With the release of EA Sports College Football 25 Two months from now, we’ve now gotten our first glimpse of what the game looks like in action, thanks to a good trailer that publisher Electronic Arts released on Friday morning.
The transition from Guns N’ Roses’ original recording of “Welcome to the Jungle” – a typical hype-up-the-fans song – to a fanfare version is a very nice touch in this trailer. And it plays footage of legendary college football traditions from across the country: unique team introductions (with, for the first time, real names on the backs of jerseys), mascots sending everyone into a frenzy, and crowds singing fight songs. It’s clear that developer EA Tiburon has gone to great lengths to bring the atmosphere of a college football game to life in College Football 25.
EA has also revealed the first details about College Football 25‘s modes and gameplay, confirming the return of fan-favorite Franchise and Career modes – Dynasty and Road to Glory respectively – as well as a new competitive offering called Road to the College Football Playoff. In that mode, players can choose a school and work toward winning a national championship by progressing through divisions and earning a rank. In a way, its existence can be seen as a nod to the eleven-year gap between EA’s college football games: the College Football Playoff didn’t exist when EA came out NCAA Football 14 from 2013. And yes, EA’s microtransaction-based fantasy team setup, Ultimate Team, is a major part of the game, especially now that EA can use players’ real names.
College football doesn’t look the same on the field as the NFL, and EA Tiburon is launching a number of new gameplay features this year to differentiate the action not only overall, but also by team, with a gamified version of home field advantage. If you take Ohio State to the Big House for a showdown with the Wolverines, expect “distractions such as screen shaking, missing pre-play icons and animated gameplay,” according to EA. The developers also introduce a wear system that forces you to manage fatigue and make the right substitutions at the right times to prevent players from tiring (and making mistakes).
Off the field, EA is bringing back some veterans of ESPN’s college football broadcasts for audio commentary College Football 25. Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit will call marquee matchups, EA said, while Rece Davis, Jesse Palmer and David Pollack will handle all other games.
EA Sports College Football 25 will be released on July 19 on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series Madden NFL 25 (which is scheduled to debut on August 16) in a package called the MVP Bundle, there’s no word yet on whether there will be any cross-game functionality between the two.