The ocean is vast, mysterious, and full of charismatic critters that look like they belong in a sci-fi movie. But unlike outer space, you don’t need a rocket to explore it—just a mobile device and a sense of wonder!

Enter FathomVerse, a free mobile game that invites everyone with a smartphone or tablet to contribute to science. By playing blissfully productive mini-games and interacting with stunning ocean imagery, gamers partner with researchers to identify ocean animals and train AI. But this is deeper than just entertainment. The team behind FathomVerse is working to address the ocean’s most critical challenges.

Ecosystems are changing faster than ever before and we’re in a race with climate change to document and monitor life in the ocean. It is estimated that 30 to 60% of life in the ocean is still unknown to science. To reach a sustainable future for our ocean, we need to close these knowledge gaps, because we can’t protect what we don’t understand. When you pick up your phone to play FathomVerse, you’ve replaced scrolling with ocean exploring, diving below the surface to help scientists learn more about our blue planet. Together, we can speed up breakthroughs in science and discover all life in the ocean.

Ocean science for everyone

“There are many people out there who are deeply concerned about climate change but are unsure how to make a difference. With FathomVerse, we aim to provide a tangible way for climate-conscious individuals to contribute to ocean research and expand our collective knowledge about the ocean,” explains Kakani Katija, FathomVerse Lead and Principal Engineer at MBARI. Katija’s team of experts in AI, software engineering, taxonomy, and game design created FathomVerse to address a critical bottleneck: there are not enough marine biology experts available to review the thousands of hours of underwater video data collected by researchers and robots.

 FathomVerse transforms data analysis into an engaging, fun experience. In the "Pulse" and "Illuminate" mini-games, players label ocean animals in real underwater images, guided by identification resources and feedback systems that reward thoroughness and accuracy. A collaborative approach involves multiple players reviewing the same images, with their collective identifications feeding into a sophisticated validation process. This carefully curated data ultimately helps researchers train and refine machine learning algorithms that can support various applications, including biodiversity monitoring, species discovery, and behavioral analysis.

Improving and Expanding FathomVerse

The FathomVerse team has diligently gathered player feedback through surveys, reviews, and community discussions on Discord to improve and expand the game experience since launching version 1.0 in May 2024. Using this information, the FathomVerse team at MBARI, along with &ranj Serious Games based in the Netherlands, has worked on developing new features since September 2024. FathomVerse 2.0 represents a comprehensive enhancement focused on three strategic areas: strengthening player engagement, fostering community connections, and expanding scientific contributions.

What excites you most about the potential of games like FathomVerse to contribute to ocean research, and how do you think we can further engage more people in this important mission?