COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — College football fans on Thursday morning discovered some more information on something they have been waiting a decade for.
The release date for the “EA Sports College Football 25” video game, the first edition made since 2013, was announced. The game will release on July 19 on the PlayStation 5 and XBOX Series X consoles.
Fans got an early glimpse of official details last week when the game’s deluxe edition cover was unveiled on the PlayStation store. It features multiple college football stars, including new Ohio State running back Quinshon Judkins. The standard edition cover features Texas quarterback and former Buckeye Quinn Ewers, Michigan running back Donovan Edwards, and Colorado cornerback Travis Hunter.
College football and gaming fans have anticipated the return of the game after no titles were released for 11 years. After the release of“NCAA Football 14”, the NCAA announced it did not renew its license with EA Sports after legal disputes began piling up over creating avatars that mimicked college players without their consent.
While players’ name and exact likeness was not in the “NCAA Football” games, many felt the generic avatars created in the old games was too close to themselves, leading to lawsuits from players and conferences pulling trademark licenses. In previous titles, the only licensing would be for team logos and stadiums with every FBS school having its logos, uniforms, stadium, and traditions in the game.
EA Sports will be allowing college football players to have their likeness featured and will be compensated with Name, Image, and Likeness rule changes prompting this change. The game will feature full licensing for Ohio State and could include avatars for some of its players. Every FBS school and nearly every bowl game will be licensed in the game.
Fans are also excited to see what features EA Sports will add from the transfer portal, in-depth recruiting, new playoff format, and customization options for multiple modes.
The full game is set to be revealed on Friday.
