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CCP is now Fenris Creations and you now pay to train AI in EvE.
Ye_Olde_Zorvan
Member RarePosts: 687
A New Era
Today, we announced that the company behind EVE Online is once again becoming independent, operating under the new name Fenris Creations. We will be owned by our shareholders and governed by our own Board of Directors, giving us a more direct structure for the kind of far-reaching decisions that EVE requires.
The name Fenris Creations is inspired by Norse myth, but it is also rooted in our own history. Back in 1997, we were captivated by a belief that has shaped us ever since: for a virtual world to have meaning, it must be shaped by risk, loss, renewal, and the people who inhabit it.
In short: death is a serious matter.
That belief was there from the beginning. Our very first published game carried the name Fenris on the box, a reminder of the kinds of worlds we wanted to build.
Nearly three decades later, Fenris Creations carries that first idea forward into a new era. Our name and structure are changing, but our roots and ideals remain the same: building living universes shaped by people, trust, consequence, and time.
What does this mean for EVE? The answer is also simple: EVE continues.
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.
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.
EVE has never been a normal game; you know that better than anyone else. It’s a universe with its own economy, politics, grudges, legends, scams, history, and friendships. It started as something grimdark, but you’ve transformed it into something beautiful. And sometimes a little bit crazy, but that’s exactly why we love it. But that also means that EVE has to be built differently.
Sometimes that’s new ships, better tools, beefier tech, or a clearer path for new players. You’ll hear a lot about those plans next week at Fanfest. But it also sometimes means making business decisions that give us the right foundations to keep on going for decades to come.
Respecting the past
Since 2018, Pearl Abyss has been an important part of our story. They gave us room to operate, support to grow, and the opportunity to continue investing in EVE through a changing and often difficult period for the games industry.
We are grateful for their partnership, their trust, and the role they played in helping us and EVE thrive over the past eight years.
After looking carefully at the long-term path ahead, both companies agreed that the best next step is for the company to return to independent ownership as Fenris Creations, while Pearl Abyss continues to focus on its own core titles and IP portfolio.
We part ways with respect and appreciation.
For us, this is about EVE Forever.
That phrase is not just something we put on a slide at Fanfest. It is a way of thinking about every decision we make. What does New Eden need in order to endure? What does the company need in order to support it? What kind of structure gives us the patience and resources to keep building this universe properly?
This transition does not involve restructuring or layoffs. There are no planned changes to our organization. Our headquarters remain in Vatnsmýrin, Iceland, and our teams in Reykjavík, London, and Shanghai continue their work as before.
Partnerships For the Future
As 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.
I have spoken with the people at Google DeepMind about EVE many times over the years, and I will admit I never miss an opportunity to brag about what EVE players have built. And they let me gush because they share a love of games. Projects like AlphaGo and AlphaStar have been foundational in our understanding of intelligence, learning, and problem-solving.
“As a gamer and games producer, I've long admired EVE. What the EVE community has created together with Hilmar and team is truly unparalleled in gaming. It is a one-of-a-kind simulation for testing general-purpose artificial intelligence in a safe sandbox environment.
I'm excited to partner with the team at Fenris Creations to push the frontier of artificial intelligence and explore new player experiences."
— Alexandre Moufarek, Director, Google DeepMind
That is why this partnership makes sense. EVE is one of the few environments where questions about intelligence can be explored inside something that already behaves like a living world.
To be very clear: this initial research will take place in controlled, offline versions of EVE that are not connected to Tranquility. But it does open a door to work that feels very true to EVE: difficult problems, long timelines, strange possibilities, and people willing to explore what comes next.
With Fanfest 2026 coming up next week, we will be able to share more about what that research entails. Adrian Bolton, part of Google DeepMind’s founding team, will be joining me on the Fanfest stage. Adrian used his passion for games and game development to help define the blueprint for their pioneering AI research. I’m looking forward to discussing more about our partnership and Google DeepMind's unique perspective on intelligence and games.
Where EVE stands today
EVE also enters this next era with real momentum.
The game closed 2025 with some of its strongest results in years, including a record-breaking November and one of the strongest quarters in EVE Online’s more than 20-year history. The company remains profitable, with strong reserves and the ability to keep investing in the long-term health of New Eden.
Those results matter because they reflect what is happening inside the universe.
Players are undocking. Corporations are recruiting. Alliances are scheming. Markets are moving. Wars are being prepared, fought, lost, won, and argued about for years to come.
New Eden is alive because you keep making it alive.
We were able to make this transition in large part because of you.
Because you continue to believe in EVE. Because you continue to support us. Because you continue to challenge us. Because, after all these years, you are still building the most impressive virtual world in gaming right alongside us.
EVE has always been a collaboration between the developers who build the universe and the players who give it meaning. Your wars, friendships, betrayals, markets, monuments, grudges, victories, losses, spreadsheets, doctrines, and impossible plans are what make New Eden endure.
The connection doesn’t just end at development; we’ve also had a storied history of open dialogue between developer and community. That’s never going to change, and I want to be as upfront as possible in the days ahead. Questions will come up, and we will answer the ones we can.
Thank you for believing in New Eden, for holding us to a high standard, and for building this universe with us. The next chapter begins now, and I am very glad we get to build it together.
FC Hellmar
Comments
That first paragraph sounds bad, to me. Run by a board of directors? How many of those board members actually PLAY the game? How many of those stockholders actually play?
I hope this bodes well for fans of the game. I wish them all the best in their pursuit of happiness.
- Al
Personally the only modern MMORPG trend that annoys me is the idea that MMOs need to be designed in a way to attract people who don't actually like MMOs. Which to me makes about as much sense as someone trying to figure out a way to get vegetarians to eat at their steakhouse.- FARGIN_WAR
I give a big side eye to the "company remains profitable" statement because that was not the story Pearl Abyss was sharing when talking about the sale.
Anyway I'm sure this partnership with AI is all about the money and getting them closer to profitablity than any love they have for AI. We'll have to wait and see if anything useful comes from it, but I do predict the next big evolution with gaming will be around agentic AI running NPCs and modifying content real time so that the players have unprecedented levels of agency and interaction with the world. "Choices matter" will no longer be lip service for "you get one of 4 slightly different endings".
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
Hilmar knew the company couldn't survive on its own after being dumped off by Pearl Abyss. Lot of debt and contracts tied up in 1 current game and 3 in developement.
Thus, "new company" with a whole "Board of Directors" yet Hilmar is still somehow in charge. Transfer (sell) the games from CCP to Fenris and now all debts and unfulfilled contracts are against a company that no longer exists. Tale as old as business itself.
And as a bonus, bring on Google AI as a "partner" to get funding rolling again.
...just saying
Most likely it's "How can we make more profit?"
I don't care because oh no the debts of a company but dude they framed "We're losing this company money and we got debts in CCP so..." to THIS IS A BRIGHT FUTURE FOR EVE NAY THE UNIVERSE.
I love when they devour each other.
- Al
Personally the only modern MMORPG trend that annoys me is the idea that MMOs need to be designed in a way to attract people who don't actually like MMOs. Which to me makes about as much sense as someone trying to figure out a way to get vegetarians to eat at their steakhouse.- FARGIN_WAR