New Report Reveals Major Update on Video Game 'EA Sports College Football'

Football fans are waiting for the video game EA Sports College Football to be released. And it looks like games won't have the wait too long based on a recent report by The Athletic. The outlet confirmed new details on the game first reported by Extra Points and 247Sports, including that EA Sports College Football will be released in July 2023. Additionally, the game will only be available on next-gen consoles such as Playstation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. The Athletic also said that the game will be the "most detailed college football game ever" but there are still aspects that haven't been finalized, including the addition of real players. 

"College football is one of those unique sporting events that you really don't find anywhere else in the world,"  Peter Moore, former president of EA Sports, told The Athletic. "The amazing pageantry always pops into mind. It's difficult to replicate anywhere in the world because of campuses. Nothing else competes with it."

The last college football video game to hit the mark is NCAA Football 14. The franchise was put on hold after that game due to the inability to pay players for their name, image and likeness (NIL). But now that the NCAA approved NILs for college athletes, this opened the door for EA Sports to develop the game, which was first announced on Feb. 2, 2021. 

NCAA Football was arguably a deeper game than Madden NFL as it included 1000 teams and stadiums, fight songs, pride stickers, mascots and large rosters. "The team that worked on it were college football fans," Moore said. "There was shared technology with Madden and slightly smaller players, but the team prided itself on getting those individual playbooks right. Things like the Wishbone and the Pistol, all the unique college formations and strategies that are very different than the NFL."

The features that could be included in EA Sports College Football are new stadium angles, the transfer portal and an expanded 12-team College Football Playoff if it's approved by the CFP Board of Managers this month. The Athletic says EA Sports has been working hard at the game since the Feb. 2021 announcement, obtaining videos and audio from 133 current and future FBS schools. As for who will be on the cover of the new game, that has not been determined yet, but NIL rules would allow a current player to be selected instead of a former player for the NCAA Football franchise.