Elon Musk And CCP Games?

Before too much more time goes by I really need to make note of a post on X by the owner of the platform, Elon Musk. I just want to let people know I don't follow Musk. I would have missed this tidbit if not for the folks over on MassivelyOP.com.

The post in question

At the time Musk made the post he probably was in London, home of CCP Games' CEO Hilmar Veigar Pétursson's office. Since the post was about artificial intelligence, in reply to a writer who concentrates on AI, I thought asking Musk's AI program Grok appropriate to explain the post.

Elon Musk's mention of a potential AI game collaboration with Eve Online reflects a bold shift, leveraging AI to create experiences beyond human design, aligning with recent advancements in generative AI, such as OpenAI's DALL-E, which produced the 'Critterz' film in just nine months with a $30 million budget.



This idea builds on Eve Online's unique player-driven economy, supported by a 2019 study from the Journal of Virtual Worlds Research showing its 500,000+ active users generate real economic value through in-game trade, suggesting AI could enhance this complexity rather than replace it.



The timing coincides with xAI's growth and the rise of blockchain-based gaming (e.g., Xai's Layer 3 solution), hinting at a future where AI-driven games could integrate decentralized, persistent worlds, challenging the centralized control of traditional MMOs.

While the above may be an AI hallucination, the reasoning tracks. Plus, data centers in Iceland have advantages not found in other locations. Well besides the fact that CCP Games was one of the original anchors for Verne Global's data center back in 2012.

The creator of the EVE Online virtual world, CCP Games, chose Verne Global based on the site’s renewable power grid and strategic location between its two primary markets. Furthermore, a key factor is Verne Global’s ability to offer fixed power pricing for extended contracts.

“The primary reason for selecting Verne Global above all other alternative sites were the availability and predictability of power and the option of securing long-term price guarantees at attractive price levels,” explained CCP’s IT Director, Ingvar Bjarnason...

The new data center uses Iceland’s vast supply of hydroelectric and geothermal energy, and also takes advantage of the country’s cool climate, which allows for free cooling all year round. Modular specialist Colt customised the data center’s hall design, equipping it with cooling modules that allow to cool servers using air from outside the data center.

Well, a little more went into the arrangement since CCP Games and Verne Global had intertwining financial connections due to the involvement of Bjorgolfur Thor, Iceland's first dollar billionaire, in both companies. But with AI requiring the creation of a lot more data centers, operating in Iceland would provide an advantage to Musk's AI initiatives.

But the biggest reason for making a note are the rumors of Pearl Abyss looking to sell off CCP Games. At the time the rumors first emerged I thought someone interested in cryptocurrencies would show interest but I couldn't really think of a good buyer. But throw in Musk's interests in crypto as well as AI and maybe the idea isn't as far-fetched as when I first read about the X post on MassivelyOP.