EA Sports College Football 25 sales already soar past major milestones

Originally posted on Video Games on SI
By Josh Broadwell | Last updated Jul 22, 2024 4:09 PM ET

EA Sports College Football 25 sales soared past the two-million mark even before the sports game was available for everyone to play. On July 19, 2024, when College Football 25 released worldwide, EA published a statement saying more than 2.2 million people played the game in early access when that period launched three days earlier.

Circana’s executive director Mat Piscatella said on Twitter that on July 17, 2024, College Football 25 was ranked third for the highest number of players on Xbox, behind only Call of Duty and Fortnite, and fourth on PlayStation, trailing Call of Duty, Fortnite, and GTA 5. The only way to play EA Sports College Football 25 early was if you purchased the $100 deluxe edition.

Those are just the deluxe edition sale numbers. EA didn’t comment on how many people pre-ordered the game or provide any information about launch weekend sales figures. The publisher did say that an additional 600,000 people were playing through EA’s subscription service.

According to Circana's Player Engagement Tracker, on July 17th, EA Sports College Football ranked #3 in US daily active users on Xbox Series (behind only Call of Duty HQ and Fortnite) and 4th on PS5 (COD, Fortnite & GTAV).

...and it's still just in early access.

Phew.
— Mat Piscatella (@MatPiscatella) July 18, 2024

Piscatella said College Football 25’s early success across both major console platforms “may be the mass market breakout hit this console gen really needs right now.” Piscatella has commented previously on Twitter that 2024 in particular has seen stagnation or slow decline in game sales, with few games reaching the heights that the market saw in 2023 and earlier.

If College Football 25’s sales seem odd when games like Madden exist, even with a decade-long absence of college football games, there’s precedent for it. Piscatella said in 2006, the franchise – then under its NCAA Football moniker – peaked at number three in the yearly sales charts, behind only Gears of War and Madden NFL 07.

EA Sports College Football 25 is available now on Xbox and PlayStation. EA hasn’t indicated whether they plan to port the game to PC in the near future.

This article first appeared on Video Games on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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