Google DeepMind has started a new partnership with the studio behind the famous online game EVE Online. The company also bought a small stake in the studio. The move aims to help DeepMind test and improve advanced artificial intelligence systems.
The game studio recently changed its name from CCP Games to Fenris Creations. The change came after a management buyout worth about $120 million. This deal helped the studio become independent once again after its separation from Korean publisher Pearl Abyss.
EVE Online stands out for its huge virtual universe and player-driven systems. The game contains thousands of star systems, large battles, complex trade networks, political groups, and long-term wars. Players shape almost every part of the world inside the game.
DeepMind sees the game as a useful place for AI research. The company wants AI systems to learn difficult tasks such as planning, teamwork, memory, and decision-making over long periods of time.
Researchers believe the game offers challenges closer to real life than older strategy games such as chess or Go. In EVE Online, situations change all the time. Alliances may break apart, markets may crash, and conflicts may continue for weeks or months.
The research project will not place experimental AI systems inside the live version of the game. DeepMind plans to use a separate offline sandbox version instead. This setup protects regular players from direct contact with research systems during testing.
The sandbox world will still contain the same complex systems and rules that make the game famous. This gives researchers a safe but realistic environment for experiments.
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Games have played an important role in AI research for many years. DeepMind earlier created systems such as AlphaGo and AlphaStar through game-based learning. Those projects helped AI defeat top human players in difficult strategy games.
Now the company wants AI systems that can handle larger and more unpredictable environments. DeepMind also works on “world model” research projects that focus on simulated digital worlds for AI training.
Fenris Creations CEO Hilmar Veigar Pétursson said EVE Online offers a rich social and economic world for intelligence research. DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis also said games remain one of the best tools for advanced AI development.
Experts believe this partnership may help create smarter AI systems for future real-world tasks.