EA Sports College Football 25 is one of the most anticipated sports video games of all time to flood the market.
EA Sports College Football 25 is one of the most anticipated sports video games of all time, flooding the market as gamers rush to play it after waiting more than a decade for the next installment in the series.
The game will be officially released on Friday, and EA Sports Increased server capacity Dealing with crashes during Early Access.
“To say we’ve been overwhelmed with 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 looking forward to July 19 for months as the culmination of all the hard work and dedication we’ve put into developing this game, and the chance to get it into players’ hands for the first time.”
EA Sports’ college football game was released annually for most of the franchise’s existence and became a cultural icon in American sports, but the company put a freeze on future editions in 2013 after players began questioning why they weren’t being paid for appearing in the game.
With athletes’ compensation rights resolved in court and recognized by the NCAA, EA Sports announced it would revive the franchise in 2021. The video game developer offered Bowl Subdivision players a minimum of $600 and a copy of the game to have their likeness included. More than 11,000 players accepted the offer.
EA Sports says its goal for the game is to “feel like a love letter to college football and its fans.”
San Diego State and the University of Colorado were among the schools that hosted College Football 25 events this week, with athletes such as LeBron James, Tim Tebow and Michael Vick, and even comedians Shane Gillis and Dan Souder livestreaming head-to-head matches across social platforms.
One of the cover athletes, University of Michigan running back Donovan Edwards, said in May that one of his fondest childhood memories was playing college football on EA Sports with his best friend.
“It feels amazing just to have this book back and to have it on the cover,” he said.
Other players featured on the standard cover of the game are Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers and Colorado two-way player Travis Hunter, while the deluxe edition features the backs of numerous players in the stadium tunnel, including Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe, Georgia quarterback Carson Beck and Ohio State running back Quinsion Judkins.
EA Sports’ college football franchise dates back to the 1990s and grew in popularity in the early 2000s as game systems evolved and allowed for innovative game modes, such as the popular Race for the Heisman create-a-player mode introduced in NCAA Football 06.
The tournament has featured some historic teams, including Clemson coach Dabo Swinney’s 1992 Alabama team.
“It kind of catches me off guard,” Swinney joked about his player, “WR No. 88,” receiving an overall rating of 70, but the player’s speed rating of 91. “They must know how fast I can get down the hill, and I appreciate the love they’ve given me in that regard.”
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AP Sports Writer Pete Iacobelli 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 the AP college football newsletter: https://apnews.com/cfbtop25
