Podcast Episode
When questioned about the tool generating content clearly based on Nintendo intellectual property, Google DeepMind product manager Diego Rivas described Project Genie as an experimental research prototype, confirming the Genie 3 model was trained primarily on publicly available web data.
Shortly before The Verge published its findings, Google restricted Super Mario 64-based generations, displaying a message citing third-party content provider interests. The reactive approach echoes OpenAI's Sora 2 launch, which initially permitted Nintendo and Disney character generation before both companies objected.
Google's Project Genie Lets You Build Playable Worlds With Words
January 31, 2026
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Google has launched Project Genie, an AI tool that generates playable three-dimensional worlds from text prompts. Within hours of release, users discovered it could recreate near-perfect replicas of Nintendo games like Super Mario 64 and Breath of the Wild, sparking immediate copyright concerns.
Google Launches AI World Generator
Google DeepMind has released Project Genie, an experimental AI tool that transforms text descriptions into explorable three-dimensional environments in real time. The system, powered by the new Genie 3 world model alongside Google's Nano Banana Pro image generator and Gemini AI, creates interactive worlds that users can navigate for up to sixty seconds at seven hundred and twenty pixels resolution and twenty-four frames per second.Immediate Copyright Controversy
Within hours of the tool's launch on January twenty-ninth, tech journalists and early users discovered that Project Genie could generate environments strikingly similar to Nintendo's most beloved franchises. The Verge reporter Jay Peters demonstrated the creation of worlds featuring Link-like characters deploying paragliders in Hyrule-inspired landscapes, behaviour the AI apparently learned from analysing countless YouTube gameplay videos.When questioned about the tool generating content clearly based on Nintendo intellectual property, Google DeepMind product manager Diego Rivas described Project Genie as an experimental research prototype, confirming the Genie 3 model was trained primarily on publicly available web data.
Selective Guardrails Raise Questions
Curiously, the tool blocks some copyrighted content whilst allowing others. When Peters attempted to recreate Kingdom Hearts using Disney character names, the system refused. However, describing characters without naming them produced thumbnail images resembling Sora, Donald, and Goofy before blocking final generation. This inconsistency has drawn criticism about Google's content moderation approach.Shortly before The Verge published its findings, Google restricted Super Mario 64-based generations, displaying a message citing third-party content provider interests. The reactive approach echoes OpenAI's Sora 2 launch, which initially permitted Nintendo and Disney character generation before both companies objected.
Availability and Pricing
Project Genie is currently available exclusively to Google AI Ultra subscribers in the United States, priced at one hundred and twenty-four dollars and ninety-nine cents monthly as part of a three-month package. Google has announced plans to expand internationally without providing a timeline.Published January 31, 2026 at 9:15am
