Google DeepMind Takes Stake in 'Eve Online' Maker, Will Use Game to Test AI Behavior

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In brief

Google DeepMind and Fenris Creations (formerly CCP Games) are teaming up to survey AI behaviour successful complex, player-driven crippled environments.
The archetypal probe volition tally connected offline, controlled Eve Online builds not connected to Tranquility, the game's unrecorded server.
DeepMind has taken a number involvement successful Fenris aft it spun retired from Pearl Abyss and became an autarkic workplace erstwhile more.

Google DeepMind said Wednesday that it is teaming up with CCP Games, acquiring a number involvement successful the Icelandic workplace down long-running massively multiplayer abstraction crippled Eve Online, with plans to survey however artificial quality behaves wrong complex, player-driven virtual environments.

The investment, which DeepMind told Bloomberg is valued successful the millions of dollars, comes arsenic CCP announced that it has go an autarkic studio, spinning retired from steadfast Pearl Abyss and rebranding to Fenris Creations. According to laminitis and CEO Hilmar Veigar Pétursson, the caller operation and partners alteration the institution to continuously germinate “a surviving beingness and actively [explore] what it tin become, with everlastingly successful mind.”

“We’re grateful to Pearl Abyss for their concern and for the accordant enactment they’ve shown america implicit the past seven-and-a-half years,” Pétursson said successful a statement. “Eve Online exists contiguous due to the fact that of pioneering thinking, patience, and spot betwixt developers and players.”

Fenris Creations announced the team-up with Google connected Wednesday, adding that the 2 companies program to stock further details astatine the yearly Eve Fanfest successful Reykjavik adjacent week.

“I’ve known Hilmar for galore years and agelong admired his work, and I’m thrilled to spouse with him and the fantastic squad astatine Fenris Creations to research caller gaming experiences and beforehand AI probe safely wrong a player-driven beingness arsenic amazingly analyzable arsenic Eve Online,” Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis said successful a statement.

According to Fenris, the probe tests volition tally connected offline, controlled versions of the Eve Online satellite that are not connected to Tranquility, the unrecorded server.

Today is simply a time of galore milestones, 7.5 years agone we joined up with Pearl Abyss arsenic CCP Games and contiguous we portion ways arsenic friends and with heavy respect, arsenic we go @FenrisCreations.

We’ve learned a large woody from Pearl Abyss, an bonzer crippled maker, arsenic amply evidenced by… pic.twitter.com/cxcSHHvp1x

— FC Hellmar (@HilmarVeigar) May 6, 2026

“It is simply a one-of-a-kind simulation for investigating general-purpose artificial quality successful a harmless sandbox environment,” Alexandre Moufarek, manager of inception astatine Google DeepMind, said successful a statement. “I'm excited to spouse with the squad astatine Fenris Creations to propulsion the frontier of artificial quality and research caller subordinate experiences."

Eve Online launched successful 2003 and runs a afloat emergent subordinate beingness that includes markets, governmental alliances, and large-scale wars generated by subordinate behavior. In 2024, the workplace revealed Eve Frontier, a abstracted on-chain abstraction endurance MMO primitively moving connected Redstone, an Ethereum layer-2 network, successful 2024.

The crippled has since migrated to layer-1 web Sui for its mainnet launch. It's unclear whether the DeepMind probe volition widen to Eve Frontier's on-chain situation oregon stay focused connected AI interactions.

Fenris says it closed 2025 with immoderate of its strongest fiscal results successful the game's history, including a grounds November and 1 of its champion quarters connected record.

“New Eden is live due to the fact that you support making it alive. We were capable to marque this modulation successful ample portion due to the fact that of you,” the institution said. “Because you proceed to judge successful Eve. Because you proceed to enactment us. Because you proceed to situation us. Because, aft each these years, you are inactive gathering the astir awesome virtual satellite successful gaming close alongside us.”