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Tom's Guide
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Tom's Guide
College Football 26 is the rare annual sports game that justifies coming back for another run at the championship
Platforms: PS5 (reviewed), Xbox Series X/SPrice: $69Date: July 10, 2025Genre: Sports After over a decade of silence, EA finally brought a college football game back last year in the form of College Football 25. With that return, the franchise reentered the realm of iterative yearly sports titles. CFB 25 was a welcome and excellent revival, but it wasn't without its flaws, including a lackluster Road to Glory mode and a lack of a tutorial mode. With College Football 26, EA Orlando brings a number of welcome changes including the inclusion of real life coaches, a revamped Road to Glory mode and somehow even deeper recruiting in Dynasty. I said last year that EA delivered by 'producing one of the best pigskin games in years,' and CFB 26 just adds more on top of what was already an excellent football game. There are some flaws including seemingly long loading times in Ultimate, a strange insistence on not including a dedicated tutorial to teach both new and returning players about changes in gameplay, and some age-old CPU AI frustrations that just won't go away (looking at you no-look interceptions). Despite those imbroglios, CFB 26 is worth a punt. Read my full College Football 26 review to find if you should step back on the field. College Football 26 is the second game in the revival of the franchise. After a solid debut, CFB 26 follows that up with some more welcome additions. Compared to other sports in the United States one of the things that separates college football is the pageantry. While there was some good presentation and fidelity in CFB 25, this year's iteration loaded up with 88 new marching band songs, nearly 40 new mascots and various 'true-to-life' stadium setups and gameday traditions. An example would be the inclusion of Virginia Tech's entrance to Metallica's 'Enter Sandman' which is always awesome both in real life and now digitally. That being said, one flaw in CFB 25 was that you couldn't skip those introductions especially if you're running through a number of games in quick succession. CFB 26 actually lets you get right to the game if you don't want to watch the umpteenth run on the field, especially for teams that don't really have an interesting one. Still, I've found that schools with bigger introductions (VTech, for instance) remain unskipable. As for gameplay, on one level, if you've played a football game, or CFB 25, this year's edition should feel similar. There are a number of changes but the biggest ones you'll notice right away are formation subs and dynamic subs. Previously, to sub out players you needed to pause the game and go into your depth chart. Now you can use the D-pad to make individual substitutions without hitting the pause button. Doing so pops up a little screen with status and ratings for your players at different positions. There's also an auto-sub slider in the menus to swap players when certain wear-and-tear levels are hit. It makes playing more fluid and responsive to what's happening on the field. Overall, games feels smoother with tackling and catching seeing the biggest improvements. Yes, there are still weird blocking fails or random no-look interceptions but that's par for the course at this point. You can get more granular with additions like getting only your linebackers to show blitz over the entire secondary. There's a lot and EA has broken it down in their thesis-length blogs but they're worth a read to see all of the minute changes. My favorite quality of life is the return of a Trophy Room where you can easily see all of the awards you've won across the various modes. I didn't know I missed it until it came back, but I'm happy to have it all the same. There are five modes of play in College Football 2026. The simplest is Play Now, where you pick a team and battle it out against another team on the field. This can either be against a CPU or a head-to-head with a friend. Below, I'll take a look at the other four modes, with the meatiest one being Dynasty, the college football classic. I did not like Road to Glory last year, it was bare bones and very boring, not quite what you want as you try to lead your player to football glory. The revamped version for CFB 26 is way better where you can start in high school and complete "moments" against other high school teams to get colleges to notice you. There's a lot going on, from managing the schools you want to attend to performing in games. Once recruited, there are far more options to improve and practice especially as a backup. In CFB 25, that part felt