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AI companies have long used video games to train and test their models, so it\u2019s not a huge surprise that Google DeepMind has now acquired a minority stake in the maker of the popular MMORPG EVE Online.<\/span><\/p>\n The partnership comes as the studio behind EVE Online announced that it is becoming independent again. Fernris Creations, formerly known as CCP Games, said that it has bought itself back from Korean video game company Pearl Abyss in a deal worth $120 million.<\/span><\/p>\n EVE Online<\/em> first launched in 2003 and is known for its sprawling open-world universe, where players can explore more than 7,000 star systems and participate in various in-game activities like mining, piracy, trading, combat, and even politics.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Alongside the buyout announcement, the company also revealed a new research partnership with Google DeepMind, in which the AI lab has taken a minority stake in Fernris Creations.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAs part of this next chapter, we are beginning a research partnership with Google DeepMind, focused on intelligence in complex, dynamic, player-driven systems. This is something I am genuinely excited about,\u201d Fernris Creations CEO Hilmar Veigar P\u00e9tursson wrote in a blog post announcing the partnership.<\/span><\/p>\n According to a press release, the collaboration will focus on improving the \u201cunderstanding of intelligence in complex, dynamic systems\u201d and explore areas such as long-horizon planning, memory, and continual learning. In practice, Google DeepMind will test and evaluate AI models on an offline version of EVE Online running on a local server. The companies also said they plan to explore AI-powered gameplay experiences.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve known Hilmar for many years and long admired his work, and I\u2019m 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,\u201d Google DeepMind CEO and co-founder Demis Hassabis said in the press release.<\/span><\/p>\n Hassabis added that video games are the \u201cperfect training ground for developing and testing AI algorithms.\u201d He <\/span>pointed to some of the lab\u2019s previous breakthroughs, including AlphaGo defeating world champion Lee Sedol in 2016 and AlphaStar reaching \u201cGrandmaster\u201d level in StarCraft II in 2019.<\/span><\/p>\n Other AI companies have pulled off similar feats. In 2019, an AI built by OpenAI defeated world champions in Defense of the Ancients 2, better known as Dota 2. OpenAI\u2019s success with Dota 2 has even resurfaced this week during Elon Musk\u2019s ongoing legal battle with OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The New York Times reports that after OpenAI President Greg Brockman emailed Musk to inform him that the company\u2019s AI had won an international Dota tournament, Musk replied: \u201cTime to make the next step for OpenAI. This is the triggering event.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n