EA Sports College Football 25 Release Date, How to Get Early Access

After nearly a decade of anticipation, EA Sports College Football 25 is due to bring NCAA action back to video games, albeit by a different name. NCAA Football 14 was the last time we saw college football on consoles, but 2024 has some relief on the horizon.

With an EA Sports College Football 25 release date looming, it's time to start looking ahead to what the game will actually be. Here's everything you need to know about the EA Sports College Football 25 release date and how to score early access.

Updated May 17, 2024: With official reveals finally arriving, full details have been confirmed for the release date as well as all EA Sports College Football 25 pre order rewards and editions. 

EA Sports College Football 25 Release Date

After years of disputes over licensing and player compensation, the dust has settled as the EA Sports College Football 25 release date draws near. Originally announced by EA Sports in early 2021, this revamped version of the franchise that started as Bill Walsh College Football in 1993 will be dropping their past NCAA branding and kicking off a new era.

The earliest reports indicated "Summer 2024" was their target, and it's now been confirmed that the official EA Sports College Football 25 release date is July 19, 2024.

The reveal trailer gave players their first extended look at the gameplay in action and some of the intense atmosphere coming to stadiums in the upcoming release. The confirmed release date falls right in line with the timing that had been predicted, but now the uncertainty has been removed.

Deep dives on specific game modes and their features should arrive in coming weeks, but we already know that Dynasty and Road to Glory will be returning as marquee modes. Ultimate Team will of course be there, and there's a new competetive Road to the College Football Playoff game mode on deck.

EA Sports College Football 25 Early Access Explained

For those eager to jump in, there will be a few ways to play even sooner than the worldwide release. If you choose to pre order the Deluxe Edition, or wanna snag Madden 25 in the process by getting the EA Sports MVP Bundle, then three whole days of early access will be available.

Players who pre order either edition will have an exclusive EA Sports College Football 25 early access release date of July 16, 2024. If you're hoping to have a competetive edge in Ultimate Team, or simply wanna spend more of that week digging into the new release, early access is the way to go.

For players who are EA Play subscribers, either individually or as part of an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate membership, you'll also gain access to a limited time EA Play Trial. The EA Sports College Football 25 trial is expected to release the same day as early access goes live, but players using the trial will be restricted to just 10 hours of gameplay at most before they'll be required to purchase the full game to continue playing.

Will real NCAA players be in EA Sports College Football 25?

One of the biggest questions about EA Sports College Football 25 is how player likenesses and names will be handled. In the past, NCAA Football games omitted player likenesses and names entirely due to the rules of that era, but times have changed and players are now allowed to monetize their name and likeness while still in college. 

Early reports indicated that EA Sports had developed a large cash pool for athletes with the offer of paying out $500 per player if they choose to be included in the title. That led to a lawsuit over the inability of players to negotiate that fee, but it has since been settled. Ultimately, an agreement was reached and the majority of players opted in. We've got more details here on all the teams that will be in EA Sports College Football 25.