Notre Dame football fans may soon get a chance to play as the Fighting Irish in an upcoming video game. EA Sports College Football was just announced today.
The new college football video game comes from the same company that makes Madden NFL 21. Of course, anyone who knows football has heard of Madden. Slightly less ubiquitous is EA’s NCAA Football franchise, which has been on a hiatus for almost a decade.
In fact, this is the first college-focused football game since 2013. The last game in EA’s long-running college football franchise was NCAA Football 14, which was released on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. No college football games have come out for PlayStation 4 or Xbox One.
According to EA, the new game in the franchise delivers “authentic college football experiences” and “the high-quality gameplay that fans have long loved in college football games from EA Sports.”
Through a partnership with CLC – the nation’s leading collegiate trademark licensing company – EA just acquired exclusive rights to simulation-style college football video games. The game includes the rights to more than 100 collegiate institutions featuring their logos, stadiums, and uniforms.
The development of EA Sports College Football is just getting underway, and it sounds like it may end up being a while. The launch timing is still to come as the project “progresses in the years ahead.”
However, EA notes that the game does not currently include student-athlete names, images, and likenesses. Electronic Arts says that it is “continuing to watch those developments closely.” That calls for a flag, but we’ll reserve judgment until actually playing the game.
What about Notre Dame?
EA has also not yet confirmed the teams. It’s hard to imagine that a top-ranked team with a loyal national following like Notre Dame will find itself unrepresented, but crazier things have happened. Remember a certain player’s girlfriend hoax?
And if you’re hoping to get your hands on EA Sports College Football this fall, don’t get your hopes up. EA says that development is just getting underway, and it sounds like it may end up being a while. The launch timing is still to come as the project “progresses in the years ahead.”
