Virtual versions of 11,000 real college football players take the field for EA’s ‘College Football 25’
After an 11-year drought, EA Sports has launched a new college football video game featuring the likenesses of 11,000 players, real players. To achieve an accurate look for all those players, “EA Sports College Football 25” relied on artificial intelligence to create digital avatars, the first reported Through The Wall Street Journal. The AI marks a major improvement for the franchise and a milestone in the integration of AI into video games as a whole.
EA Sports wanted to create virtual athletes in-house for its game. The company developed AI tools that could transform photos into detailed 3D avatars. But while full-body scans are standard for producing virtual versions of NFL players in the Madden NFL series, there are six times as many athletes in NCAA Division I football. So EA wanted a more efficient and less expensive option. Instead, with player approval, the company used college headshots and an AI model to produce virtual players that could be incorporated into the game.
EA canceled its college football game series in 2013 after a class-action lawsuit over likeness rights. With NCAA policy changes looming, the new game and its real-world likenesses were announced in 2021. Each player received a deluxe copy of the game and at least $600. Higher-profile players received larger sums in exchange for helping promote the game by appearing on the game’s cover and encouraging people to purchase the game on social media.
EA NCAA AI
The models used in the new game are, by necessity, less detailed than Madden NFL models, but far more specific than the generic players used in previous iterations of EA Sports college football. The AI also didn’t always create a perfect, usable model on its first try. In those cases, EA tweaked the images and data fed to the AI model until it had what it needed, which also helped the AI learn what the company was looking for in its creations.
Fortunately, the AI models will also lay the groundwork for future annual releases of the game series. Now that the AI has done it, it will likely do it faster and better, especially with the players already catalogued. It also sets a precedent for other future sports titles such as car racing, hockey and others.
By leveraging AI technology, the company efficiently overcame the logistical challenges of scanning thousands of college athletes, delivering a more authentic and immersive gaming experience. As the franchise reboots with these innovations, it sets a new standard for realism in sports video games, highlighting the potential for AI to enhance future titles in other ways as well.