It’s a big day in the world of sports video games, as EA’s long-awaited College Football 25 is officially out now for everyone. The franchise has been away for 10 years, and it seems people were really excited for it to come back. EA announced today that more than 2.2 million unique players played the game during its early-access period, with an additional 600,000 people trying the game through the EA Play trial.
The early access period began July 15 for people who bought the $100 deluxe edition or tried the game via the 10-hour EA Play trial. Today, July 19, the game’s $70 standard edition arrives.
EA’s last college football game before this was 2013’s NCAA Football 14. EA and the NCAA broke off their partnership due to a variety of reasons, including legal problems and lawsuits. Instead, EA brokered separate licensing deals to feature all 134 FBS schools in College Football 25. And in a major change, EA is paying athletes to be in the game as part of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) deals.
