but also models an economic system, politics, and virtual societies. Players form alliances to control star systems and wage war to expand their empires. Logistics, trade, and even espionage play a role. All of this is not dictated by the developers but is dynamically built by the community.

However, Google's DeepMind is not supposed to play on live servers but to limit itself to a local version of the sci-fi simulation. Players therefore do not have to fear AI interventions in the game.

“Training ground for testing AI algorithms”

“Games have also been at the center of many breakthroughs by Google DeepMind, such as Atari DQN, AlphaGo, AlphaStar, and SIMA, as they are the perfect training ground for developing and testing AI algorithms,” writes DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis in the statement. “I am very much looking forward to working with him and the fantastic team at Fenris Creations to explore new gaming experiences and safely advance AI research in a player-driven universe as incredibly complex as 'EVE Online'.”

Pearl Abyss had bought the then CCP Games in 2018 for at least $225 million. The fact that the studio is now regaining its independence for $120 million represents a significant devaluation. According to its statements, Fenris Creations was profitable in 2025 with a revenue of over $70 million and has “solid reserves.”

(dahe)