EA Sports College Football 25 Launched Worldwide
EA Sports College Football 25, among the most highly anticipated sports video games of all time, has been released, as gamers who waited more than 10 years for the franchise's latest edition rush to play.
"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.
The game was released worldwide on July 19.
EA Sports' college football games used to be released annually but the company stopped making them in 2013 when athletes began questioning why they weren't getting paid to have their likeness included 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 company 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.
EA Sports has said its goal for the game was "to feel like a love letter to college football and its fans."
San Diego State and Colorado were among the schools that organized College Football 25 events. Across social platforms, athletes such as LeBron James, Tim Tebow and Michael Vick were live-streaming head-to-head matches in the game.
EA Sports' college football franchise dates to the 1990s, and it grew in popularity in the early 2000s as gaming systems became more advanced.
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 cover athletes are Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers and Colorado two-way player Travis Hunter.