very limiting, but now there are different mini-games to compete in. Managing the various meters like grades, training and brand feels like more of a choice with actual consequences for choosing school work over leadership. My one complaint is that some things, like play calling, are too much in the player's hands. For more immersion, I wouldn't mind a return to a system where the coach gives you more leeway as you earn trust and playing time, especially in progressing from a 2-star to the elite levels. It might take some time to get on the field but once you're there, it should be interesting to see how long the leash really is. If you've played an EA sports game you've seen an ultimate team mode with its player cards, and ways for EA to squeeze a few more bucks out of you via microtransactions. This year's version includes a new Solos mode for those who prefer offline play. My biggest problem here is that this section is also where you sort of find a tutorial mode for the game. Yes, there is a new 'training' tab in the main menu where you can play challenges like 'Pocket passer' to kind of learn how to play, but it doesn't show you what buttons to press or how to make certain moves. As an example, there is a mid-play feature where if you're scrambling as a QB you can press L2 and flick the right stick to direct the closest receiver either closer, away, vertically, or horizontally to open up a pass. You might not know about this unless you engage with the Freshmen-level Solos section where these kinds of tips pop up as you play the game. It is insane that EA Orlando refuses to institute any kind of tutorial mode for both new and returning players to teach some of the nuances of all of the controls you can use in the game. It's also mind-boggling that what has been made is hidden in a section of a mode that not everyone will even touch. In the end, Ultimate Team is not my preferred mode of play, but what is there seems to work well enough, though I noticed a slower loading time in Ultimate Team. That may be related to the servers, but it felt long enough to be annoying. Road to the Playoff is a simple player-vs-player competition where 12 wins in your "league" will get you into a playoff to vie for a chance at a national championship. The only real update here appears to be moving from 10 wins to 12 wins. There's also a stat page you can review of your opponent including wins/losses and offensive tendencies. If EA had made only minor updates to Dynasty mode, I wouldn't have been surprised or really unhappy. But with CFB 26 there are enough new features to make the popular mode feel different. The most noticeable is the inclusion of real-life coaches including their career stats, tendencies and playbooks. It adds more immersion to the game, and in some cases you can bring them to your team (especially offensive and defensive coordinators). The Build a Coach section has new ways to customize your coach's appearance, a nice update after last year's surprisingly barebones attempt that was clearly waiting for an expansion of options. Beyond just new clothing styles there's also stance and demeanor options where you can set if your coach is cool on the sideline or a headset-throwing hothead. There's been more work on the coaching archetypes with new ways to progress and different, more achievable challenges to unlock perks and XP boosts. As a head coach, there are now traits for your OCs and DCs that can help you retain coaching talent or find the next guy to bring you success. On the recruiting front, which was plenty deep in CFB 25, the noticeable change is in the transfer portal which is more active due to altered dealbreakers that can be worked around instead of bluntly locking down players like before. But it also means that a dealbreaker for a player on your team might change from season to season, making it harder or easier to retain them. There's a lot more, and again, it makes recruiting more interesting with more to track but also sensible adjustments that I believe make recruiting feel like more than just making the number go up. College Football 2026 is the next step in the evolution of EA's college football revival, and doesn't just feel like a mere iterative upgrade. The tools and features that arrived between Dynasty, Road to Glory and regular gameplay feel substantive. It's not a perfect game with minor flaws in gameplay that will annoy some, and the absurd lack of a true tutorial or learning mode continues to baffle. Those things don't detract from an overall excellent experience that is an improvement over last year's iteration. With iterative sports titles, it's not guaranteed that year to year will be worth the cost, but in its sophomore year, College Football 2026 is worth the squeeze.
