EA Sports College Football 25, among the most highly anticipated sports video games of all time, has flooded the market as gamers who waited more than a decade for the franchise's next installment rush to play.
The game officially launched Friday, with EA Sports increasing its server capacity ahead of time to handle the crush. More than 2.2 million people had already played the game during an early-access period before launch.
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"To say we’ve been blown away by the excitement, energy and anticipation around College Football 25 over the past few months would be an understatement," EA Sports said in a blog post this week. “Just like you, our team has had July 19 circled for months as the culmination of so much work and dedication to build this game, and the chance to see it in players’ hands for the first time.”
EA Sports' college football games used to be released annually, a cultural icon in American sports for much of the franchise's existence. The company froze future editions in 2013 when athletes began questioning why they weren't getting paid to be featured in the games.
With athlete compensation rights sorted out in court and now allowed by the NCAA, EA Sports announced in 2021 it would be reviving the franchise. The video-game developer offered Bowl Subdivision players a minimum of $600 and a copy of the game to have their likeness included in it. More than 11,000 players accepted offers.
The National College Players Association, a group that has long advocated for college players to be paid, celebrated the game as a milestone for its mission.
“It’s exciting for me, my teammates, and my friends from other schools to be in the game and get paid," Washington defensive back and NCPA leader Dyson McCutcheon said in a press release. “I’ve been playing this game all week. I know lot of people before me fought for this and I’m grateful.”
EA Sports has said its goal for the game was “to feel like a love letter to college football and its fans.”
UCLA, Mississippi State, San Diego State and Colorado were among the schools hosting College Football 25 events this week. Across social platforms, athletes such as LeBron James, Tim Tebow and Michael Vick — even comedians Shane Gillis and Dan Soder — were live-streaming head-to-head matches in the game.
Michigan running back Donovan Edwards, one of the cover athletes, said in May some of the best moments of his childhood involved playing EA Sports college football with his best friend.
“Just for it to be back, as well as to be on the cover of it, it’s an awesome feeling,” he said.
The game's other standard-edition cover athletes are Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers and Colorado two-way player Travis Hunter. The deluxe edition features the backs of numerous players in a stadium tunnel, including Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe, Georgia quarterback Carson Beck and Ohio State running back Quinshon Judkins.
EA Sports' college football franchise dates to the 1990s. It grew in popularity in the early 2000s as gaming systems became more advanced, allowing for revolutionary game modes such as the popular Race for the Heisman create-a-player that was introduced in NCAA Football 06.
That edition also featured historic teams, including the 1992 Alabama squad that Clemson coach Dabo Swinney played on.
“Sleeping on me a little bit," Swinney joked about the 70 overall rating for his player, “WR No. 88,” which did, however, have a 91 speed rating. "They must have my going down the Hill speed. I appreciate the love they gave me on that.”
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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’s college football newsletter: https://apnews.com/cfbtop25