2026-07-08 · paper-digest
Sestini et al.: Making AAA Game NPCs Feel Authentic with Reinforcement Learning — Fukai Reads
A vision paper from the research team at Electronic Arts. It tests whether AAA game NPCs can be improved with reinforcement learning, through two real cases — goalkeeper positioning in EA SPORTS FC 25 and infantry locomotion in Battlefield 6 — and lays out seven requirements RL must meet in production. Its conclusion: RL is a tool to augment, not replace, existing game AI.