| EA Sports College Football 25 | |
|---|---|
 Standard edition cover art featuringQuinn Ewers,Travis Hunter, andDonovan Edwards at theCotton Bowl inDallas,Texas | |
| Developer | EA Orlando |
| Publisher | EA Sports |
| Composer | Kris Bowers (Theme) |
| Series | EA Sports College Football |
| Engine | Frostbite |
| Platforms | PlayStation 5 Xbox Series X/S |
| Release | July 19, 2024 |
| Genre | Sports |
| Modes | Single-player,multiplayer |
EA Sports College Football 25 is avideo game based oncollege football, developed byEA Orlando and published byEA Sports.[1] It is a part of theEA Sports College Football game series and the first such game in eleven years sinceNCAA Football 14 in 2013.[2]
The game received generally positive reviews and became the best-selling sports video game in US history based on dollar sales.
Following the release of the series' previous entry in 2013,Electronic Arts (EA) settled a lawsuit brought by former college football players who argued theirname, image and, likeness (NIL) were used without permission or compensation. TheNational Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), whose brand waslicensed by EA, had a history of resisting attempts to financially compensate its athletes.[3] As a part of the settlement, EA announced it would stop producing college football video games.[4]
On February 2, 2021, EA Sports announced that the seriesNCAA Football would return under the nameEA Sports College Football, stating onTwitter, "For those who never stopped believing...College Football is coming back."[5] They also released a statement on their website announcing that they had garnered and are utilizing a partnership with theCollegiate Licensing Company, an NCAA licensing group, to bring uniforms, stadiums, traditions and more from over 100 NCAA-affiliated sports teams. At the time, that meant that teams not part of the CLC would not be in the game such asAir Force,Army,Georgia State,Kentucky,New Mexico,Notre Dame,Troy andUSC.[6]
The game, which was not under development prior to EA Sports' announcement of the new title, was developed inOrlando, Florida, byEA Orlando (named EA Tiburon at the time).[7] The company claimed that a revival of theNCAA Football franchise was one of their most requested games as of the time of their announcement ofEA Sports College Football, andThe Motley Fool projects thatCollege Football sales could rival those of that year'sMadden release.[8] However, doubts were raised as to whether or not the game's reception will exceed that of recentMadden releases, which are held in low regard by theMadden gaming community.[9]
Initially, player names and likenesses were not to be included in the game.[10][11] Because of this, several schools, including Notre Dame,Tulane andNorthwestern refused to join the game until NIL rules were finalized.[12][13] EA Sports responded by stating "player name, image and likeness is not currently planned for the game. However, we are watching the developments in this area closely and are prepared to take steps to include players should that opportunity arise."[14] At the time, the NCAA had delayed and not voted on new NIL rules, but over two dozen states had either passed or proposed laws so that institutions couldn't enforce the NCAA's NIL rules.[15] The 2021United States Supreme Court caseNCAA. v. Alston deemed the NCAA's precedent of avoiding compensating athletes impermissible.[16] Following the ruling, the NCAA reversed its position, creating rules for likeness compensation.[17]
On November 22, 2022, in an interview with ESPN.com's Michael Rothstein, EA Sports vice president and general manager Daryl Holt stated that Electronic Arts would release the game sometime in summer 2024. "That's the best date for us to bring the game that we think is going to meet or exceed our player expectations...and cover the breadth and scale of what we want in the game. We're trying to build a very immersive college football experience," Holt said.[18]
In 2023, after the implementation of these changes, EA announced that player likenesses would be featured in their next college football game.[19]
The game was developed using theFrostbite engine.[20]
College Football 25 was pitched to EA Sports by Daryl Holt, their current senior vice president and group general manager, in December 2019, being greenlit for development shortly after.[21] In February 2021, EA publicly announced that theCollege Football series would return.[22] EA Orlando, developers of theMadden NFL series, was announced to be creating the game.[23] On February 15, 2024, EA confirmed the game's title asEA Sports College Football 25 and revealed a trailer for it, promising to provide further information in May 2024.[24]
On February 22, 2024, EA Sports announced that all 134Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) programs would be featured inEA Sports College Football 25 but the 128Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) programs would not be included at launch.[25][26] That same day,ESPN's lead college football commentary team ofChris Fowler andKirk Herbstreit announced that they would be featured as commentators.[27][28] Herbstreit was a commentator in EA's originalNCAA Football series until its hiatus afterNCAA Football 14.ESPN studio hostKevin Connors confirmed his involvement onX (Twitter) the same day,[29] along withESPN College Football studio and game analystJesse Palmer,[30]Rece Davis, and formerCollege GameDay analystDavid Pollack.[31]
