Plenty of questions still surround the new EA Sports College Football video game and there is no shortage of hype and speculation.
In this article we’ll cover what we know, what we don’t know, and (when appropriate) what we think.
Updated May 16th, 2024
The First Trailer
EA Sports has released the first trailer for the new game. You can check that out below:
What Will The Game Be Called?
The franchise formerly known as NCAA Football will take the new name of EA Sports College Football.
While many in the media are referring to the upcoming game as NCAA Football 24, that will not be the title and is inaccurate for a couple of reasons.
First, EA does not have the license to use the “NCAA” trademark in the new video game.
Second, the way EA titles their sports games implies that it will be a “25” instead of a “24.”
The new game will actually be called, “EA Sports College Football 25.”
When Will It Be Released?
EA Sports has confirmed that College Football 25 will be released on Friday, July 19th. If you purchase the Deluxe ($99.99) or MVP editions ($149.99) of the game, you will receive early access on Tuesday, July 16th.
What Consoles Will It Be On?
College Football 25 will be released exclusively on PlayStation 5 and XBOX Series X/S. It will not be available on the previous generation of consoles like PlayStation 4 and XBOX One.
It will not be available on PC either.
For those of your still holding out on purchasing one of the newer consoles, this is your sign to upgrade.
Will Cross Platform Play Be Enabled?
Crossplay allows users on XBOX to play against users on PlayStation. This is a trend that’s been catching on recently in the sports video game world.
The EA Sports FC franchise and the Madden franchise have both recently started enabling crossplay so all signs point to it being in College Football 25 but EA Sports has not explicitly confirmed this yet.
What Game Modes Will Be In It?
Dynasty Mode, Road To Glory, and Ultimate Team are all confirmed to be in. Beyond that, we haven’t heard anything.
Will Real Names Be Used In The Game?
Yes, real names of NCAA Football players will be used in the new game. The days of downloading special rosters or being stuck with your star quarterback being named QB#7 are over.
EA will compensate each college football players that opts in with $600 and a free copy of the game.
Over 10,000 athletes have already signed on as of March 4th, 2024 with still more expected to sign before the game’s release.
Will Every Current NCAA Football Player Be In The Game?
The vast majority of players you recognize will be in the game. However, many colleges have over 100 players on their team at any given time. For this reason some of the 3rd, 4th, and 5th string players may not be 100% accurately represented in the game.
EA Sports’ stated goal is to sign at least 85 of the most prominent players on each FBS team prioritizing first and second string players. They’ve already announced they’ve signed over 12,000 college football players to be in the game.
Note: There may be a high profile player here and there that doesn’t agree to the usage of his name, image, and likeness but we expect those to be few and far between.
What Universities/Colleges Will Be In It?
All 134 FBS teams are confirmed to be in the game.
Will Real Life Coaches Be Included?
No, the focus right now is to get the student athletes in the game. Real college coaches including head coaches, offensive coordinators and defensive coordinators will not be in the game.
What Conferences Will Be In The Game?
All 10 FBS conferences have signed on. That includes the Power 5 conferences:
- SEC
- BIG 10
- BIG 12
- PAC-12 (if it still exists)
- ACC
As well as the lesser known “Group of 5” conferences:
- C-USA
- MAC
- Mountain West
- Sun Belt
- AAC
What About FCS teams and HBCUs?
FCS and HBCUs will not be in EA Sports College Football 25. However, they may be included in future games in the series.
Will The College Football Playoff Be Included?
Yes, Electronic Arts has reached a deal with the College Football Playoffs.
The new game will also be timed out perfectly to coincide with the expanded 12 team college football playoff that starts in 2024.
Additionally, we have received confirmation that every bowl game will also be in EA Sports College Football 25.
Will The Transfer Portal Be Part Of The Game?
Yes, the transfer portal will be in dynasty mode. How it will work exactly? We still don’t know.
Who Will The Announcers Be?
EA Sports has a deal with ESPN and has already started recording some of the voice work for the game.
There are seven confirmed announcers/commentators so far. Those are:
- Rece Davis
- Chris Fowler
- Kirk Herbstreit
- Desmond Howard
- Jesse Palmer
- Kevin Connors
- David Pollack
You can hear Chris Fowler discuss the voiceover work he’s done so far for the game below:
There have been rumors that multiple broadcast crews like Fox or CBS may be in the game as well but we have not been able to confirm that.
Will I Be Able To Export My Dynasty Draft Class To Madden?
You will not be able to import your dynasty draft class from College Football 25 into Madden 25.
How Long Has EA Sports Been Working On The Game?
The first announcement of the return to College Football video games happened on February 2nd, 2021.
They were likely working on it (in some way) months before that.
With the game expected to be released in July 2024, it looks like it will be about 4 years in development.
What Engine Will It Be Built On?
College Football 25 will be built off the Frostbite Engine. This is the same game engine that the Madden NFL franchise uses.
Will Custom Conferences Be In The Game?
Yes, you will have the ability to fully customize conferences in whatever way you’d like.
Will There Be A Beta or Demo?
The short answer as of now is we don’t know.
The last time NCAA Football video games were released, companies would release a demo version a month or so before the official release.
EA’s latest tactic is to use “Closed Betas” as a marketing tactic (which is essentially a demo) a couple months before the official release date.
