NHL 27 Features AI-Generated Commentator Voiceovers, John Buccigross Confirms

EA Sports is leveraging generative AI to produce voice lines for in-game commentators in NHL 27, according to veteran sports broadcaster John Buccigross.

During an appearance on the Chirping Zebras podcast (first highlighted by Insider Gaming's Mike Straw), Buccigross discussed his work with EA Sports on the NHL series. He confirmed his involvement in NHL 27 but also revealed that EA has incorporated AI-generated voice lines.

"They're using some AI now; they played me some stuff back of my voice," Buccigross said. "It's like 'Wow, that's pretty good!' If that means less work but the same check, I'll take it. Sometimes AI will get something wrong. One of the guys was playing it back, and a lot of these guys maybe aren't hardcore sports fans; they're video game extraordinaires. They're not always up on the vernacular. So they're playing back my AI voice, and they're like, 'Score! And the crowd gets out of their chairs!' I was like, 'No, they're not chairs. They look like chairs, but we call them seats.'

"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."

Generative AI is becoming more prevalent in the gaming industry, despite some fan backlash. Call of Duty faced criticism last year for using AI to create cosmetic items like calling cards. Now, EA Sports appears to be adopting the technology across multiple titles this year. The latest installments of College Football, Madden, and FC all feature disclaimers on their Steam pages noting the use of generative AI in development. NHL, however, is not available on Steam, so no such notice is present.

IGN has contacted EA for comment on how AI is utilized in NHL 27 and whether its use extends beyond voiceover work. NHL 27 is slated for release on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S on September 11, 2026. IGN reviewed the game and awarded it a 6/10, stating that while it remains fun, it offers little improvement over its predecessor.

"Hockey is one of the greatest sports in the world, and NHL 27 remains enjoyable largely due to that simple fact," the review reads. "The satisfaction of delivering a bone-crushing hit or snapping a wrist shot past a goaltender is just as effective as ever, and tiny tweaks to stuff like stadiums and music continue to add authenticity in small doses – but there are no illusions that anything truly substantial has changed this year."