EA Sports has unveiled Ignite, its next-generation games engine, at today’s Xbox One reveal event in Redmond, Washington.
Madden NFL 25, FIFA 14, NBA LIVE 14, and EA Sports UFC, each launching within the next 12 months, will be powered by the new engine.
Ignite promises to blend new technology with the “best rendering, run-time physics, animation, intelligence, locomotion, and online systems” from across EA into one “powerful” new engine.
“Athletes will possess human-like intelligence for advanced decision-making, players will have the agility required to change speeds and directions with true athletic motion, and living worlds will make the game experience as rich and dynamic as real-world stadiums and arenas,” said EA in a press release.
A trailer highlighting FIFA, Madden, and EA Sports’ other upcoming Ignite-powered games, as well as more details, can be found below.
Athletes in EA Sports next gen games will be able to make intelligent decisions with human-like reaction times. EA Sports Ignite computes four times more calculations per second than previous consoles, unlocking nearly infinite potential for how players think, and enabling them to make more difficult decisions faster. Players are alive with contextual awareness and instincts—thinking, anticipating, and reacting—just like real athletes, and players are conscious of their environment. In FIFA 14, for example, a player’s sense of urgency increases as the match draws on and a goal is needed, rushing to take a free kick, corner, or goal-kick if time is running down.
EA Sports Ignite will deliver the dynamic movements and biomechanics of the world’s best athletes. With 10 times more animation depth and detail than previous consoles, and thousands of new sport-specific animations to drive new locomotion systems, players now plant, pivot and cut, quickly change speeds, and shift momentum with the agility and explosiveness of superstar athletes.
EA Sports games for the next generation will have stunning accuracy and visuals. By creating living worlds, the in-game environment is now as dynamic as real-world stadiums and arenas that change throughout a match. For the first time ever, 3D crowds and dynamic sidelines will impact the experience, and rich sports atmospheres will change organically based on the progress of a match. Player actions will change depending on the situation, and crowds will have an expectation of how a game is likely to play out, and react accordingly.