By early March 2024, EA had secured NIL opt-ins from over 10,000 athletes.[32] Similarly, theHeisman Trophy and the variousbowls will appear in the game, but theNational College Football Awards Association requested that their awards and trophies not be included; theLou Groza Award is the coalition's only honor to opt into the game.[33][34][35][36]
On May 16, 2024, EA Sports revealed the main cover of the game, featuringQuinn Ewers, quarterback for theTexas Longhorns,Travis Hunter, wide receiver and defensive back for theColorado Buffaloes, andDonovan Edwards, running back for theMichigan Wolverines, and officially confirmed the game would release on July 19, 2024, with early access for Deluxe Edition owners starting July 15, ahead of its gameplay reveal trailer the following day.[37] Following the release of the trailer, EA Sports confirmed that many of its old features fromNCAA Football 14 would be brought toCollege Football 25 such as Team Builder, Road to Glory, and Dynasty.[38] The gameplay deep dive that released on May 31 unveiled features such as "CampusIQ," the gameplay system, which encompasses three fundamental pillars: "All 22+" which highlights the importance of individual players and their unique abilities, "134 ways to play," meaning that every team has their own unique playbook, and "Stories of Saturday," which seeks to encapsulate the raw emotions of these student athletes as they perform under intense pressure in hostile environments, put simply, a freshman responding far differently than a senior.[39]
On June 28, 2024, EA Sports revealed its top 25 overall team power rankings, and on July 2, 2024, Dynasty was revealed.[40][41]
A 21-minute gameplay trailer was premiered on July 8, 2024, featuring YouTuber Bordeaux and cover athlete Donovan Edwards. They played two games, with Edwards winning both with raw gameplay being revealed soon after.[42] As well as the trailer, the day after, an Ultimate Team Deep Dive was posted. However, unlike previous deep dives, this one was posted only to their official website. Following the same set, the Road to Glory Deep Dive released on July 11, 2024.
On July 12, 2024, YouTubers and Twitch Streamers who are in EA's Creator Network program got access to a nearly final edition of the game, in which rebuilds, player careers, and raw gameplay were shortly uploaded and streamed on YouTube, Twitch, and other platforms. The worldwide release was on July 19.
TheCollege Football 25 main soundtrack consists ofcovers ofcollege fight songs credited to the EA Sports College FootballMarching Band.[1] An original main theme, "Campus Clash", was composed for the video game by composerKris Bowers.[2]
Thedrum cadences appearing in the video game are performed by thedrumline of theBlue Devils Drum and Bugle Corps, as licensed from their 2020 albumBang to Rights.[43]
Otherlicensed music appearing inCollege Football 25 includes "Sandstorm", "Mo Bamba", "Kernkraft 400", "Welcome to the Jungle", "Wave on Wave", and an instrumental of "Talkin' Out the Side of Your Neck". Notably absent are the songs "Enter Sandman" (played atVirginia Tech Hokies football games) and "Jump Around" (played atWisconsin Badgers football games) as EA failed to acquire the licenses for these songs.[44]
![[icon]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWiki_letter_w_cropped.svg) | This sectionneeds expansion. You can help byadding to it.(July 2024) |
| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| Metacritic | (PS5) 83/100[45] (XSXS) 80/100[46] |
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| Game Informer | 8.5/10[47] |
| GameSpot | 8/10[48] |
| GamesRadar+ |   [50] |
| IGN | 7/10[49] |
EA Sports College Football 25 received "generally favorable" reviews according toreview aggregatorMetacritic.[51]
IGN gave the game a 7/10, praising the gameplay but criticizing the lack of depth in the core game modes.[49]GameSpot rated the game an 8/10, noting that the game had strong presentation and atmosphere but critiquing the Road to Glory game mode.[48]
At launch, the game attracted more than 2.8 million players, 2.2 million of whom purchased the Deluxe Edition, which allowed players to access the game three days earlier than other players.[52] By November 2024, the game had become the best-selling sports video game in the US of all time based on dollar sales.[53]
| Year | Ceremony | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Golden Joystick Awards | Best Multiplayer Game | Nominated | [54] |
| 2025 | New York Game Awards | Big Apple Award for Best Game of the Year | Nominated | [55] |
| 28th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards | Sports Game of the Year | Nominated | [56][57] |
Holt, now the senior vice president and group general manager of EA Sports, understood the concerns and questions his bosses might have when he pitched the potential return of EA Sports College Football in December 2019.