EA Sports College Football Dropped This Week. It’s Already Popular
By Movieguide® Contributor
Most EA Sports College Football players got access to the game this week, but it’s already widely popular, thanks to strong marketing and general interest in college football.
The game serves as a successor to the NCAA Football franchise that was popular in the early 2000s through 2014 when the series was put on an indefinite hold for profiting off of the likeness of college football players without compensating them — something that was illegal to do at the time. A court case in 2021, however, reopened the door when the Supreme Court ruled that college athletes could be compensated for their name, image and likeness (NIL).
This ruling provided EA with the ability to revive the franchise and create an even better experience for players. In the past, the game couldn’t feature the names of players, so a major star like Tim Tebow, for example, was simply “QB No. 15.” Under the new NIL rules, however, EA paid athletes to include them in the game, resulting in over 10,000 college football players receiving a minimum $600 check and a free copy of the game upon its release.
Other features that improve on the old games include a “Road to Glory,” “Dynasty” and “Road to College Football Playoffs” mode which can be played both online against friends or solo against the game.
While the release of the game would have been momentous no matter what, EA has capitalized on the popularity of streaming to build further hype. It provided early access to the game to the largest sports streamers who have since shown the game to millions of viewers. Early players of the game have found it to be extremely responsive and fun to play, generating even more hype for those eagerly awaiting for the full release.
The wait is now over as EA Sports College Football is now available as of this morning.
Movieguide® previously reported:
EA Sports is bringing back its college football video game for the first time in over a decade, and with new features just announced, it is shaping up to be one of the best games of the year.
The biggest announcement came last week when EA announced the game will not only feature current college football players but also previous stars. This will allow fans to play as the college football stars of the past decade who already missed their chance to appear in a college football video game. The names revealed so far include Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow, Christian McCaffrey, C.J. Stroud, Sauce Gardner and Puka Nacua.
The announcement of legacy players came as EA also announced an “ultimate team” mode where players can build the team of their dreams and use it to go head-to-head against other players online. This game mode has been featured in EA Sports titles of the past and is especially popular within its FIFA franchise.
