CCP Games is no more: EVE Online studio changes its name as it goes independent and enters an AI research partnership with Google DeepMind

Some big changes out of EVE Online developer CCP Games today, including that it is no longer called CCP Games: The studio has parted ways with Crimson Desert maker Pearl Abyss, entered into an AI research partnership with Google DeepMind, and ditched its nearly 30-year-old name, rebranding itself as Fenris Creations.

Pearl Abyss acquired CCP—sorry, Fenris Creations—in 2018, and frankly I'm not sure what actually came out of that deal in terms of practical results. But after "a joint review of long-term strategy," which included an analysis of "differences in operating context, current strategic focus, and long-term priorities," the companies decided—after settling on a price tag of $120 million—to go their own ways.

Fenris said the change will only impact its ownership and governance, and that it will continue to operate as it always has, with no changes in personnel or development plans.

"The teams building EVE Online, EVE Frontier, EVE Vanguard, and EVE Galaxy Conquest remain in place, and our studios in Reykjavík, London, and Shanghai continue as they are today," still-CEO Hilmar Veigar Pétursson said in a message to the EVE community. "Our leadership, creative direction, products, and development plans are also unchanged. The people who have been working on New Eden for many years are still here, still building, and still focused on the same goal: making EVE stronger for the long term."

It's weird to see that historical studio name gone, and it'll no doubt take me ages to get used to the new one. But in terms of far-reaching impact, the much bigger deal here is the new AI research partnership with Google. As part of that deal, which will see Google take a minority stake in CCP Fenris Creations, an offline version of EVE Online will serve as a new training ground for the DeepMind AI, enabling it to "test and evaluate models in a controlled setting."

CCP—sorry, sorry, Fenris Creations—hasn't been shy about embracing new technologies in the past, including AI, Earlier this year, for instance, it launched an "AI-powered assistance feature" for EVE Online, trained on more than 5.8 million messages posted in EVE's Rookie Help channel, to help ease new players into the notoriously dense game.

But aspirations for the DeepMind deal sound loftier: The partnership will "explore new gameplay experiences" enabled by AI technology, but will also focus on more esoteric subject matter, including "long-horizon planning, memory, and continual learning." Pétursson said the deal with Google is a good fit because "EVE is one of the few environments where questions about intelligence can be explored inside something that already behaves like a living world."

Google DeepMind co-founder and CEO Demis Hassabis shared similar thoughts, saying that games have "been at the heart of many of Google DeepMind’s breakthroughs—like Atari DQN, AlphaGo, AlphaStar and SIMA—because they’re the perfect training ground for developing and testing AI algorithms."

"I’ve known Hilmar for many years and long admired his work, and I’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."

Separately from all of this, things are apparently going swimmingly for EVE: Pétursson said 2025 produced some of the game's "strongest results in years, including a record-breaking November and one of the strongest quarters in EVE Online’s more than 20-year history." CCP—ah jeez, you know who I'm talking about—remains profitable and has amassed "strong reserves" so it can continue investing in the future of EVE. Speaking of which, more on that, including a closer look at the research that will be conducted via the DeepMind partnership, will be shared at EVE Fanfest 2026, which kicks off on May 14.