Last year saw the grand return of college football with EA Sports College Football 25, and as expected, it's following in the footsteps of its older sister Madden NFL as an annualized franchise. CFB 25 was a fantastic game, although imperfect, and EA Sports looks to continue refining it with this year's EA Sports College Football 26. Sporting Alabama WR Ryan Williams and Ohio State WR Jeremiah Smith on the cover, EA Sports College Football 26 speaks to the passion of football fans and developers alike.
The Best War Games recently visited EA in Orlando where we had a brief hands-on preview of EA Sports College Football 26 after a detailed breakdown of all the changes, improvements, and new features. I had enough time to run an Iron Bowl game between Alabama and Auburn, and then later to step into the shoes of my alma mater Jacksonville State University. What I experienced was as crunchy, as explosive, and as hard-hitting as fans would expect from college football, and the best part is that there is still more on the way.
EA Sports College Football 26 Features
After its release date reveal and then its cover star reveal, EA Sports College Football 26 confirmed a few features for the title. These include, but are definitely not limited to, all 136 FBS schools, more than 300 real-world coaches, expanded player types and abilities, the return of wear and tear, AI improvements, dynamic play-calling adjustments, dynamic substitutions, enhanced blocking/coverage systems, custom zones, a revamp stadium pulse system, 160 school-specific chants, 10 new PA tracks, and more. However, that's just scratching the surface. Fans can expect more news on Road to Glory, Dynasty, College Football Ultimate Team, and other game modes over the next few weeks.
There is no substitute for a football game, whether in-person at the stadium or seated with friends and family who are screaming Roll Tide or War Eagle at one another, but EA Sports College Football 26 is an impressive attempt at it. It genuinely felt explosive, it felt authentic, and it achieved everything developers told me it would—at least in my short time with it. "Presentation is gameplay, and gameplay is presentation," creative director Scott O'Gallagher told me. And on that point, it delivered. It didn't just feel like a real-world college football game when making a pass, attempting a run, or scoring a touchdown, but every moment leading into the game, half-time, the end, and everything in between was presented like a real-world college football broadcast. Even more than that, every quality of life improvement mattered. Many of the wrinkles in EA Sports College Football 25 have been ironed out of CFB 26, locking in players in the moment-to-moment action.
Ultimately, I think my time with the game with EA Sports College Football 26 can be summarized with two thoughts. First, I am typically pretty slow to pick up annualized games like Madden NFL, typically waiting a few months before picking up another yearly title. After playing EA Sports College Football 26, however, I'm not quite sure I can go back to CFB 25. Secondly, I don't think many fans are going to be disappointed as news rolls out ahead of EA Sports College Football 26's release in July.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 84 /100 Critics Rec: 93%
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EA Sports College Football 26 releases on July 10 for PS5 and Xbox Series X. The Best War Games was provided with travel and lodging for the purposes of this preview.