Last updated: 2026-10-25
Project Genie is Google DeepMind's web-based world-generation prototype, live on Google Labs for Google AI Ultra subscribers aged 18 and over. Built on Genie 3, it turns text, an image or a Street View location into a world you walk, ride, fly or drive through in real time, for sessions of 60 seconds.
About Project Genie
Project Genie is an experimental research prototype from Google DeepMind that generates interactive virtual environments from a text prompt, an image, or a Google Maps Street View location. It launched through Google Labs in early 2026 and runs on Genie 3, DeepMind's general-purpose world model. The underlying organization, Google DeepMind, was formed in 2010 as an independent AI lab before merging with Google Brain in 2023.
Unlike procedural generation engines that assemble pre-built assets under fixed rules, Genie 3 generates the world around the player as they move. Google's Labs page describes the flow as three steps: create a world, edit and refine it by changing the image and prompts before you start, then step in and explore while the environment builds itself in real time. You choose a first-person or third-person view and a way to travel: walking, riding, flying or driving. Google's help center lists WASD movement, spacebar to jump or ascend, and arrow keys to turn the camera.
Project Genie is best suited to game designers prototyping level concepts, researchers studying world models, and curious Google AI Ultra subscribers experimenting with generative world-building. It is not a tool for shipping finished games: Google's help center says each session lasts 60 seconds, and an early-access notice warns that actions may not work as expected.
Access is bundled into Google AI Ultra, which Google's plan page now sells as Ultra 5x and Ultra 20x tiers. Google's help center says Project Genie is available to Ultra subscribers wherever Ultra is sold, to users aged 18 or older, and says generating worlds does not use AI credits. Google's plan page puts the Ultra footprint at more than 150 countries and Project Genie in more than 140. When demand is high you wait in a queue and then get 30 seconds to create your world. It runs in a browser with a Google account, so any desktop with a modern browser works.
If you want a finished, editable clip rather than a world you walk through, Runway, Kling or Pika are the better fit. Google's other Labs experiments, such as Mixboard and Google Disco, cover different jobs. Not sure which fits? Answer a few questions in Smart Match for a shortlist matched to your use.
Pricing
Included with a Google AI Ultra subscription, with no separate Project Genie price and no free tier. Ultra now comes in 5x and 20x versions, and the plan page lists Genie as Ultra-only. The stored $200 monthly list price dates from July 2026 and is not re-confirmed: the plan page showed only rupiah (Ultra 5x from Rp 1,579,000, Ultra 20x from Rp 3,399,000).
Key Features
- Street View Prompting: Accepts text, images or Google Maps Street View locations as the starting point for a world, per Google's Labs page.
- Edit Before You Explore: Lets you modify the image and prompts and add, change or remove elements of the sketch before generating, per Google's help center.
- Real-Time World Generation: Builds the environment around you as you move, rather than loading a pre-rendered scene, using Genie 3 per Google's Labs page.
- Multiple Ways to Travel: Offers first-person and third-person views with walking, riding, flying and driving, steered with WASD, spacebar and arrow keys.
- 60-Second Sessions: Gives each generated world a 60-second exploration window with a progress bar, after which you can reuse your prompts to start again.
- Gallery of Community Worlds: Shows worlds other users made even if you lack Ultra access, per Google's help center, so you can judge output before paying.
Pros
- Runs in a browser tab with no install, unlike world-model research demos that need a local GPU.
- Accepts text, images and Google Maps Street View locations as starting points, so a real place can seed a world.
- Lets you edit the image and prompts before you start exploring, which saves wasted 60-second sessions.
- Does not draw down AI credits during early access, according to Google's help center.
Cons
- Google's help center caps each session at 60 seconds, so worlds are for quick exploration, not extended play.
- Access sits behind the Ultra subscription, the most expensive Google AI plan, and you must be 18 or older.
- High demand can put you in a queue, and Google warns that as an early research prototype some actions may not work as expected.
- Controls are limited to moving, jumping and looking around, with no free object manipulation described in Google's help center.
Data Handling
- Training-data policy
- Trained on internet video and Google's own content pipelines; DeepMind has not published a customer-data opt-out policy specific to Project Genie
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does Project Genie cost in 2026?
Project Genie has no price of its own; it comes with a Google AI Ultra subscription. HokAI could not re-read the dollar price because the plan page showed only rupiah, so check Google's plan page for today's figure. Worlds cost no AI credits during early access.
Is Project Genie free to use?
No. Project Genie is an Ultra-only benefit on Google's plan page, with no free tier or trial listed. Without Ultra you can still open the gallery to view worlds that other Project Genie users have created, per Google's help center.
Who can use Project Genie?
Anyone aged 18 or older with an Ultra subscription in a country where Ultra is sold. Google's plan page lists Project Genie in more than 140 countries, so the earlier United States-only limit no longer applies.
How does Project Genie compare to Runway in 2026?
Runway produces a finished video clip you edit afterwards. Project Genie instead generates a world you steer live, but Google's help center limits each exploration to 60 seconds. Choose Runway for an edited clip and Project Genie to prototype a space you can move through.
How do you get started with Project Genie?
Go to labs.google/fx/projectgenie, sign in with a personal Google Account that has Ultra, and click Create with Project Genie. Describe the environment and character, or pick a Street View location, choose first or third person, and generate. If a waiting line appears, hold your place: you then have 30 seconds to build your world.
Top Alternatives
- Runway: Pick Runway if you need a production video-editing pipeline with motion brush and camera controls; pick Project Genie if you want a live, walkable 3D world instead of a rendered clip.
- Kling AI: Pick Kling AI if you're a creator who wants finished cinematic video output; pick Project Genie if you want to steer and explore a world in real time as an embodied user.
- Pika: Pick Pika if you need fast, shareable short-form video clips; pick Project Genie if you need a persistent, interactive environment you can navigate for close to a minute.
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