After a hiatus that lasted nearly two decades, EA Sports has announced the return of the college basketball video game franchise. The game is set to be released some time in 2028, and it has been confirmed that both men’s and women’s teams will be included for the first time. The series was discontinued following the 2009 release of “NCAA Basketball 10,” which was available to play on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
The last game sold over 150,000 copies across all platforms, which represented a concerning decline in sales from the previous year. The game was not nearly as successful as the college football game that came out that year, though developers discontinued both game franchises within a four-year period.
A primary reason that the college football and basketball franchises were initially discontinued was due to various roadblocks regarding the name, image and likeness of the players. The older games used real players but did not include their names.
With the implementation of the NIL policy in 2021, many things in the college sports world changed drastically. With players now having the opportunity to be compensated in a plethora of ways, this policy opened up the opportunity to bring back the beloved college sports video games.
Hope Hassmann, an incoming junior guard for the Idaho Vandals, is excited for the release of the game due to the value it will bring to the college basketball landscape.
“All kids grow up playing video games, especially the sport they want to play,” Hassman said. “I think it’s just a great opportunity for everybody to get their name out there, especially smaller schools who can get their name on the map.”
Hassmann grew up playing the college basketball games with her older brother, but says she has a special appreciation for the games now that she is an active college player. One of her favorite aspects of the return of the games is that players are paid to participate.
“Seeing how much time and dedication we put towards our sport, it’s so cool to see that it pays off and we’re now getting money and brand deals. I think it’s incredible. I think it just shows the growth of college sports and especially women’s basketball,” Hassmann said. “It’s cool that we get the ability to be paid. It’s such a cool opportunity to be a part of that in this new era of college sports.”
EA brought back the college football games starting in 2024, and the sales have increased exponentially. EA earned $500 million in revenue in the first two weeks, with 2.2 million people opting to pay extra for the deluxe pre-order bundle. Though the college basketball series will not officially make its return until 2028, it is likely that the game will succeed more than the older games, along with introducing more people to the sport.
“I think there’s a lot of things like that that can come out of having a college basketball game,” said Arthur Moreira, head coach of the Idaho women’s team. “I think you can draw a lot of attention not only to women’s basketball, but to college basketball in general. I think it’s the right time to continue to develop the game.”
In the past handful of years, women’s basketball has rapidly improved in mainstream popularity. The women’s march madness tournaments as well as the WNBA have both seen a steep increase in ratings.
“I feel like it’s great that people are now wanting to watch. To be in the era of women’s college basketball and seeing the growth of it, I just think it’s a really cool opportunity to grow the game,” Hassmann said. “In the two years that I’ve been in college, I think there has been a dramatic change. All our hard work is paying off in a way that people are excited to watch and there’s so much talk around women’s basketball.”
Former Vandal and current New Mexico State forward, Julius Mims, predicts that the new game will be “a big hit,” similar to the new college football games. Mims recalls playing NBA 2K games with friends growing up, specifically in the mid 2010s. He thinks the biggest challenge that developers of the game will face is dictating ratings for the players on each team due to the number of Division-1 players compared to the NBA.
Moreira spent a lot of time playing the college basketball franchise during his college years. Each year when the new game was released, he and his friends would spend two to three days editing every single roster and adding the players’ names.
Moreira said he spent most of his playing time focusing on the recruiting aspect rather than playing the game, joking that he got his start in college recruiting on NCAA Basketball 10. Once he began his coaching career, his strengths remained the same, establishing himself as an elite recruiter.
Though he does not have much time for video games these days, Moreira looks forward to playing as the Vandals during the offseason.
Moreira emphasized the impact that video games have on today’s youth. He says that the game will be a good gateway to college sports. He became a Newcastle United FC fan in 1997 because he liked using them in a soccer video game.
“The games give kids a chance to get familiar with it. Maybe they’ll find some school that has the color scheme that they like,” Moreira said. “All of that brings new fans in. Our youth is so invested into gaming and in the virtual world that I feel like sometimes it is the best way to get their attention.”
Moreira has friends in Brazil who became interested in college football after playing the new college football games, and he thinks the basketball games will have a similar effect.
“It’s all part of growing the game,” Moreira said. “There’s a lot of sports that I actually started watching because the game was fun.”
