Summary
- EA Sports College Football has gained the licensing support of most major colleges, a crucial step in reviving the franchise after a decade of dormancy due to legal issues.
- Progress on the game is going well, with secured college licenses and promising gameplay, indicating that fans can expect to learn more about college football's return to gaming soon.
- The game may adopt a live service platform model, with constant updates and new players being added over time, similar to other popular titles in the gaming industry.
EA's CEO has provided an update on the development status of its new EA Sports College Football game. Beginning in 1993 as Bill Walsh College Football, EA Sports' NCAA Football series had been an annual staple in the world of sports gaming as a sister series to EA's more popular Madden NFL franchise.
Announced in early 2021, EA Sports College Football seeks to bring college football back to the gaming world after a decade of dormancy due to legality issues surrounding EA's use of players' likenesses in the games without paying them. EA has confirmed that college players who opt-in will be compensated for allowing their names and likenesses to be used in the new title. It's this promise that's allowed EA to legally move forward with its new college football game. As it's been over two years since EA Sports College Football's announcement, the time has come to begin learning more about the revival of college football in gaming.
In a Q1 2024 earnings call, Electronic Arts' CEO Andrew Wilson weighed in on the publisher's progress with EA Sports College Football. In the call, Wilson revealed that EA has gained the licensing support of most of America's major colleges. He also mentioned the ongoing work with unnamed bodies to ensure the inclusion of college athletes is handled correctly, and with compensation. This is arguably the most important part of reviving EA's college football franchise, as the discontinuation of EA's NCAA Football series was a direct result of unlawfully using players' information without including their names or faces in order to avoid having to compensate them.
In citing the issue of "...how and when to include college athletes themselves into the game...", Wilson makes it seem like EA Sports College Football will be adding new players to the game over time, being built as an ongoing platform which will see constant updates instead of annual releases like EA's own Madden NFL franchise. It's easy to imagine this as the case in the current climate of video games and the live service nature of many new titles and franchises. Many feel this is something Madden NFL should've started doing years ago, so seeing that EA Sports College Football could potentially favor a live service platform model out of the gate seems promising.
Despite having yet to add real players in, it seems progress on EA Sports College Football is coming along smoothly, at least in regard to getting college licenses locked in. Wilson also mentioned how well the gameplay is shaping up. With decades of Madden NFL experience there's little doubt this new college football title will feel right, despite a decade having passed since NCAA Football 14. As it's now been a while since EA Sports College Football was first announced, it shouldn't be too much longer before fans can expect to learn more about college football's return to the gaming world, especially now that large swaths of college licensing have been secured.
EA Sports College Football is in development.
Source: VGC