Just a few weeks after properly revealing College Football 25, EA has shared new details on its long-awaited return to college football video games, such as how name, image, and likeness (NIL) deals will work and what other things we have seen in prior college football games will not return.
Among other details, EA confirmed that Road to Glory will not be including the high school season found in previous NCAA Football games, which allowed players to play at the prep level for an abbreviated season before heading to college. Instead, Road to Glory players in College Football 25 will select their star level and other attributes while creating their player, after which they will begin their collegiate career.
Dynasty Mode, meanwhile, will return largely intact, though players will not be able to export draft classes from College Football 25 into Madden NFL Football 25. While EA did not explain why the feature was removed, College Football 25 is notable for being the first in the series to use real-world student-athletes.
Other absences include Mascot Mode, in which players could dress up as the mascot of their respective academic institution and play football. Additionally, College Football 25 will not have the ESPN license, like previous games such as NCAA Football 11, meaning ESPN-style presentations like College GameDay will not be available, despite EPSN talent like Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit being available for commentary.
Out with the old
Despite some noticeable absences, EA did share new details on recent additions to the college football landscape — most notably the transfer portal and NIL deals.
The development team explained that NIL — which in real life allows players to make money on sponsorships and other deals — was tough for them to implement in Dynasty Mode, but did say that it will be an influential component in the mode. Road to Glory, meanwhile, will allow players to sign NIL deals of their own.
EA teased that depending on the NIL deal your player obtains, it can influence things like attributes for your character. However, College Football's developers did not elaborate further.
In the meantime, College Football 25 will also implement the transfer portal, allowing Dynasty Mode players to try and get players to commit to their institution while keeping their own rosters intact. The transfer portal was first introduced in 2018, making it one of the biggest changes to come to college football since the release of the last NCAA Football game. Its implementation was a key question mark for fans ahead of College Football 25's reveal.
To enhance the immersion and spirit of college football, EA also confirmed that both costumed and real animal mascots will be available. EA previously teased the inclusion of various mascots, such as Florida State's Chief Osceola riding Renegade, the University of Texas animal mascot Bevo, and University of Florida's Albert Gator in the first official trailer.
College Football 25 will be released on July 19 for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. For more, check out our hands-on preview of College Football 25 and explain why it is more than just a clone of the Madden NFL football games.
Taylor is a Reporter at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.
