College Football 25: could this be the US’s most anticipated sports video game ever?

Riding a wave of nostalgia, the return of EA’s beloved franchise has whet the appetite of gamers across different generations

Sports videogame releases are usually drab affairs. New versions come out every year, and beyond roster updates and a few gameplay tweaks, they don’t change that much from edition to edition. Unlike Grand Theft Auto aficianados, sports game fans don’t plan midnight release parties.

But EA Sports College Football 25, which will be released worldwide on 19 July, isn’t a typical game. It may well be the most anticipated sports video game release ever in the US. And to understand why, we need to go back to the beginning.