The next installment of EA Sports’ popular college football video game will release this summer and be available July 10 for immediate play. College Football 26 showed up on the Playstation and XBox online networks Thursday with a drop date of July 9 at 11 p.m. CST. Pre-orders have already started for the title.
The expected cover of EA Sports’ upcoming video game across multiple platforms leaked earlier this year ahead of its summer release. The image that made the rounds on social media came from a recent photoshoot and features a number of active players and coaches ahead of the 2025 season.
According to the photo, Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith, Alabama’s Ryan Williams, Florida’s DJ Lagway and others will be on the cover, along with Ryan Day, James Franklin and a handful of additional high-profile figures in college football. The image shows a team photo-like group of players and coaches standing inside an empty stadium.
The new cover also includes Michigan freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood, LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier, Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love, Ohio State safety Caleb Downs, Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt and South Carolina pass rusher Dylan Stewart.
Last year’s game returned following a decade-long hiatus and EA College Football 25 quickly became the best-selling sports video game in U.S. history in dollars, surpassing NBA 2K21. Per Circana, an analytics and research company, College Football 25 rated was 2024’s hottest seller based on total units sold and downloads.
Last year’s cover of the standard and deluxe editions of the highly-anticipated game featured some of the sport’s biggest stars in Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers, Colorado cornerback/wide receiver Travis Hunter, Michigan running back Donovan Edwards, Georgia quarterback Carson Beck, Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe and Ohio State running back Quinshon Judkins.
One of the advantages of recent NIL legislation is the opportunity for active players to capitalize on their fame with spots on the video game cover and, in turn, financial benefits. Previously, only former college stars (often one year removed from their final season) were eligible.
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One of NCAA Football 14’s best features was its overall gameplay and the smoothness of it for users. College Football 25 immediately provided similar vibes with cleaner menu and team select screens as welcomed additions. Linebackers no longer jump 10 feet in the air for interceptions and defensive linemen can’t dive eight yards to sack a quarterback and snuff out a ballcarrier. Those were some of the many major improvements.
Carter Bahns contributed to this report.
