Fenris Creations recaps Operation Avalon and hires an AI lead

Fenris Creations, the studio formerly known as CCP Games, has published a recap of Operation Avalon, the event that tied EVE Online players to testers of the extraction shooter EVE Vanguard. MassivelyOP reports that the event, which launched a month ago, has now concluded.

In the studio's account, EVE Vanguard players fought on planetary surfaces during the game's first alpha playtest, deploying into a new battlefield called Lost Convoy and trying out rebuilt gunplay, new weaponry and a redesigned extraction system. In orbit, EVE Online capsuleers ran Avalon Investigation sites and traded Resonant Cyphers in support of one of the game's empires.

An accompanying infographic gives no participation figure. It does record that players destroyed more than 7,000 EDENCOM Director Thunderchild vessels and completed the Avalon Rises content close to 3,000 times. MassivelyOP notes that the post does not set out what follows the event, though the outlet reads it as indicating that more is planned.

A former minister joins the studio

Separately, Fenris Creations announced that Aslaug Arna Sigurbjornsdottir, Iceland's former Minister of Justice and former Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, has joined the company as Senior Director, AI Partnerships. In the studio's words, she will lead its work with "AI laboratories, universities, policymakers and strategic partners" on a research initiative involving EVE Frontier.

MassivelyOP connects the appointment to the studio's continuing use of AI in EVE Frontier, which the outlet says is backed by investment from Google. It was critical of the announcement itself, describing the press release as short on specifics about what the research initiative will actually do.

Neither announcement carries a date for the next stage of the Avalon storyline or for further EVE Vanguard testing.