Next year, EA Sports will be publishing a new college football video game for the first time in a decade. And for the first time in history, it sounds like the college football game will include the image and likeness of actual college football athletes.
According to a report from Michael Rothstein of ESPN, EA Sports will allow college athletes to opt-in to have their likenesses used in the video game. And importantly, the athletes will now be compensated for it.
“An EA Sports representative confirmed to ESPN on Wednesday that it has contracted with OneTeam Partners to ‘facilitate collegiate athletes’ names and likenesses’ into the game, solving one of the major questions about college football’s return to the video game space,” Rothstein wrote for ESPN on Wednesday.
“The partnership will include the chance for all eligible FBS players to opt in to have their likenesses in EA Sports College Football, the representative said. Those players will receive compensation for being placed in the game.”
It’s a pretty massive announcement, and the college football world had plenty to say about it on Twitter as a result.
I cannot wait to teach my son a lesson on patience, perseverance, and competitive fire while I absolutely wreck him in this game repeatedly. https://t.co/vMpgcG8nJ3
— Andrew Russell (@Andrew_Russell7) May 17, 2023
Let's go https://t.co/Mw6OD7M7rt
— NCAAF Nation (@NCAAFNation247) May 17, 2023
LETS GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!
PUMPED!!!! https://t.co/8Kzq4b0ltm
— Writing Illini (@WritingIlliniFS) May 17, 2023
Time to fire back up the Dynasty Mode. https://t.co/tmBAwepy0M
— jbook™ (@jbook37) May 17, 2023
The highly anticipated return of the NCAA Football video game is set to make gaming history with its release in July 2023. The game is expected to be the most detailed college football game ever, with EA Sports working with the Collegiate Licensing Company (CLC) to secure the use… https://t.co/aDdV0jk7i3
— Christopher Turner 🎮🎒 #EdTech (@GeauxPlayES) May 17, 2023
The game is expected to come out in the summer of 2024 – just before the start of the 2024 college football season.
[ESPN]
