{"id":1779751,"date":"2026-02-19T11:43:55","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T08:43:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1779751"},"modified":"2026-02-19T11:43:55","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T08:43:55","slug":"football-commentator-guy-mowbray-let-ea-create-an-ai-voice-double-to-help-read-out-the-20000-player-names-in-ea-sports-fc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1779751","title":{"rendered":"Football commentator Guy Mowbray let EA create an AI voice double to help read out the 20,000 player names in EA Sports FC"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"article \" data-ads=\"true\" data-article-type=\"news\" data-article-group=\"news\" data-paywalled=\"false\" data-premium=\"false\" data-sponsored=\"false\" data-type=\"article\">\n<header class=\"article_header\" data-component=\"article-header\">\n<div class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n<nav class=\"nav_breadcrumbs\" data-component=\"nav-breadcrumbs\" aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\">\n<ul class=\"nav-links\">\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      Home<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/news\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      News<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/nav><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_details\" id=\"main-content\">\n<h1 class=\"title\">Football commentator Guy Mowbray let EA create an AI voice double to help read out the 20,000 player names in EA Sports FC<\/h1>\n<p class=\"strapline\">Pitch perfect.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_asset\">\n<figure class=\"headline_image_wrapper\">\n<p>        <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"headline_image\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/guy-mowbray-ea-sports-fc.jpg?width=570&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;dpr=3&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"Football commentator Guy Mowbray superimposed over a screenshot of three footballers tussling in EA Sports FC 26.\" loading=\"eager\" data-uri=\"guy-mowbray-ea-sports-fc.jpg\" data-lightbox width=\"570\" height=\"321\"><figcaption>\n          <span class=\"attribution\">Image credit: <cite>Eurogamer\/BBC\/EA<\/cite><\/span><br \/>\n        <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"metadata\">\n<div class=\"avatar\">\n<p>    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Matt Wales avatar\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/1521645425.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"180\" height=\"179\"><\/p>\n<p>  <img alt=\"Matt Wales avatar\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"1521645425.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"180\" height=\"179\">\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text\">\n<div class=\"byline\">\n                  <span class=\"article_type\" data-slug=\"news\"><br \/>\n                    News<br \/>\n                  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"by\">by<\/span> <span class=\"author\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/authors\/matt-wales\">Matt Wales<\/a><\/span>                    <span class=\"job_title\"><br \/>\n                      News Reporter<br \/>\n                    <\/span>\n            <\/div>\n<div class=\"published_at\">\nPublished on <time datetime=\"2026-02-19T11:43:55+00:00\">Feb. 19, 2026<\/time>              <\/div>\n<div class=\"comments\">\n      <a class=\"comments__link comments-bubble\" href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/guy-mowbray-let-ea-create-an-ai-voice-double-to-help-in-ea-sports-fc?view=comments\" rel=\"nofollow\"><br \/>\n          17 comments<br \/>\n      <\/a>\n    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"mypop-header-wrapper\">\n<p><button class=\"mypop-button button wide\" data-state=\"follow\" data-type=\"tag\" data-uuid=\"b52be6cd-d973-4a99-96bd-c39299be2d43\" data-name=\"EA Sports FC 26\" data-follow-text=\"Follow EA Sports FC 26\" data-unfollow-text=\"Following EA Sports FC 26\" data-aria-follow-text=\"Follow EA Sports FC 26\" data-aria-unfollow-text=\"Following EA Sports FC 26\" data-popup=\"true\" data-force-login=\"true\" aria-label=\"Follow EA Sports FC 26\" title=\"Follow EA Sports FC 26\"><br \/>\n  Follow EA Sports FC 26<br \/>\n<\/button>          <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p>\nMatch of the Day football commentator Guy Mowbray has revealed he gave EA permission to create an AI voice clone of himself in order to assist with some of the more onerous aspects of recording commentary for EA Sports FC.\n<\/p>\n<p>\nMowbray shared the news as part of a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/sport\/football\/articles\/c4g40828ngjo\">BBC feature exploring how EA Sports FC&#8217;s commentaries are made<\/a>, explaining that these days, recording or preparing for the game is a &#8220;part of my weekly routine&#8221;, taking up &#8220;pretty much every week from November all the way through to the start of July.&#8221;\n<\/p>\n<p>\n&#8220;It takes so long because for every single facet of the game that you could think of, we have to cover every scenario,&#8221; he revealed. &#8220;It is so in-depth because it has got to feel and sound real &#8211; the whole point of the game is its authenticity.&#8221;\n<\/p>\n<p>\nAccording to the report, one of the most repetitive elements of the recording process is reading out the name of every player in the game. Each name must be recorded several times, in different intonations, in order to fit within the wider commentary, and EA Sports FC features &#8220;more than 20,000 real male and female footballers&#8221;. As such, EA now uses AI to replicate Mowbray&#8217;s voice &#8211; with his permission &#8211; to &#8220;help&#8221; with this aspect of recording.