Google DeepMind has taken a minority stake in the developer of EVE Online, Fenris Creations, using the game's complex player-driven universe to study artificial intelligence. The announcement was made alongside Fenris's $120 million buyout from South Korean publisher Pearl Abyss, marking the studio's return to independence.
DeepMind will conduct controlled experiments in an offline version of EVE, focusing on long-horizon planning, memory, and continual learning-without affecting live players. Fenris CEO Hilmar Veigar Pétursson described EVE as a living world ideal for exploring "difficult problems, long timelines, strange possibilities."
DeepMind has a history of using games like Go and StarCraft for AI breakthroughs. Director Alexandre Moufarek called EVE a one-of-a-kind simulation for testing general-purpose AI in a safe sandbox environment, promising new player experiences ahead.