Axios
10-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Axios
EA's juggernaut "College Football 26" is back
College football is back, digitally at least, with the release of "College Football 26." Why it matters: Last year's game, "CFB 25," rebooted a franchise abandoned roughly a decade ago and still broke multiple sales records, drawing millions of players within its first week. The big picture: "College Football 25" was one of the major ways college athletes benefitted from new rules relates to name, image and likeness, which were adopted by the NCAA in 2021 — leading to the resurrection of EA's college football game. The game gave hundreds of college athletes exposure to millions of gamers, streamers and social media users — as well as celebrities. "CFB 25" was no sleeper from a monetary perspective. Early reports during the game's launch suggested it made $500 million within its first month. And EA said in October 2024 that it generated more than $2 billion in revenue in the prior quarter, mostly on the back of "CFB." 'College Football 26' release time, features It's a no-brainer for EA to bring back the "CFB" franchise. This year's game was first available for early access on Monday, July 7, and launched worldwide Thursday. The Alabama Crimson Tide are ranked No. 1 in the game. What's inside:"CFB 26" smoothed out its gameplay to make it more palatable for its fanbase, and added a slew of in-stadium songs, mascots and celebrations to immerse fans in the world of college football. Developers also added dynamic weather, meaning you'll find some classic fall games in the afternoon glow. And, true to real-life, gamers playing as college athletes can accept NIL deals, giving them increased stats and traits. That's not a shocker since NIL has been a major factor with the video game in the real world. 'CFB 26' and NIL "CFB 26" doubles down on EA's support of college athletes, who are benefitting from deals based around their name, image and likeness. NIL deals — sometimes worth six or seven figures for recognizable college stars — not only help schools recruit players, but they also impact how college athletes view going pro. Arch Manning, the nephew of NFL legend Peyton Manning who features prominently in "CFB 26," is among the highest-paid college athletes from NIL deals. Other top paid gridiron stars include Carson Beck of University of Miami and Jeremiah Smith of The Ohio State University. By the numbers: For last year's game, real-life college players were paid $600 and given a free copy of the game for their NIL use. This year, that number has skyrocketed to $1,500. What they're saying: Scott O'Gallagher, design director for the game, told Sportsbook Review that EA is always watching NIL changes when building their game so it can stay as realistic as possible. "I don't know where it's going to go," he said. "These things are constantly changing. We want to stay ahead, but I can tell you we're looking at making changes, and then a rule changes." Case in point: On July 1, a settlement between the NCAA and college athletes went into effect, allowing colleges to compensate athletes directly, according to ESPN. Previously, players made money from third parties or boosters. Now, it can come from athletic departments directly. Flashback: EA's previous "NCAA Football" series was scrapped in 2013 after former college players sued EA over their right to make money (the case was settled out of court). A Supreme Court ruling in 2020 paved the way for NIL usage and the eventual launch of "CFB 25." EA looks to college basketball next What's next: The success of the "CFB" franchise has led both EA and Take-Two's 2K Games (which previously published games about college sports) to consider a college basketball video game.
USA Today
07-07-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
When does EA Sports College Football 26 come out? Game available to play on Monday
It's the most wonderful time of the year for college football video game fans. EA Sports College Football 26 release week has arrived as the second installment of the popular video game franchise will be available to play after its triumphant return last year. There's plenty of excitement for the game as EA Sports attempts to create a game that can sustain the success College Football 25 had, with new features, expanded gameplay and tweaks based on community feedback. The game has a release date, but those that bought the deluxe edition or the bundle with Madden 26 will be able to play it earlier, allowing gamers the chance to get a head start on their dynasties or road to glory. Who wouldn't want to get their hands on the game as soon as possible? When does EA Sports College Football 26 come out? People that preordered the deluxe edition of EA Sports College Football 26 or bought the MVP bundle with Madden 26 will be able to play the game on Monday, July 7 at noon ET. For the standard version, the game will be available to play on Thursday, July 10. EA Sports College Football 26 versions, how to preorder If you're wanting to play the game early but don't have early access yet, there's still time. The deluxe edition and MVP bundle can still be digitally pre-ordered through Xbox's Microsoft Store and PlayStation's PlayStation Store up until July 10, allowing early access. If bought during the early period, it will be available to play immediately. Here are the cost of each version of EA Sports College Football 26: Toughest places to play rankings: The top 25 stadiums in EA Sports College Football 26 Player rankings: Who are best in EA Sports College Football 26? What's new in EA Sports College Football 26? There are several updates and additions to EA Sports College Football 26. EA Sports production director Christian McLeod previously told USA TODAY Sports the goal for this year's game was building upon the foundation CFB 25 laid and listening to the feedback – good and bad − from it. One major component is real-life coaches are in the game, giving it a more realistic feel when going against the biggest names on the sidelines and in recruiting. When playing the game, there are more than 2,800 new plays to choose from and players will notice more gameday traditions and mascots. In the popular dynasty mode, the transfer portal was overhauled to be more unpredictable. More entries are possible and new are dynamic dealbreakers, which can change how a player feels about a school and can decide they want to play somewhere else, making it a greater challenge to turn smaller programs into national powerhouses. Dynasty mode will also have a trophy room and record book so users can track all of their accomplishments. Road to glory will now have a high school portion of the mode after it was left out last year. Players will be able to play moments during their high school career as they try to determine which school to attend.
