You’ll soon be able to re-create the thrills of Gampel Pavilion or Cameron Indoor Stadium in your home.
A Princeton Tigers vs. Brown Bears men’s college basketball game and a PlayStation controller.
Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons – Kenneth C. Zirkel (left) and Unsplash – Taylor R (right)
Tipoff of a men’s college basketball game between the Providence Friars and St. Bonaventure Bonnies at Mohegan Sun Arena on December 14, 2024.
Photo Credit: Chris Spiker
EA Sports announced the return of a college basketball video game on Monday, June 30. The last college basketball game released was NCAA Basketball 10 in 2009.
The company teased the game’s release in an Instagram post.
“Bring the Madness,” EA Sports posted. “Let’s run it back.”
The announcement comes as EA Sports prepares to release the second installment of its wildly popular college football series on Thursday, July 10. College Football 25 generated more than $1 billion in revenue as football fans were thrilled to play the first version of the game since 2014.
College teams showed their excitement for the digital version of March Madness.
“The Arena Pulse at UD Arena is about to be next level‼️,” the Dayton Flyers commented.
“Get ready to learn #ClemsonGRIT buddy,” the Clemson Tigers said.
In his Extra Points newsletter, Matt Brown reported that EA Sports plans to drop the first version of the game in 2028. The College Licensing Company issued a request for proposal to create the game in November 2024.
It’s unclear if all 730 men’s and women’s teams will be featured in the game and how the thousands of college basketball players will be compensated. The college football franchise notably hasn’t featured real FCS teams, although the newer version of the game will add FBS newcomers Delaware and Missouri State.
The first college basketball video game was released in 1998 with then-Wake Forest star Tim Duncan on the cover. Other notable cover athletes have included Syracuse national champion Carmelo Anthony, UConn champ Emeka Okafor, former Texas star Kevin Durant, and Oklahoma’s Blake Griffin.
EA Sports also released a college baseball video game from 2003 through 2007.
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