{"id":1926568,"date":"2026-05-09T14:54:34","date_gmt":"2026-05-09T11:54:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1926568"},"modified":"2026-05-09T14:54:34","modified_gmt":"2026-05-09T11:54:34","slug":"eve-online-dev-breaks-from-pearl-abyss-and-establishes-research-partnership-with-google-deepmind","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1926568","title":{"rendered":"Eve Online dev breaks from Pearl Abyss and establishes &#8220;research partnership&#8221; with Google DeepMind"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"article \" data-ads=\"true\" data-article-type=\"news\" data-article-group=\"news\" data-paywalled=\"false\" data-premium=\"false\" data-sponsored=\"false\" data-type=\"article\">\n<header class=\"article_header\" data-component=\"article-header\">\n<div class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n<nav class=\"nav_breadcrumbs\" data-component=\"nav-breadcrumbs\" aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\">\n<ul class=\"nav-links\">\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      Home<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/news\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      News<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/eve-online\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      Eve Online<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/nav><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_details\" id=\"main-content\">\n<h1 class=\"title\">Eve Online dev breaks from Pearl Abyss and establishes &#8220;research partnership&#8221; with Google DeepMind<\/h1>\n<p class=\"strapline\">Google will reportedly work with an offline, local test version to &#8220;also explore new gameplay experiences enabled by these technologies&#8221;.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_asset\">\n<figure class=\"headline_image_wrapper\">\n<p>        <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"headline_image\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/eve-online-ship_y3b6jAZ.jpg?width=570&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;dpr=3&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"Eve Online ship being chases past asteroids.\" loading=\"eager\" data-uri=\"eve-online-ship_y3b6jAZ.jpg\" data-lightbox width=\"570\" height=\"321\"><figcaption>\n          <span class=\"attribution\">Image credit: <cite>CCP Games<\/cite><\/span><br \/>\n        <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"metadata\">\n<div class=\"avatar\">\n<p>    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Vikki Blake avatar\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/1533038852.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"180\" height=\"179\"><\/p>\n<p>  <img alt=\"Vikki Blake avatar\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"1533038852.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"180\" height=\"179\">\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text\">\n<div class=\"byline\">\n                  <span class=\"article_type\" data-slug=\"news\"><br \/>\n                    News<br \/>\n                  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"by\">by<\/span> <span class=\"author\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/authors\/vikki-blake\">Vikki Blake<\/a><\/span>                    <span class=\"job_title\"><br \/>\n                      Contributor<br \/>\n                    <\/span>\n            <\/div>\n<div class=\"published_at\">\nPublished on <time datetime=\"2026-05-09T14:54:34+00:00\">May 9, 2026<\/time>              <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"mypop-header-wrapper\">\n<p><button class=\"mypop-button button wide\" data-state=\"follow\" data-type=\"tag\" data-uuid=\"6b6bb44d-b126-42c5-86c8-f0aa34ffbe15\" data-name=\"Eve Online\" data-follow-text=\"Follow Eve Online\" data-unfollow-text=\"Following Eve Online\" data-aria-follow-text=\"Follow Eve Online\" data-aria-unfollow-text=\"Following Eve Online\" data-popup=\"true\" data-force-login=\"true\" aria-label=\"Follow Eve Online\" title=\"Follow Eve Online\"><br \/>\n  Follow Eve Online<br \/>\n<\/button>          <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/eve-online\">EVE Online<\/a> developer CCP Games has broken away from Pearl Abyss and rebranded as Fenris Creations as it enters into a &#8220;research partnership&#8221; with Google DeepMind. The deal is valued at $120 million \u2013 that&#8217;s around \u00a388 million.<\/p>\n<p>Now controlled by its own senior management and long-term investors \u2013 one of which is Google \u2013 the studio says this structure was better &#8220;aligned with the company&#8217;s future as a developer, publisher, and operator of player-driven online experiences&#8221; and &#8220;designed to support strategic decision-making for persistent live games and long-running virtual worlds&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>As for the Google DeepMind partnership? The studio said it will use Eve Online to explore &#8220;areas including long-horizon planning, memory, and continual learning&#8221;, calling the game a &#8220;uniquely rich environment for study&#8221;.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div class=\"video_wrapper youtube\">\n<a aria-label=\"EVE Online - Official Catalyst Expansion Launch Trailer\" class=\"video-facade full-size\" data-platform=\"youtube\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/2WNmsoaGk34?autoplay=1\" title=\"Click to play video from YouTube\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Cover image for YouTube video\" class=\"video-facade__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/2WNmsoaGk34\/hqdefault.jpg\"><span class=\"video-facade__title\">EVE Online &#8211; Official Catalyst Expansion Launch Trailer<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/a>\n<\/div><figcaption>EVE Online &#8211; Official Catalyst Expansion Launch Trailer.<a class=\"video\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=2WNmsoaGk34\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Watch on YouTube<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>If you&#8217;re not entirely sure what that actually means for players, you&#8217;re not alone, but Google will reportedly work with an offline, local test version of Eve Online where together, the partnership &#8220;will also explore new gameplay experiences enabled by these technologies&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Eve is built to endure &#8211; and it only works if you&#8217;re willing to keep pushing into the future. This transition gives us direct ownership, clear accountability, and the independence to invest in worlds that grow over decades,&#8221; said Hilmar Veigar P\u00e9tursson, CEO of Fenris Creations.