USA Today
27-06-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
What to expect in College Football 26? EA Sports production director explains
After the thunderous return of College Football 25, how does EA Sports follow it up? College football video game fans rejoiced in July 2024 when the 11-year wait for their beloved franchise finally ended with the release of College Football 25. A day many wondered would ever come was celebrated with people launching their dynasties and taking in all of the sights and sounds that makes college football the widely loved sport it is. Not only was it the top-selling video game of 2024 and became the best-selling sports game in U.S. history, according to Inside Gaming, it was widely praised by fans as a solid product, with favorable reviews from video game outlets. But like all great things came the next question: what's next? For all the positives in the return, there were plenty of complaints and desires about what the game either was lacking or missed out on. So many, you'd think '25 was a total flop. Well, those that make the game have heard this die-hard community loud and clear. College Football 26 plans to fulfill most of the requests missing from the previous edition, and while this year's game won't address everything, it's another building block in a franchise that's set on staying for the foreseeable future. Because this is a game for fans, made by fans themselves. 'We're a bunch of college football sickos,' EA Sports production director Christian McLeod told USA TODAY Sports. 'But we're sickos for this game as well.' Goal of EA Sports College Football 26 It's a 'crazy, but fun' time, McLeod said, at EA Tiburon studio in Orlando, where the game is produced. CFB 26 is scheduled to release July 10, with early access starting on July 7. When he spoke to USA TODAY Sports on June 17, McLeod noted the production team has about two weeks left until it's completely done with the game. The approach to this year's game is vastly different. When making CFB 25, it was all about catching up on the changes to college football since the last game in 2013, while hooking players with a memorable experience that really captured the pageantry of it all and made it a franchise worth returning to. This year, it was all about building upon the foundation CFB 25 laid, and listening to the feedback – and believe it when they say they heard it all. McLeod admitted the production team scours the internet for opinions, hidden on various community sites, fan groups and social media apps such as Facebook and X with their ears and eyes wide open. 'There is a shred of truth in every piece of feedback, no matter how negative,' McLeod said. 'Obviously we had our vision of what we wanted to bring to the table in '26, but a lot of community feedback helped shape that as well. And it doesn't hurt that we agreed with a lot of the feedback, because we're fans ourselves.' It can be overwhelming trying to determine what to include in the next edition when there are a plethora of requests, on top of things that were already planned. McLeod noted at a certain point, a capacity is reached where they have to be really selective of what gets added to ensure it's a high-quality game that's also on time. If something you really want to be included in the game misses the cut, there's a silver lining. EA Sports works in three year stanzas, meaning the franchise is in stage two of the process. McLeod said he is excited for CFB 26, but 'we're always thinking about next year' and making sure it continues an upward progression, meaning there will be an EA Sports College Football 27. College Football 26 new features Some of the new things in the game have been featured through the cover athlete announcement, trailer and first deep dive, from expanded gameplay, real-life coaches and details for all game modes. A major emphasis in last year's game was 'every team is somebody's favorite,' so all the different aspects of schools were on display. Ways to add to that this year are even more unique playbooks catered to each squad. That means more than 2,800 new plays, which McLeod said is the biggest gameplay lift ever done in the studio and will make playing 'super explosive.' There's more on the presentation side as well. There's more gameday traditions and mascots, and some that were in CFB 25 got enhanced. From Akron's turnover tire to Oklahoma's Sooner Schooner actually going around the field rather than being stationary. McLeod said the response dynasty mode was exciting as it's the flagship mode for the game, and it's really where the majority of feedback came from. Particularly, a heavy emphasis was placed on the transfer portal. The portal allowed users to get a peek of what coaches have to deal with in today's vastly different sport, but the main