Google DeepMind is launching Project Genie, a web application that lets Google US Ultra subscribers create and explore interactive worlds generated by the Genie 3 model. Unlike conventional video models that produce fixed sequences, a "world model" generates the environment frame by frame in real time, letting the user navigate and interact.
Workflow and creative pipeline: The user starts by describing their world and character. Nano Banana Pro first generates a "canvas" image that serves as a visual starting point. Clicking "Generate World" prompts Genie 3 to turn this 2D image into an explorable 3D environment. The transition from 2D to immersive 3D is the "wow moment" identified by testers. The application also allows uploading personal photos - a photographed toy dinosaur can become a controllable character in a reconstruction of the room.
Technical challenges: Genie 3 tackles a more complex problem than standard video generation. A video model can retroactively adjust frames to ensure consistency; Genie 3 must generate in real time, consistent with both the past AND the user's immediate action, without knowing future inputs. The current 60-second limit results from a trade-off: the world's dynamism tends to gradually decrease, and serving costs remain high.
Evolution since Genie 1: Genie 1 was a research paper. Genie 2 (December 2024) offered 10 seconds at low resolution, without real time. Genie 3 (announced August 2025, now launched) reaches one minute in real time with photorealistic quality. The team notes that a year ago, a minute of real-time consistency seemed an ambitious goal; today, users are asking for more.
Envisioned applications: Beyond entertainment, the team is exploring education (personalized therapeutic exposures, such as a child exploring a room full of virtual spiders) and embodied intelligence. The Simmer project already uses Genie 3 to train AI agents capable of accomplishing goals in arbitrary 3D worlds - a step toward embodied AGI.
Outlook: The roadmap includes multiplayer (complex because of latency), more interaction controls, a developer API, and expansion to other surfaces. The team estimates it has reached 50% of its vision, with "enormous headroom" for further improvements. The ultimate vision: a simulation indistinguishable from reality, "a copy of the universe where you can do whatever you want".