Google DeepMind acquires stake in EVE Online maker to train AI models on player behavior
13 Sources
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Google DeepMind partners with EVE Online for AI model testing
Google's AI-focused DeepMind division has taken a minority stake in the developer of popular sci-fi simulation EVE Online, saying it will use the game to study "intelligence in complex, dynamic, player-driven systems." The research partnership comes as the management behind EVE Online developer
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Google DeepMind Will Train AI Models on the MMORPG Eve Online
Blake has over a decade of experience writing for the web, with a focus on mobile phones, where he covered the smartphone boom of the 2010s and the broader tech scene. When he's not in front of a keyboard, you'll most likely find him playing video games or watching horror movies. A game with more
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Google's DeepMind to train AI on player actions in quarter-million-player MMORPG Eve Online -- Google bought in by purchasing a minority stake in the newly independent Fenris Creations
It is hoped Eve Online will help instill 'skills that AI has not yet fully mastered' in DeepMind. Google will leverage data from one of the most complex and multi-layered sci-fi MMORPGs to train its AI. With a quarter million monthly active users, Eve Online's deep living simulation of economics
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Google just bought a stake in the maker of Eve Online to train its AI models - Engadget
The company behind the long-running space sim Eve Online has entered into a partnership with Google in which the search giant will take a minority stake. In exchange, Google's DeepMind will train its AI technology on the game, according to a report by Bloomberg. CCP Games, the dev who made and
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Google DeepMind Gets Into Gaming, Purchases Stake in the Company Behind EVE Online
The two companies are partnering to explore new AI-enabled gameplay experiences. AI companies have long used video games to train and test their models, so it’s not a huge surprise that Google DeepMind has now acquired a minority stake in the maker of the popular MMORPG EVE Online. The
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Google DeepMind is partnering with EVE Online to research 'player-driven systems'
EVE Online has offered gamers a space-centric alternative to MMOs like World of Warcraft for over 20 years. Now, the studio behind the game is looking towards the future of game development, beginning with a new AI-centric partnership with Google's DeepMind. Granted, today's announcement -- which
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Google DeepMind Takes Stake in 'Eve Online' Maker, Will Use Game to Test AI Behavior - Decrypt
DeepMind has taken a minority stake in Fenris after it spun out from Pearl Abyss and became an independent studio once more. Google DeepMind said Wednesday that it is teaming up with CCP Games, acquiring a minority stake in the Icelandic studio behind long-running massively multiplayer space game
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Eve Online dev breaks from Pearl Abyss and establishes "research partnership" with Google DeepMind
EVE Online developer CCP Games has broken away from Pearl Abyss and rebranded as Fenris Creations as it enters into a "research partnership" with Google DeepMind. The deal is valued at $120 million - that's around £88 million. Now controlled by its own senior management and long-term investors -
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CCP Games is no more: EVE Online studio changes its name as it goes independent and enters an AI research partnership with Google DeepMind
An offline version of EVE Online will serve as a testbed for new AI research. Some big changes out of EVE Online developer CCP Games today, including that it is no longer called CCP Games: The studio has parted ways with Crimson Desert maker Pearl Abyss, entered into an AI research partnership
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Google DeepMind partners with EVE Online studio for AI research
Google DeepMind has acquired a minority stake in Fernris Creations, the developer of the MMORPG EVE Online. The partnership coincides with Fernris Creations' announcement of its independence from Pearl Abyss, after repurchasing itself in a deal valued at $120 million. EVE Online, originally
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Eve Online dev CCP Games changes name to Fenris Creations, teams up with Google DeepMind AI
TL;DR: CCP Games regained independence from Pearl Abyss for $120 million, rebranding as Fenris Creations. The studio partnered with Google DeepMind for AI research focused on complex, player-driven systems in offline EVE versions. CCP Games just bought back its independence from Pearl Abyss for
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Google DeepMind takes stake in 'EVE Online' studio to test AI
Google's DeepMind is partnering with the creators of EVE Online. This collaboration aims to train advanced AI tools using the game's complex simulation. Researchers will test AI models in a safe, offline version of the game. This move signifies a return to independence for CCP Games, now Fenris
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EVE Online's Studio Walks Away From Pearl Abyss After Record $70M Year, Reborn as Fenris Creations With Google DeepMind Backing
The new ownership group comprises Fenris Creations' senior management and long-term investors, including Omega Ventures co-founder Birgir Már Ragnarsson, who takes over as Board Chairman. CEO Hilmar Veigar Pétursson confirmed there will be no layoffs, office closures, or restructuring as part of
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Google DeepMind has taken a minority stake worth millions in Fenris Creations, the newly independent developer behind EVE Online. The AI lab will use the 23-year-old space simulation game to train AI models on complex decision-making, long-horizon planning, and continual learning. DeepMind will conduct research on isolated servers without affecting live gameplay.