\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>\n&#8220;AI has long been part of our development pipeline, from animation to gameplay systems,&#8221; EA told the BBC in reference to its AI usage, &#8220;and continues to support our teams in making better, more responsive football experiences. But when it comes to commentary and content, it&#8217;s always a collaboration with our talent &#8211; not a replacement.&#8221;\n<\/p>\n<p>\nGenerative AI does, of course, remain hugely controversial given the numerous ethical concerns associated with the technology. And it&#8217;s proved particularly contentious in the realm of video game voice acting. Last year, US voice actors union SAG-AFTRA <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/voice-actors-relieved-to-have-the-freedom-to-work-again-says-jennifer-hale-as-sag-aftra-strike-ends\">ended a lengthy strike<\/a> after finally securing &#8220;safety guardrails&#8221; around AI &#8211; and one of the union&#8217;s key requirements was that companies pay actors on an equivalent basis for digitally replicated voices.\n<\/p>\n<p>\nYou can read more about how voice actors and unions have been fighting back against gaming&#8217;s use of AI in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/video-game-publishers-developers-normalise-ai-tools-voice-work-ethical-unions-actors-fighting-back\">Eurogamer&#8217;s lengthy report from last year<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"preferred-source\" data-component=\"preferred-source\">\nLove Eurogamer.net? Make us a <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\">Preferred Source on Google<\/a> and catch more of our coverage in your feeds.  <\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p>\nMatch of the Day football commentator Guy Mowbray has revealed he gave EA permission to create an AI voice clone of himself in order to assist with some of the more onerous aspects of recording commentary for EA Sports FC.\n<\/p>\n<p>\nMowbray shared the news as part of a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/sport\/football\/articles\/c4g40828ngjo\">BBC feature exploring how EA Sports FC&#8217;s commentaries are made<\/a>, explaining that these days, recording or preparing for the game is a &#8220;part of my weekly routine&#8221;, taking up &#8220;pretty much every week from November all the way through to the start of July.&#8221;\n<\/p>\n<p>\n&#8220;It takes so long because for every single facet of the game that you could think of, we have to cover every scenario,&#8221; he revealed. &#8220;It is so in-depth because it has got to feel and sound real &#8211; the whole point of the game is its authenticity.&#8221;\n<\/p>\n<p>\nAccording to the report, one of the most repetitive elements of the recording process is reading out the name of every player in the game. Each name must be recorded several times, in different intonations, in order to fit within the wider commentary, and EA Sports FC features &#8220;more than 20,000 real male and female footballers&#8221;. As such, EA now uses AI to replicate Mowbray&#8217;s voice &#8211; with his permission &#8211; to &#8220;help&#8221; with this aspect of recording.\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>\n&#8220;AI has long been part of our development pipeline, from animation to gameplay systems,&#8221; EA told the BBC in reference to its AI usage, &#8220;and continues to support our teams in making better, more responsive football experiences. But when it comes to commentary and content, it&#8217;s always a collaboration with our talent &#8211; not a replacement.&#8221;\n<\/p>\n<p>\nGenerative AI does, of course, remain hugely controversial given the numerous ethical concerns associated with the technology. And it&#8217;s proved particularly contentious in the realm of video game voice acting. Last year, US voice actors union SAG-AFTRA <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/voice-actors-relieved-to-have-the-freedom-to-work-again-says-jennifer-hale-as-sag-aftra-strike-ends\">ended a lengthy strike<\/a> after finally securing &#8220;safety guardrails&#8221; around AI &#8211; and one of the union&#8217;s key requirements was that companies pay actors on an equivalent basis for digitally replicated voices.\n<\/p>\n<p>\nYou can read more about how voice actors and unions have been fighting back against gaming&#8217;s use of AI in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/video-game-publishers-developers-normalise-ai-tools-voice-work-ethical-unions-actors-fighting-back\">Eurogamer&#8217;s lengthy report from last year<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Home News Football commentator Guy Mowbray let EA create an AI voice double to help read out the 20,000 player names in EA Sports FC Pitch perfect. Image credit: Eurogamer\/BBC\/EA News by Matt Wales News Reporter Published on Feb. 19, 2026 17 comments Follow EA Sports FC 26 Match of the Day football commentator Guy [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,253],"class_list":["post-1779751","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-eurogamer-net"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1779751","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1779751"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1779751\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1779751"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1779751"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1779751"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}