EA Sports FC24 and Madden 24 both released closed betas but since EA Sports College Football 25 will be a completely new game built from the ground up, we shouldn’t necessarily expect a beta or demo.
What School-Specific Imagery Will Be In It?
Lots. EA is working on 3D renderings of college stadiums, designing mascots, and they have requested pageantry and tradition materials from all participating colleges.
What Will College Football 25 Playbooks Look Like?
College football is known for innovative, daring, and downright wacky formations and plays.
The accurate reflection of that in the old NCAA Football games’ playbooks was one of the coolest parts of the franchise.
Having the ability to dominate your friends by running a triple option scheme from the Wishbone was essential to the longevity and fun of the game.
It is our hope that this is reflected in the new game but unfortunately we haven’t heard anything regarding playbooks just yet.
Here are some of our favorite plays from NCAA Football 14 that we are hoping make their way into College Football 25.
Who Will Be On The Cover?
The cover is shared by three big name college football stars: Colorado’s Travis Hunter, Texas’ Quinn Ewers, and Michigan’s Donovan Edwards.
Will There Be Weekly Updates?
Other sports games like Madden, FIFA, etc have weekly roster updates. EA has confirmed that continuing live services will be a part of the new College Football game, we don’t expect there to be a rigid weekly schedule like in some of their other sports games.
The person we talked to mentioned that this would be too tall of a task with how many teams there are, how many games there are each week, and how big college football rosters are.
Will There Be Any Competing College Football Games?
Anything is possible but as of now, the answer is no. EA’s press release clearly states:
“The partnership allows for EA SPORTS to be the exclusive developer of simulation college football video game experiences.”
Your Questions
What other questions do you have about EA Sports’ College Football 25 game? Leave them in the comments!
Will it be available for PC?
No word on PC availability yet.
How much will it be?
$69.99 for the regular version, $99.99 for the more expensive version is the pricing EA has went with for most of their sports games lately.
Will scores and highlights be available at halftime of every game in Dynasty Mode?
We know the ESPN crew is involved but don’t know yet how exactly halftime shows will work.
So excited! As far as road to glory, any word on if the player would start in high school like the past ncaa games have done to receive offers from different schools?
Road to Glory is confirmed in the game, but at this point we don’t know exactly the path you will take or what options you will have.
what do you think the time table is on an announcement/trailer
If something small isn’t released around the time of the CFB championship game, it will likely be a few more months before we get any more information.
Is there a way to play on the same team with your friends on online dynasty mode?
EA hasn’t said one way or another yet.
Any knowledge of Dynasty mode – like the amount of user-controlled teams
That’s a great question but that information hasn’t been released just yet.
Are all the bowl games going to be in the game?
Don’t know about every single one, but a very large majority of them will be in.
Thank you.
Will marching bands be showcased in some way as in pregame performances and showing the band in the stands?
We know that EA Sports is making a HUGE effort to replicate traditions and gameday experiences but don’t yet know exactly what that will entail.
Gotcha. Appreciate the response. Hopefully, EA Sports will implement them more in the game. I feel like the bands is a big contributor to what sets college football apart from the NFL.
Will u be able to do ur own conference realignment like in ncaa 14
No official word on custom conferences yet.
When will it be released
July 2024
Will PlayStation/Xbox be able to play in dynasties together? Also will you be able to edit the CFP and Realign conferences?
It’s very likely although unconfirmed that you will be able to have PlayStation and XBOX players play in the same dynasties together. EA is currently testing this with franchise mode in Madden 24 so if all goes well there, that should be relatively easy to bring to the College Football game.
EA just released franchise crossplay for madden
They did! Technically it is still in Beta but that was the last remaining big part of Madden without crossplay so things are looking good for EA College Football.
Do you know how cross platform will work? Also will there be options to edit the CFP, Conferences, ETC
Cross platform will work the same way it does in Madden or EAFC. There will be a lot of customization options but we don’t know exactly what yet.
Do we have a list of colleges that r in I’m not paying all that money for it not to have said team…..thanks
I’m sure well before release that list will come out. The working assumption right now is that all FBS teams will be in.
Talking about FCS schools isn’t it already confirmed that they won’t be in the game but might come as DLC later on
An early report has indicated that FCS schools might be available as DLC but as far as I know it hasn’t been confirmed by EA.
What is DLC?
Great question! DLC stands for downloadable content. It’s usually something where they offer something as an add on that you can buy or download after the game’s initial release.
will fan run on the fild afer a big win in the football game
That’s a cool suggestion but not something they’ve announced one way or the other.
That would be so COOL!
Will the game graphics be up to date, or are they going for a retro look? Also will it be available on PC?
Yes, the new game’s graphics will be fully up to date. No word yet on if it will be coming to PC.
Will you be able to edit rosters?
In terms of like a roster share like we had in the past, that is unlikely.
Yes, I always edit and create my own roster and player stats. Will I be able to still do that?
Anything on if there will be that game mode where the mascots play against each other?
I haven’t heard anything on that. Is mascot mode something that’s important to you in the new game?
I dont think it will be in at the start, since there working alot from scratch
Any idea about if you’ll be able to import draft classes into Madden?
Haven’t heard anything on importing draft classes. I’d have to think that is in the sort of mid-tier priority spot where it is important but not the most important thing on their list.