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We&#8217;re grateful to Pearl Abyss for their partnership and for the consistent support they&#8217;ve shown us over the past seven and a half years. Eve Online exists today because of pioneering thinking, patience, and trust between developers and players. Our new structure and partners enable us to carry that legacy forward &#8211; continuously evolving a living universe and actively exploring what it can become, with forever in mind.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Co-founder and CEO of Google DeepMind, Demis Hassabis, added: &#8220;Games have always been a huge part of my life &#8211; I&#8217;ve been a gamer since I was a kid, and I started my career designing and programming complex AI simulation games like Theme Park. They&#8217;ve also been at the heart of many of Google DeepMind&#8217;s breakthroughs &#8211; like Atari DQN, AlphaGo, AlphaStar and SIMA &#8211; because they&#8217;re the perfect training ground for developing and testing AI algorithms.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve known [Veigar] for many years and long admired his work, and I&#8217;m thrilled to partner with him and the fantastic team at Fenris Creations to explore new gaming experiences and advance AI research safely inside a player-driven universe as amazingly complex as Eve Online.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>As newer MMOs shutter or struggle to find an audience, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/22-year-old-eve-online-new-players-why\">22-year-old Eve Online recently saw a massive surge in new players. Find out why in Conor&#8217;s dive deep.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"preferred-source\" data-component=\"preferred-source\">\nLove Eurogamer.net? Make us a <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\">Preferred Source on Google<\/a> and catch more of our coverage in your feeds.  <\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/eve-online\">EVE Online<\/a> developer CCP Games has broken away from Pearl Abyss and rebranded as Fenris Creations as it enters into a &#8220;research partnership&#8221; with Google DeepMind. The deal is valued at $120 million \u2013 that&#8217;s around \u00a388 million.<\/p>\n<p>Now controlled by its own senior management and long-term investors \u2013 one of which is Google \u2013 the studio says this structure was better &#8220;aligned with the company&#8217;s future as a developer, publisher, and operator of player-driven online experiences&#8221; and &#8220;designed to support strategic decision-making for persistent live games and long-running virtual worlds&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>As for the Google DeepMind partnership? The studio said it will use Eve Online to explore &#8220;areas including long-horizon planning, memory, and continual learning&#8221;, calling the game a &#8220;uniquely rich environment for study&#8221;.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div class=\"video_wrapper youtube\">\n<a aria-label=\"EVE Online - Official Catalyst Expansion Launch Trailer\" class=\"video-facade full-size\" data-platform=\"youtube\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/2WNmsoaGk34?autoplay=1\" title=\"Click to play video from YouTube\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Cover image for YouTube video\" class=\"video-facade__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/2WNmsoaGk34\/hqdefault.jpg\"><span class=\"video-facade__title\">EVE Online &#8211; Official Catalyst Expansion Launch Trailer<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/a>\n<\/div><figcaption>EVE Online &#8211; Official Catalyst Expansion Launch Trailer.<a class=\"video\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=2WNmsoaGk34\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Watch on YouTube<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>If you&#8217;re not entirely sure what that actually means for players, you&#8217;re not alone, but Google will reportedly work with an offline, local test version of Eve Online where together, the partnership &#8220;will also explore new gameplay experiences enabled by these technologies&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Eve is built to endure &#8211; and it only works if you&#8217;re willing to keep pushing into the future. This transition gives us direct ownership, clear accountability, and the independence to invest in worlds that grow over decades,&#8221; said Hilmar Veigar P\u00e9tursson, CEO of Fenris Creations.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We&#8217;re grateful to Pearl Abyss for their partnership and for the consistent support they&#8217;ve shown us over the past seven and a half years. Eve Online exists today because of pioneering thinking, patience, and trust between developers and players. Our new structure and partners enable us to carry that legacy forward &#8211; continuously evolving a living universe and actively exploring what it can become, with forever in mind.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Co-founder and CEO of Google DeepMind, Demis Hassabis, added: &#8220;Games have always been a huge part of my life &#8211; I&#8217;ve been a gamer since I was a kid, and I started my career designing and programming complex AI simulation games like Theme Park. They&#8217;ve also been at the heart of many of Google DeepMind&#8217;s breakthroughs &#8211; like Atari DQN, AlphaGo, AlphaStar and SIMA &#8211; because they&#8217;re the perfect training ground for developing and testing AI algorithms.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve known [Veigar] for many years and long admired his work, and I&#8217;m thrilled to partner with him and the fantastic team at Fenris Creations to explore new gaming experiences and advance AI research safely inside a player-driven universe as amazingly complex as Eve Online.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>As newer MMOs shutter or struggle to find an audience, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/22-year-old-eve-online-new-players-why\">22-year-old Eve Online recently saw a massive surge in new players. Find out why in Conor&#8217;s dive deep.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Home News Eve Online Eve Online dev breaks from Pearl Abyss and establishes &#8220;research partnership&#8221; with Google DeepMind Google will reportedly work with an offline, local test version to &#8220;also explore new gameplay experiences enabled by these technologies&#8221;. Image credit: CCP Games News by Vikki Blake Contributor Published on May 9, 2026 Follow Eve Online [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,253],"class_list":["post-1926568","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-eurogamer-net"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1926568","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1926568"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1926568\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1926568"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1926568"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1926568"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}