EA Sports surpassed even the highest expectations with the return of their college football series last year, releasing College Football 25 to critical acclaim and record-breaking sales. That success naturally raises a big question: how will the company’s upcoming college basketball game compare?
Last month, EA Sports teased the potential comeback of its college basketball franchise on social media, a move later confirmed by the company, which announced a tentative soft launch date of 2028 for the series.
Expecting the college basketball game to match the unprecedented success of College Football 25 might be optimistic. After all, that title shattered sports video game sales records. But during a quarterly earnings call Tuesday, EA Sports executive Andrew Wilson expressed confidence in the opportunity to further dominate the college sports market by reviving their basketball series.
“We can’t say too much about it yet, but if I think about the opportunity, going back to where we are on College Football, college sport has one of the most vibrant fanbase in the world,” Wilson said, via Insider-Gaming’s Mike Straw. “And that trickles over to basketball certainly. We’re seeing momentum of fandom in college basketball also continue to grow. Fans, athletes, universities pour their passion into these sports. And it is that passion that makes it special, that makes the games different.”
A key difference between EA’s college basketball and football series is the competitive landscape. EA Sports has effectively cornered the football video game market for years. Since acquiring exclusive rights to college football games in 2002, EA’s dominance led to 2K Sports discontinuing its own college football series.
Basketball, however, is a different story. 2K Sports has long dominated the basketball video game space with its NBA 2K franchise and previously ran the NCAA College Hoops series from 2003-o7. EA discontinued its NBA Live series after NBA Live 19, ceding ground to 2K in basketball gaming.
Upon learning that EA Sports would be returning its college basketball series, 2K Sports hinted that it too would be bringing back its own NCAA College Hoops series. That could prove challenging, considering the College Licensing Company reportedly recommended conferences to accept a proposal from EA Sports to create the first college basketball video game over two other companies, one of which appears to be 2K Sports.
Regardless of 2K’s intentions, Wilson remains confident in EA’s chances, emphasizing the company’s plan to bring the same technology and dedication from College Football 25 to its basketball game.
“We feel like we deliver that incredibly well with College Football,” Wilson added. “We’d love to do the same for basketball. All 350 programs, men’s and women’s teams, the iconic traditions and rivalries, and of course, March Madness. For us, college sports broadly is an exciting opportunity. We feel like we’ve done a really strong job, and remain committed to doing that in the context of college football.
“We believe that with what we’ve done with the teams, the technology, and our commitment around College Football, we’d have a great ability to do the same for college basketball, and as we look to try and activate against that opportunity, we’ll be able to share more.”
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.