DeepMind’s EVE Online partnership taps $120M buyout to advance AI research

Google DeepMind has taken a minority stake in Fenris Creations, the studio formerly known as CCP Games, striking a deal that turns the two-decade-old virtual economy of EVE Online into a research environment for studying how artificial intelligence handles long-term planning. The Google DeepMind and Fenris Creations partnership landed alongside a $120 million management buyout that separated the Icelandic studio from Korean publisher Pearl Abyss, giving it independence and, now, a research-focused investor on its cap table.

Key takeaways

• Google DeepMind acquired a minority stake in Fenris Creations during the studio’s $120 million management buyout from Pearl Abyss.
• Fenris Creations is the rebranded identity of CCP Games, the longtime developer behind EVE Online.
• EVE Online offers a persistent, player-driven universe spanning more than 7,000 star systems, with 20 years of accumulated player data.
• Research will focus on deploying AI models in an offline version of EVE Online to study long-horizon planning, memory, and continual learning.
• DeepMind says the collaboration is about fundamental research, not shipping AI-powered game features anytime soon.

DeepMind Invests in Fenris Creations to Advance AI Research

The arrangement between Google DeepMind and Fenris Creations is unusual because it wasn’t built around a product launch. It was built around a buyout. Fenris Creations completed a $120 million management buyout from Pearl Abyss, the deal that returned the studio to independent ownership after years under the Korean publisher’s umbrella. DeepMind’s minority stake was folded into that same transaction, positioning the AI lab as a strategic backer rather than a controlling owner.

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