EA Studios - SEED
- Open roles
- 0
- Founded
- 2015
- Employees
- 11-50
- Offices
- 4
About EA Studios - SEED
SEED is Electronic Arts’ advanced research and incubation division, exploring technologies for the future of interactive entertainment. Its expanded name is Search for Extraordinary Experiences Division. Formed internally in November 2015 and publicly introduced at E3 / EA Play in June 2017, it connects academic computer science with the practical demands of AAA game development.
The division brings together researchers, engineers and technical artists across Sweden, Canada and the United States. Its work looks two to five years ahead, investigating technologies that can inform future game experiences and development tools. Rather than producing standalone retail games, SEED develops prototypes, research frameworks and technical contributions that can move into EA’s shared technology and game franchises.
Research focus
SEED’s graphics research covers real-time rendering, ray tracing, volumetric effects and neural techniques. Its artificial intelligence work includes reinforcement learning, imitation learning and agents that navigate complex virtual environments. These investigations support both gameplay behavior and automated testing, connecting experimental machine learning with challenges encountered during large game productions.
Another major area is digital characters and animation. The division studies facial performance processing, audio-driven facial animation, motion generation and physics-based cloth simulation. Its gameplay research also explores emergent physics, interactive mechanics and tools that assist designers in developing and testing ideas.
From experiments to production
SEED’s work spans experimental demonstrations and contributions to released games. Its research includes self-learning agents for Battlefield 1, neural cloth simulation for Madden NFL 21 and reinforcement learning models for goalkeepers in EA SPORTS FC 26. These projects illustrate how the division applies research methods to specific gameplay, animation and simulation problems.
The group also integrates technology into shared development systems, including Frostbite. Alongside this internal work, it publishes technical research, presents at academic and industry conferences, and releases open-source software. This combination of experimentation, production integration and public dissemination supports an ongoing exchange between game development and the wider research community.
More about EA Studios - SEED
Leadership and origins
- The report identifies Dr. Konrad Tollmar as Head of Research and Colin Barré-Brisebois as Head of Technology. Tollmar is also identified as an Associate Professor at KTH Royal Institute of Technology.
- SEED's creation involved former EA Chief Design Officer Patrick Söderlund and senior technical leaders; this historical involvement does not establish a current leadership role.
- EA marked the division's tenth anniversary in November 2025.
Technical methods
- Facial performance research includes the “Skull Carving” stabilization method, while Voice2Face investigates audio-driven facial performance and SILK addresses motion in-betweening.
- Vaporwave explores smoke and volumetric rendering. Neural supersampling is another graphics research area.
- Halcyon provides an internal research engine for rapid experimentation with rendering, physics and gameplay systems. Gigi uses a graph-based execution framework to prototype real-time rendering algorithms.
- ShaderToHuman provides an HLSL/GLSL library for shader debugging, while ExFlowSions investigates machine-learning methods for procedural and dynamic game audio production.
Research exchange
SEED's publication and presentation venues include SIGGRAPH, GDC, IEEE CoG and I3D, connecting its applied work with specialist graphics and game-AI research communities.
Notable credits
10 creditsOffices
Where EA Studios - SEED is based
- 2200 Rue StanleyMontreal, Quebec, Canada
Montreal office
Core hub for rendering, gameplay innovation and technical artistry, co-located with Motive Studio and Frostbite.
- Götgatan 100Stockholm, Stockholms län, Sweden
Stockholm office
Primary research hub for AI, deep learning and graphics, embedded in the EA Stockholm campus alongside DICE and Frostbite.
- Los Angeles, California, United States
Los Angeles office
About this office
SEED research base at EA's Marina del Rey / Playa Vista campus, supporting computer vision, avatar capture and interactive entertainment research.
- 209 Redwood Shores Pkwy, Redwood City, CA 94065Redwood City, California, United States
Redwood City office
About this office
Collaborative R&D engineering presence within Electronic Arts' global headquarters; the report does not designate this as SEED's overall headquarters.
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