The countdown to “EA Sports College Football” is on
A spokesman confirmed to On3 in a statement Monday that the video game company will release the newest version of the storied franchise next summer.
“We’re incredibly excited to bring back an authentic college football experience for fans and athletes that have shown such passion for the franchise, and we’re looking forward to delivering it in Summer 2024,” the spokesman told On3.
The brand decided last November to push back the release date until at least the summer of 2024, due to multiple litigations against the company.
The college football video game franchise ran from its inception as “Bill Walsh College Football” from 1993 to 1998, and then as “NCAA Football” before being discontinued in 2013. Former UCLA basketball player Ed O’Bannon and 19 other former student-athletes sued the NCAA, arguing that the organization violated U.S. antitrust laws by not allowing athletes to access their share of revenues generated from broadcasts and video games.
As On3 noted, a judge later ordered the NCAA to pay $44.4 million in attorney fees along with another $1.5 million in costs to lawyers for the plaintiffs in O’Bannon’s class-action lawsuit.
Next summer’s edition will be the first that allows FBS athletes to benefit from their Name, Image and Likeness.
The NCAA Football fandom was quick to react to the news:
People think college football is dying, when it's really about to be reborn https://t.co/akaVxsxPQr
— Ben Axelrod (@BenAxelrod) August 8, 2023
EA Sports source told me last week latest round of realignment will not place a heavy, unexpected workload on staffers as they build the game.
Biggest lift I'm told is coding scheduling models in the 11th hour if several conferences don't decide on format until January. https://t.co/x532IC4aZF
— Brandon Marcello (@bmarcello) August 8, 2023
I’ll be in the quarter zip and kakis with a visor at midnight of launch https://t.co/Z1uajruatP
— Nick (@NickZararis) August 8, 2023
Release it in early July like the good old days! https://t.co/8nETQHJHYZ
— Anthony Broome (@anthonytbroome) August 8, 2023
Bringing the pistol triple option to a small G5 near you 🔜 https://t.co/JjP9T9f1Kq
— JP Acosta (@acosta32_jp) August 8, 2023
[On3; Photo Credit: EA Sports]
