Report: EA is using genAI for commentator voiceover in NHL 27

Diego Argüello,Contributing Editor, News,GameDeveloper.com

September 8, 2026

2 Min ReadImage via EA

Veteran spots commentator John Buccigross claims that EA Sports is using generative AI (genAI) to create voiceover for in-game commentary in professional hockey simulator NHL 27.

As reported by IGN (and first spotted by Insider Gaming executive editor Mike Straw), Buccigross told the Chirpin Zebras podcast about his participation in the game. This also led to him mentioning that EA is using genAI, as per an alleged demonstration.

"They're using some AI now; they played me some stuff back of my voice," Buccigross says on the podcast. "It's like 'wow, that's pretty good!' If that means less work but the same check, I'll take it."

The commentator adds that sometimes "AI will get something wrong," referencing an example during the alleged presentation. At one point while playing back his AI voice, it said "Score! And the crowd gets out of the chairs!", to which Buccigross said that they're called seats instead.

"So, little things like that, you gotta go back and listen because words matter. [...] But then you can make AI smarter; in the future they'll say seats, they won't say chairs. You have to manually put that in. That was kind of a funny anecdote from the process," he says.

GenAI has garnered a largely negative reception from developers in recent years, with many arguing that it is having a corrosive effect on the industry. EA boss Andrew Wilson, on the other hand, has been adamant about his positive outlook on the tech. Back in 2024, he said that 60 percent of development processes could be "impacted by generative AI," adding that the tech is one the publisher was "embracing deeply."

Later that year, he reinforced the sentiment to investors, claiming genAI is at the "very core" of EA's business and that it's far from a "buzzword." In late 2025, EA partnered with Stability AI to co-develop AI models, tools, and workflows, claiming that this would empower its development teams to "reimagine how content is built."

Buccigross might seemingly be okay with his voice being allegedly replicated by artificial intelligence, but it's unsure whether EA is using the tech in other aspects of the game as well.

Game Developer has contacted EA for clarification on the matter.

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About the Author

Diego Argüello

Contributing Editor, News, GameDeveloper.com

Diego Nicolás Argüello is a freelance journalist and critic from Argentina. Video games helped him to learn English, so now he covers them for places like The New York Times, NPR, Rolling Stone, and more. He also runs Into the Spine, a site dedicated to fostering and supporting new writers, and co-hosted Turnabout Breakdown, a podcast about the Ace Attorney series. He’s most likely playing a rhythm game as you read this.

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