Google DeepMind Invests Millions in EVE Online Developer
Google DeepMind has acquired a minority stake in Fenris Creations, the newly rebranded company behind the long-running MMORPG EVE Online, in a deal worth millions of dollars according to CEO Hilmar Veigar Pétursson
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. The research partnership marks a significant move by Google DeepMind to train AI models on one of gaming's most complex player-driven universes. This investment comes as the former CCP Games completed a management buyout from Pearl Abyss for $120 million, regaining independence after being sold for $225 million in 20181
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Source: 9to5Google
The collaboration positions EVE Online as a testing ground for AI research focused on skills that current AI models have not yet fully mastered. With between 200,000 and 300,000 monthly active users, the 23-year-old space simulation game offers what DeepMind calls "a uniquely rich environment for study"
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.Why EVE Online Presents Unique AI Training Opportunities
EVE Online stands out as an ideal sandbox environment for AI development due to its emergent gameplay systems that require long-horizon planning, memory, and continual learning
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. The game features a robust in-game economy maintained by players for decades, complete with corporate intrigue, economic panics, and political subterfuge. Players navigate more than 7,000 star systems, engaging in mining, piracy, trading, combat, and politics—activities that demand complex decision-making over extended timeframes5
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Source: Tom's Hardware
DeepMind Director Adrian Bolton emphasized that success in EVE Online "requires skills that AI has not yet fully mastered," particularly around long-term planning and continual learning
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. Pétursson noted that the game is "giving insights about our own society and the human condition," with players employing tactics ranging from strategic planning to deceit and scams3
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. The game's large-scale battles involving virtual assets valued at hundreds of thousands of dollars create real-world stakes that inform player behavior in ways that interest AI researchers2
.How DeepMind Will Conduct AI Research Without Disrupting Players
Google DeepMind will conduct controlled experiments on isolated servers running an offline version of EVE Online on local infrastructure, ensuring no direct impact on the experience for online players
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. This approach allows researchers to study player behavior and test AI capabilities in a contained environment while the live game continues operating normally. The companies stated they "will also explore new gameplay experiences enabled by these technologies," though specific AI-enabled gameplay experiences remain undefined1
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.Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis emphasized that games have been "at the heart of many of Google DeepMind's breakthroughs—like Atari DQN, AlphaGo, AlphaStar and SIMA—because they're the perfect training ground for developing and testing AI algorithms"
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. Notable achievements include AlphaGo defeating world champion Lee Sedol in 2016 and AlphaStar reaching Grandmaster level in StarCraft II in 20195
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Source: ET
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Fenris Creations Gains Independence and Strategic Control
The newly formed Fenris Creations paid $120 million in cash and crypto to buy itself back from Pearl Abyss, which had purchased CCP Games for $225 million in 2018—representing a significant decline in value
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. The company cited "differences in operating context, current strategic focus, and long-term priorities" as reasons for the separation1
. Despite annual losses nearing $20 million in both 2023 and 2024—attributed partly to development work on blockchain-based spinoff EVE Frontier and extraction-shooter EVE Vanguard—Fenris Creations reported profitability in 2025 on $70 million in revenue1
.Pétursson emphasized that independence gives the company "a more direct structure for the kind of far-reaching decisions that EVE requires," aligning with their "EVE Forever" philosophy focused on long-term sustainability
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. The financial injection from Google DeepMind's minority stake provides additional resources as Fenris develops EVE Frontier and EVE Vanguard3
. Q4 2025 marked the game's second most lucrative quarter ever, with November breaking records3
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