One of the most highly anticipated sports video games of all time, EA Sports College Football 25 has flooded the market as gamers have waited more than a decade for the next installment of the franchise.
The game was officially launched on Friday with EA Sports increasing server capacity during early access to address the crush.
“To say that we have been overwhelmed by the excitement, energy and anticipation surrounding College Football 25 over the past few months would be an understatement,” EA Sports said in a blog post this week. “Like you, our team has been circling July 19 for months as the culmination of so much work and dedication to building this game, and the chance to see it in the hands of players for the first time.”
EA Sports’ college football games were released annually, a cultural icon in American sports for much of the franchise’s existence. The company froze future editions in 2013 when athletes began questioning why they weren’t getting paid to appear in the games.
With athlete compensation rights settled in court and now allowed by the NCAA, EA Sports announced in 2021 that it would revive the franchise. The video game developer offered Bowl Subdivision players a minimum of $600 and a copy of the game so that their likeness would be included. More than 11,000 players accepted offers.
EA Sports has said that the goal of the game was “to feel like a love letter to college football and its fans.”
San Diego State and Colorado were among the schools hosting College Football 25 events this week. On social platforms, athletes like LeBron James, Tim Tebow and Michael Vick – even comedians Shane Gillis and Dan Soder – were live streaming in-game head-to-head matches.
Michigan running back Donovan Edwards, one of the cover athletes, said in May that some of the best moments of his youth were playing EA Sports college football with his best friend.
“Just the fact that it’s back and it’s on the cover is an amazing feeling,” he said.
The other cover athletes in the standard edition of the game are Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers and Colorado two-way player Travis Hunter. The deluxe edition features the backs of numerous players in a stadium tunnel, including Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe, Georgia quarterback Carson Beck and Ohio State running back Quinshon Judkins.
EA Sports’ college football franchise dates back to the 1990s. It grew in popularity in the early 2000s as gaming systems became more sophisticated, allowing for revolutionary game modes such as the popular Race for the Heisman create-a-player introduced in NCAA Football 06.
That edition also featured historic teams, including the 1992 Alabama squad that featured Clemson coach Dabo Swinney.
“I’m a little sleepy,” Swinney joked about the 70 overall rating for his player, “WR No. 88,” who did, however, have a 91 speed rating. “They have to make sure I get down the hill. I appreciate the love they gave me.”
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AP Sports Writer Pete Iabelli contributed to this report.
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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football. Sign up for AP’s college football newsletter: https://apnews.com/cfbtop25
