EA Announces Return of College Basketball Video Game

While the NCAA Basketball series was successful during its 12-year run, legal issues regarding athletes’ name, image, and likeness (NIL) ultimately brought the series to an end.

When the NCAA finally passed a law in July of 2021 that allowed athletes to begin benefiting from their own NIL, many sports fans hoped that would mean the return of some of their favorite basketball games. However, it was the college football franchise that came first.

How College Football 25 Paved the Way

Much like the NCAA Basketball series, EA’s mega-popular College Football installments came to a halt in 2014.

If the demand for a College Basketball game was high, the demand for a College Football game was through the roof. When it was finally released in 2024, it quickly became one of the best-selling sports video games of all time, with a reported 5 million different users online during the first week.

One of the biggest drivers of success for the game wasn’t just that you could play college football again. It was the actual players in the game.

Finally, you could play with the stars of the sport with their real name, something that wasn’t possible before. When the College Basketball game does finally come out, it will be the same way. Gone are the days of playing as PG #21 or QB #17.

With the success of College Football 25, it felt like a College Basketball edition was a no-brainer, and only a matter of time. While there had been rumors swirling for years, EA finally confirmed it.

According to Extra Point’s Matt Brown, the initial target release date is expected for 2028. While a three-year wait may seem long, that aligns with how long it took for College Football 25 to be released after the initial announcement. Also, three years is nothing compared to the decade-plus fans have already been waiting.

For the die-hard fans, just putting a date on the calendar has been cause for celebration online.