issue was that it was just a peek. As players got further into their dynasties, the amount of players in the portal would dwindle to the point it would be dry by year 10. McLeod acknowledged developers were guessing how it worked last year, and the team worked to make it consistently 'more volatile.' One way that's being done is with the introduction of dynamic dealbreakers. When recruiting high schoolers, you'd have to have a certain grade in a topic like championship contender or brand exposure just to get them to consider your school. Now, you'll need to meet those requirements to keep your players, too – and there's no guarantee they stay the same. McLeod used a dynasty he did as an example. He won a national championship with UTEP and had a star quarterback lead the Miners. In the real world, a title-winning star player at a Group of Five likely would seek better NIL opportunities elsewhere, and it would reflect in the game as his brand exposure requirement jumping from a C+ to A+. With the team having B- grade in the category, it suddenly doesn't have what is needed to keep the quarterback, so he will bolt off to a bigger school, likely in the SEC or Big Ten, resulting in UTEP having to start all over to remain elite. This will make it an even greater challenge to turn smaller programs into national powerhouses, and those perennial title contenders tougher to beat. Dynasty mode also will come with a record book and trophy room, so players can see all of their accomplishments over the course of their tenure, and the stats and accolades they are chasing. That coincides with real-life coaches in the game, a massive boost after generic ones were in CFB 25, as McLeod said the plan was to have coaches by the second edition. More than 300 coaches, including coordinators, are in the game, adding another layer of intensity when going against big-name brands. Seeing Ryan Day on the sideline might give a player extra incentive to beat Ohio State, or chase down Brian Kelly's 292 career wins. Three developers specifically spent time crafting coaching archetypes for the coaches, from their tendencies on the field as well as in recruiting. So when you're trying to get that five-star recruit, you'll be battling with those coaches that are familiar with hauling in prized stars. 'A lot of time watching college football, college football expertise went into that,' McLeod said. It's been reported some coaches like Deion Sanders and Bill Belichick aren't in the game, and neither will be some historical ones. For example, McLeod said Nick Saban's name won't be in the game, so he won't pop up in the Alabama record books. And finally, developers heard the dissatisfaction of road to glory. There is now a high school aspect of the game where players will complete challenges during games so there's a recruiting process. Users will have the chance to boost – or decrease – their stock as they try to determine which school to commit to. How schools approach and coaches talk to players will be key in determining scholarship offers. McLeod described it as giving people agency 'in an Oregon Trail type approach.' Continuing to give feedback Overall, McLeod and the team feel great about the product they are putting out, eager to share it with the world. It's a strenuous time working on it, but it's something they love doing, describing it as a passion project of nearly all developers. There's already plenty of buzz around what will be in the game, with players trying to get any and all information of what will or won't be in the game. EA Sports had media and content creators get their hands on the early version of the game in May, and a closed beta went out in June. The early impressions were positive and productive, McLeod said. But when the game officially comes out, there will be a flood of opinions on whether it's elevated the franchise, or it's a downgrade. No matter the feelings, McLeod wants to hear what everyone thinks. 'We had one chance to make a second first impression in (CFB) 25 when we brought this game back out. Now that it's out, and we're on an annual basis here, it's super important that we are listening,' he said. 'So I would implore everybody out there, please continue the feedback, continue hitting us up in all different types of forums, because you are helping to build this game. We're building it along with you as we move forward.' It will be a celebration for college football video game lovers on release day as they'll spend countless hours building the next great dynasty or road to glory. The production team will celebrate too, but it won't be for long. Because they got next year's game to work on. "We'll launch it, we'll give each other some firm handshake, some high fives,' McLeod said. 'Then from there, right back at it again with CFB 27 in the future.'
