EA Sports College Football 25: Everything you need to know

The classic NCAA series gets reinvented with College Football 25, and here are all the details to get you excited

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EA College Football 25 is the early frontrunner to be considered the very best sports game of 2024. What makes it so good? Well,College Football 25offers a Dynasty mode with unputdownable recruiting options, a huge team list, and loads of gameplay fun out on the turf. Don’t believe us? Scroll on to watch the EA College Football 25 trailer, read all about those elite teams, and find links to a suite of essential tips. Everything you need is here in your EA College Football 25 guide.

College Football 25 trailer

The first EA College Football 25 trailer offers a glimpse at all the intricacies on offer in the series' return, such as lifelike mascots, jerseys, locker rooms, and stadiums. It also confirmed the first four teams: Michigan, Georgia, Florida and Alabama. Hit the image above to give it a watch.

EA College Football 25 reveal trailer

May 2024 brought a closer look by way of the EA College Football 25 reveal trailer, with plenty of in-game action and atmospheric close-ups. Once again, whack that button above to enjoy it yourself.

EA College Football 25 release date confirmation

The EA College Football 25 release date was July 19, 2024. As with most EA releases, one of the pre-order incentives was getting to play it three days early. That meant those who purchased ahead of release were able to dive on on July 16, 2024. On the subject of pre-ordering…

EA College Football 25 pre-order bonuses

There are three different editions of EA College Football 25, each with specific pre-order bonuses. Here’s what was included with each one. Note that the MVP Bundle also includesMadden 25, which came out on August 16, 2024.

EA College Football 25 Standard Edition

EA College Football 25 Deluxe Edition

Madden NFL 25 & EA College Football 25 MVP Bundle

NCAA Football 25 vs EA College Football 25

Is EA College Football 25 just NCAA Football 25 under a different name? Kind of, although there’s a key legal difference. The National Collegiate Athletic Associationwere accused of failing to compensate its players for appearing in EA’s games, which led to a lawsuit from some of the players in question – and the end of that series with NCAA Football 14. As a result, this is indeed considered the 21st game in EA’s non-NFL football series – but it no longer bears the NCAA name.

EA College Football 25 real players

Given the lawsuit mentioned above, EA has been super careful when securing College Football 25 real players. Those who agreed to be included receive a $600 flat payment and a copy of the game, in reward for their likeness being used. The good news is that this strategy has worked, and more than 11,000 college athletes are present and correct. Archie Manning is one of them, despite rumors to the contrary. Wondering who tops the EA College Football 25 player ratings? Hit ourCollege Football 25 best playersguide to find out.

EA College Football 25 team ratings

All 134 Football Bowl Subdivision teams feature in College Football 25. That means newer additions to the association, such as the James Madison Dukes and Jacksonville State Gamecocks, are playable for the first time ever in an EA game. But how does that play out in terms of College Football 25 ratings? Great question. Below are the default top ten rosters – and you can see a longer list in our EACollege Football 25 best teamsguide.

EA College Football 25 Dynasty mode

The return of Dynasty mode is a huge boost – it’s why many proclaimed NCAA stronger than Madden. One of the key differences is recruiting. Instead of wheeling and dealing, players have to be scouted and approached while in high school, playing the strengths and weaknesses of your college off against those of rival programs.

Recruiting is now split into three phases: Discovery, Pitch and Close. In Discovery, you uncover details on your targeted prospects, such as their skills, and whether they’re a good fit for your program. At the end of this process each player reveals their top five schools, and you move into the Pitch phase – selling your college to them, in the hope that it tempts them to join. Last up, in Close, it’s time to host official visits, before seeing how well your targeting has gone on National Signing Day. It’s unbelievably addictive – and you can get good at it fast with GR’sCollege Football 25 recruitingguide.

Another important element of Dynasty mode is Redshirting, whereby you can sit a player for a year in order to keep them for five seasons rather than four. Find out how to do so using ourCollege Football 25 redshirtguide.

EA College Football 25 vs Madden 25

Is EA College Football 25 just a reskinned version of Madden 25? Nope! While the game is based on the same engine, it’s exclusive to PS5 and XBox Series X, and places a huge focus on a feature called CampusIQ. This sees player ratings change in-game, a dynamic wear and tear system, and various clever ways of implementing home-team advantage. That can make it tough to win road games, with field goals especially difficult to nail. Improve your skills with ourCollege Football 25 tipscollection.

EA College Football 25 NCFAA awards

One key difference from the classic series is that you can’t win NCFAA awards, such as the Ray Guy. These are the trophies dished out at the end of each season to the best players in collegiate football. “The offer that has been made is not adequate for the rights fee for the awards,” president Mark Wolpert told On3. Apparently the figure presented by EA was “a “nominal increase based on the 2014 number”.

Instead, EA College Football 25 awards are fictional. However, the Heisman Trophy does feature. That’s because it’s operated by a different organization to the NCFAA – the Heisman Trust.

More EA College Football 25 guide help

Our EA College Football 25 guide help doesn’t end here. As well as the links above, we also have a scouting report on theCollege Football 25 best playbooksto assist on both offense and defense.College Football 25 slidersenable you make gameplay more realistic in an assortment of ways, whileCollege Football 25 abilitiesare the varsity equivalent ofMadden 24 X-Factors. And for extra special first downs, interceptions and touchdowns, you need GR’sCollege Football 25 celebrationsguide.

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I’m GamesRadar’s sports editor, and obsessed with NFL, WWE, MLB, AEW, and occasionally things that don’t have a three-letter acronym – such as Chvrches, Bill Bryson, and Streets Of Rage 4. (All the Streets Of Rage games, actually.) Even after three decades I still have a soft spot for Euro Boss on the Amstrad CPC 464+.

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