EA Sports returns to college football.
After last making a college football video game in 2013, the possibility that the game would return was in limbo. Now it is not. Daryl Holt, EA Sports vice president and general manager, told ESPN the game creator will return to the space with EA Sports College Football.
“As we look for the momentum we’re building in the sport, it all starts with the passion of our fans and the opportunities they are interested in,” said Holt. “I don’t think there is one visit where I go out wearing an EA Sports branded piece of clothing that someone’s not going, ‘Hey, when is college football coming back?”
It will – at some point. Holt said there is no date the game will return or even a date when the return will be announced, other than that it will not be back this year.
To make the game possible, EA Sports partnered with collegiate licensing company CLC to make sure it had the FBS schools, traditions, uniforms, and playbooks ready to go for the game, among other things. There will be more than 100 teams in play.
For now, EA Sports plans to continue without rosters that contain the names, images or likenesses of actual college players. Current NCAA rules prohibit athletes from selling their NIL rights while in college.
Those rules are likely to be changed at some point in the next year – by the NCAA, the state legislature, or Congress. It’s not yet clear whether the evolving rules allow for the kind of group licensing agreements EA Sports would need to negotiate with athletes to use their names in the game.
Holt said EA Sports will follow the NIL discussion if and when things change, but it’s too early for that to happen. He also said that what happens in NIL legislation will not change whether the game happens or when it hits the shelves.
“We just keep track of everything as it develops, and we’re ready,” said Holt. “That will not be a problem for us. But it really is, that is not an answer for us to decide. We are just as many passengers as everyone else.”
“So we make sure we deliver what our college football players want in a game. And that starts with a very immersive experience, and there are many things we can do to bring the real college game and game day to the virtual world. “
Holt said EA Sports is still in the early stages of the game development process, building the team and deciding which direction to take the game. Talks about bringing the game back started over a year ago, Holt said, and the combination of the company’s momentum coupled with the technology it has seen on next-gen platforms like the Sony PS5 and Xbox Series X have been amplified decision to return to space.
“Whatever we had as plans to grow and expand our portfolio, college football has always been at the top of my list, personally, in partnership with the Tiburon Studio where it was created,” said Holt. “So it was an easy conversation internally to say, ‘This is how we would go about designing it, and here’s how we can move that forward.’
“That has been going on for a while and was certainly not ‘wait and see what happens here’, even when new legislation is proposed. It’s more about what we think we can do in the game and for our [game] players. “
A change from the earlier iterations of the game – for now – is the name of the game. In previous versions of the game from 1997 to 2014, the NCAA Football title was used along with the year. Before that, it was College Football USA for two years and, in the first two years of the game, Bill Walsh College Football.
Holt said the plan for the reboot will be to not have the NCAA name, just EA Sports College Football.
“It all really starts with where we see college football going. A lot of things are happening and a lot is happening in the sport,” said Holt. “EA Sports College Football gives us a name and a brand to work with for some of the things that can evolve and that we really focus on, which is actually the FBS Division I schools and the road to the College Football Playoff and college football -championship.
“So we just thought EA Sports College Football was the right name for the product, not just now, but in the future too.”
The game, each time he returns, will be the first college football title since NCAA Football 2014 to have former Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson on the cover.
ESPN reporter Dan Murphy contributed to this report.