By Tyler White | Sports Writer
When I was younger, I always looked forward to heading over to my friend’s house after school to boot up the PlayStation 3 and play NCAA Football 14. Now, about a decade later, I’m feeling the same excitement, as EA Sports has finally announced the upcoming release of NCAA Football 25.
In 2013, EA Sports announced that it wouldn’t produce a college football video game for the following year. Sadly, this declaration came after the release of NCAA Football 14, and there were no more games set to release following that. Due to lawsuits and cases stemming from laws surrounding name, image and likeness (NIL), EA was no longer able to produce games within the franchise — until now.
After the NCAA NIL Rule was passed in June 2021, there were talks of the NCAA Football franchise finally returning to gaming platforms now that students could benefit financially from their inclusion in the game. With over a decade of waiting, fans can finally look forward to the official release of NCAA 2025 this summer.
On Feb. 15, EA Sports College released an official teaser trailer for the upcoming release of the game. Although there’s no confirmed release date yet, the teaser trailer shows clips of development and production of the game and how it’s being built up, with a full reveal coming in May.
What’s so exciting about this announcement? The NCAA Football franchise left its mark on fans throughout the years, with enthusiasts still playing the game to this day and updated versions of the game constantly being worked with through College Football Revamped. The legacy of the game has been apparent over the last decade, and now it gets to be revitalized into a new game.
Although the teaser trailer didn’t show any specific gameplay or action shots, throughout the years leading up to the release EA Sports has announced that real-life players will finally be implemented into the game. Additionally, fan-favorite game modes like Road to Glory and Dynasty will return, which continues to add to the excitement.
Perhaps the most important announcement surrounding the game is how NIL is being incorporated. Players have the option to opt into the game, for which they will receive $600 and a copy of the game when it releases. Though it may not seem like much, players will continue to be paid annually throughout their college careers and have the opportunity to opt out of future releases.
Unfortunately, users will be unable to create players who have chosen to opt out of the game. Although they didn’t reveal how it would be safeguarded, EA Sports revealed that there would be methods to prevent users from being able to create these players for the sake of NIL. Additionally, EA Sports announced that real-life coaches will not be included in the game, but they are working through ways to add them in future releases in the franchise.
Despite this, there’s a lot to be excited about with the upcoming release. Some of the best news from recent announcements is that all 134 FBS teams will be included in the game. There was speculation that some schools wouldn’t be included due to NIL conflicts, yet so far, every team has been confirmed to be a part of the upcoming game.
Although there’s currently nothing confirmed about FCS and smaller schools being included in the game, EA Sports has announced that it’s working on ways to include the smaller programs. This is huge news for the franchise, because it means that it will continue to work and make the game better as the years go on.
The coolest thing that has come out of this announcement has been the hype and attention it has been getting from schools across social media. With schools announcing they are in the game and creating personalized covers for their players, NCAA Football 25 has only been gaining more fans.
With so much more to be announced in the near future, you can’t help but get excited about the continuation of the franchise. Though it’s still pretty vague and no gameplay has been shown yet, the hype surrounding the new game is immense and is sure to excite college football fans across the country.
Yeah, it’s really happening.