USA Today
25-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Where EA Sports ranks Autzen Stadium in their College Football 26 video game
It's that time of year again when gamers and college football fans get excited over the latest version of EA Sports' college football video game. But before the actual game is published on July 10, they will release certain rankings that are in the video game. One popular ranking is "Toughest Places to Play." This affects gameplay, making it difficult or easier to play in, depending on whether you are the home team, just like real life. The Oregon Ducks find it easier to play in Autzen Stadium than the Washington Huskies do, obviously. And speaking of Autzen Stadium, the home of the Ducks is ranked as one of the loudest places to play in the entire nation. Since this is the second year of the game, we have a comparison to draw upon in rankings. Oregon fans will be pleased to see Autzen has moved up from their spot in the CFB25 rankings, but perhaps not as much as they would like. The folks down at Texas A&M may have the biggest beef (no pun intended) with the rankings, as they weren't able to hold on to the top spot and fell a considerable distance. We're not sure what changed, but boy, did their ranking. Here are the Top 25 places to play, according to EA Sports, the capacity of each facility, when it opened and where it ranked last season. 25. Davis Wade Stadium - Mississippi State Capacity: 61,337 Opened: Oct. 3, 1914 Ranking in previous game: 25 24. Spartan Stadium - Michigan State Capacity: 75,005 Opened: Oct. 6, 1923 Ranking in previous game: 22 23. Boone-Pickens Stadium - Oklahoma State Capacity: 53,885 Opened: Oct. 2, 1920 Ranking in previous game: Not ranked 22. Carter-Finley Stadium - North Carolina State Capacity: 56,919 Opened: Oct. 8, 1966 Ranking in previous game: Not ranked 21. Notre Dame Stadium - Notre Dame Capacity: 77,622 Opened: Oct. 4, 1930 Ranking in previous game: 21 20. Rice-Eccles Stadium - Utah Capacity: 51,444 Opened: Sept. 12, 1998 Ranking in previous game: 18 19. Kinnick Stadium - Iowa Capacity: 69,250 Opened: Oct.5, 1929 Ranking in previous game: 20 18. Husky Stadium - Washington Capacity: 70,138 Opened: Nov. 27, 1920 Ranking in previous game: Not ranked 17. Jordan-Hare Stadium - Auburn Capacity: 87,451 Opened: Nov. 9, 1939 Ranking in previous game: 14 16. Williams-Brice Stadium - South Carolina Capacity: 77,559 Opened: Oct. 6, 1934 Ranking in previous game: Not ranked 15. Camp Randall Stadium - Wisconsin Capacity: 80,321 Opened: Nov. 3, 1917 Ranking in previous game: 7 14. Doak S. Campbell Stadium - Florida State Capacity: 79,560 Opened: Oct. 7, 1950 Ranking in previous game: 9 13. Darrell K. Royal Texas Memorial Stadium - Texas Capacity: 100,119 Opened: Nov. 8, 1924 Ranking in previous game: 19 12. Neyland Stadium - Tennessee Capacity: 101,915 Opened: Sept. 24, 1921 Ranking in previous game: 19 11. Kyle Field - Texas A&M Capacity: 102,733 Opened: Sept. 24, 1927 Ranking in previous game: 1 10. Michigan Stadium - Michigan Capacity: 107,601 Opened: Oct. 1, 1927 Ranking in previous game: 16 9. Autzen Stadium - Oregon Capacity: 54,000 Opened: Sept. 23, 1967 Ranking in previous game: 11 8. Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium - Oklahoma Capacity: 83,489 Opened: Oct. 20, 1923 Ranking in previous game: 8 7. Ben Hill Griffin Stadium - Florida Capacity: 88,548 Opened: Nov. 8, 1930 Ranking in previous game: 10 6. Memorial Stadium - Clemson Capacity: 81,500 Opened: Sept. 19, 1942 Ranking in previous game: 12 5. Bryant-Denny Stadium - Alabama Capacity: 100,077 Opened: Sept. 28, 1929 Ranking in previous game: 2 4. Sanford Stadium - Georgia Capacity: 92,746 Opened: Oct. 12, 1929 Ranking in previous game: 5 3. Ohio Stadium - Ohio State Capacity: 102,780 Opened: Oct. 7, 1922 Ranking in previous game: 4 2. Beaver Stadium - Penn State Capacity: 106,572 Opened: Sept. 17, 1960 Ranking in previous game: 6 1. Tiger Stadium - LSU Capacity: 102,321 Opened: Nov. 25, 1924 Ranking in previous game: 3
