Last year's *EA Sports College Football 25*was a major success, and it's hard to argue that it wasn't earned. Sure, part of the game's success had to do with the hype surrounding a new college football game, something that hasn't come out in a long time. Still, EA put a lot of effort into making sure the game felt distinct from Madden NFL 25, and that there were exciting new features. Now that College Football 26 has been announced, I'm a little worried it won't be able to measure up to its predecessor.
When College Football 26 was announced, I had some mixed feelings. It wasn't all that surprising that a new game would be coming out, given how well College Football 25 sold, and I wasn't sad about the prospect of seeing new versions of the game. At the same time, I couldn't help but wonder if College Football 26 meant that we would now just be getting another stale annual sports franchise, differentiated from the previous year's model only by the names on the jerseys.
College Football 25 Was The First College Football Game In 10 Years
One major advantage College Football 25 had going for it was that it was the first college football game in a decade, the previous being NCAA Football 14. As reported by USA Today at the time, EA Sports found themselves in legal trouble since they had been profiting off the likeness of college athletes. EA settled the initial lawsuit, and didn't revive the franchise until college athletes were allowed to make money from NIL deals. Now that players can be paid for their likeness, EA Sports can once again make college football games without worrying about legal issues.
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Being the first college football game in so long meant that fans were excited simply by the prospect of College Football 25 's existence. Yes, everything EA Sports did to promote the game helped too, and it was exciting to see the level of detail the game put into recreating stadiums, mascots, and school rituals. Still, it's hard to oversell just how much the game's mere existence helped to generate hype, a built-in advantage that College Football 25 won't have.
College Football 25 also represented a chance for EA Sports to try out some new game modes, since sports games have changed a lot since NCAA Football 14 came out in 2013. The ability to create custom divisions for online play with up to 32 players in College Football 25's Dynasty mode, for instance, was an exciting new change that likely wouldn't have been feasible over 10 years ago. While College Football 26 will likely still include this feature, it will feel a lot less exciting because it's now just expected.
College Football 26 Won't Get The Same Good Will As College Football 25
EA Sports College Football 26 flag and a character
Custom image by Katarina Cimbaljevic
College Football 26 is in an unenviable position, and one that I'm not sure it can fully overcome. It is tasked with surpassing, or at least living up to, the hype of College Football 25. The only real way for it to do that is to be a significant improvement, something that I'm not sure is feasible. After all, given that College Football 26's release date is less than a year after College Football 25's, EA Sports doesn't have a ton of time to create mind-blowing new features with such a short turnaround.
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Expectations are also going to be a bit higher for College Football 26than they were for College Football 25. Instead of competing with a 10-year-old game, College Football 26 has to find a way to be better than the one from last year. And not just a little bit, but so much better that players won't feel cheated about having to pay full price for the new version. The first college football game in a decade is a much easier sell than the new installment of an annual franchise.
That said, I don't think College Football 26 is doomed to be a bad game, or that it will necessarily fail. College Football 25 has likely created enough good will that at least a portion of the player base will be willing to give the new game a try. That said, if EA Sports wants College Football 26 to retain that audience for a possible College Football 27, it will need to stand out from the previous game. Luckily, there is at least one clear way I think the game can achieve this.
College Football 26 Could Build On College Football 25's Foundation
Mascots with a raging bull from EA College Football 25.
Custom Image by Katarina Cimbaljevic.
As much as I enjoyed College Football 25 when it came out, it did start to feel incomplete in some areas the more I played it. Sure, if you play as a team like Oregon or the Texas Longhorns, you get a bespoke experience complete with the team's unique traditions and mascots. However, a lot of other schools feel much less fleshed out, leaving College Football 25 a somewhat uneven experience. I think continuing the work done in the previous game would be the perfect way to make College Football 26 feel like an improvement.
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Now, I'm not expecting College Football 26 to finish creating new immersive material for the entire roster of 134 schools. That said, it would be nice to see more schools getting the same treatment so that they feel more individualized and realistic. After all, a major selling point of College Football 25 was its sense of immersion and how well it captured the distinct difference between the atmosphere of a college game and a professional one. Taking this a step further would be a great way for College Football 26 to build on the previous game's success.
Of course, as much as I'd love to see FIU's Roary the Golden Panther take the field, I will admit it wouldn't be enough on its own to convince me to buy College Football 26. Financially, I assume EA Sports knows what it's doing, and can get by on the backs of players who buy every annual sports release and pay for Ultimate Team mode. There are also some young players for whom this may be their first college football game. I'm sure the College Football 25franchise will survive, but how exciting it is will depend on its innovation.
Source: USA Today