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New York Times
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- New York Times
EA Sports College Football 26: The 5 biggest changes in game's new version
ORLANDO, Fla. — I have played an early edition of EA Sports College Football 26, and I've got some thoughts. The return of the college football video game series last year was 11 years in the making, and it mostly lived up to the hype. CFB25 was a joy, but it was far from perfect with some obvious holes. Despite its flaws, it became the highest-selling sports video game of all time in total dollars because of that excitement and execution. Advertisement So what's in store for Round 2? EA Sports announced some new features on Thursday ahead of the July 10 launch, and The Athletic got to test out the gameplay in person for a few hours. This is not a full game review, as I haven't played the whole game, but here are the five biggest changes to the franchise for CFB26. 1. Real coaches are in the game (mostly) and the coaching carousel is deeper Lane Kiffin said last year he'd be in the game for free, as coaches immediately realized its recruiting value. Now, more than 300 real coaches and their likenesses are here, including head coaches, offensive coordinators and defensive coordinators. Not everyone is signed up, either because they declined or haven't responded yet. Bill Belichick is not in the game, which is not a big surprise since he didn't make himself available for Madden either. I also didn't see Deion Sanders when playing a game as Colorado. Real coaches have their own tendencies and skills that show up in Dynasty mode. In the coaching carousel, you can see a G5 coach move up the ranks, a real college coach leave for the NFL or change coordinators. That was in the game last year, but now they're real. It's technically possible to see Kirby Smart struggle and stumble down the ranks to become a Group of 5 coordinator if things go poorly. 2. High School Mode is back in Road to Glory, and it's optional This was one of the top demands from gamers, since High School was part of RTG in the old NCAA series. Developers told me they didn't have time to fit it all in last year and felt most gamers just wanted to focus on the college experience. Indeed, they said Thursday that the feedback was mostly positive. Still, they planned to bring High School back and now they have, but players can skip it if they like. After playing it briefly, I'll tell you it looks very fun and creative, coming from someone like me who didn't like the old High School mode. You pick 10 schools and play five high school weeks. In those weeks, you're just trying to complete a few tasks in a game, like a certain kind of throw, to gain points for a 'tape score.' When you earn enough points, you get a scholarship offer. But that point threshold is different from school to school. A 'challenge' from a school is another point-boosting opportunity. You pick your star rating to start, but it can rise or fall depending on how you do in the tasks. Advertisement You can commit and decommit and see who else your suitors are recruiting. Schools also offer you certain skill bonuses that help your college player, which is the stand-in for NIL. You can get an offer from a school, but wait for them to increase the skill bonus based on your tape score. Developers said the goal is for High School mode to last about an hour of gameplay. 3. Online Dynasty Cross-Play Xbox players rejoice. We won't be left out of our PS5 friends' online dynasties any longer. Cross-play allows gamers with Xbox and PS5 to compete against each other with up to 32 players. While cross-play was already playable for single games, it's now available for Dynasty mode, which was already in place for Madden. 4. Formation subs and dynamic subs This was the biggest in-game request from gamers, and it's here. Formation subs allow you to set lineups in the pause menu for specific formations, like a power running back for short-yardage runs. Dynamic subs will allow you to make quick individual substitutions during the course of the game using the D-pad, without needing the pause menu. It pulls up a little screen to let you know the status and overall rating of players at different positions. You can also work auto-sub sliders for each position, setting up a sub when a specific position reaches a certain wear-and-tear level. Powerhouse Programs. Real World Coaches. Electric Traditions. Experience it all in #CFB26. Coming July 10. Pre-Order Now🔗: — EASPORTSCollege (@EASPORTSCollege) May 27, 2025 5. Gameplay is smoother, and a lot of the little annoyances are gone When you first start playing a game, it mostly feels the same. This isn't some big overhaul, obviously. Last year was an entirely new game, especially new for me as someone who got out of gaming when the NCAA series went away. So it's not jarring anymore to jump on the sticks and see a real college quarterback making a throw. But the more I played over the course of a few hours, I started to notice a lot of little improvements. For example, your receivers will make more catches in contact. Developers told me they realized there were too many pass breakups on hits. That's nice. Quarterback scrambles out of pass plays are much smoother and realistic-looking. Your QB doesn't need to fully stand up in his throwing stance before you can start running around. Defensive linemen now have 'block-steering' ability, where you can push an offensive lineman in a direction that you choose. It's a nice addition for people who play with a DL. Advertisement Running the ball was my favorite part of CFB 25, and it's even better in this next game. Run-after-catch was also smoother. There's a lot more you can do on defense, too. Developers heard the feedback that playing defense was too hard. It seems a bit easier with better tackling, but for the hardcores, you can now set custom DB zones (in response to custom receiver stems), you can commit to certain routes and guess the play, and you can call stunts and twists on the line by holding the play selection button and choosing from options. Other notes: — Oklahoma might be this year's most popular team, thanks to the additions of quarterback John Mateer and running back Jaydn Ott. The Sooners were a lot of fun to use. — There are more renovated stadiums, including Florida State, but Northwestern is still at the old Ryan Field. There are more, but not all, bowl stadiums. No Ireland, and still not every NFL stadium. — Trophy Room is back in Dynasty Mode. Not only can you see the trophies and awards you've won, you can click and see the all-time history of trophy winners, like Wisconsin being the first Big Ten champion in 1896. That's cool. — Rivalry games and night games will have a greater impact on Stadium Pulse shaking. The rivalry trophies are also highlighted in the game menu. Yes, even the Civil ConFliCT trophy is in this game. — Protected games are in Dynasty after being pulled at the last minute out of CFB25. — Wear-and-tear can last throughout the season in Dynasty and Road to Glory. — Thankfully, the menu screen is no longer just that drumline over and over and over. It will now include marching band covers of some real songs. — Speaking of real songs, 'Enter Sandman' for Virginia Tech was the big one, as evident in the trailer. It also added 'Mr. Brightside' at Michigan, 'Seven Nation Army', 'FE!N' by Travis Scott, 'I'm Shipping Up to Boston' at Notre Dame and the '2001: A Space Odyssey' song for South Carolina's intro, among others. Overall, my takeaway from these early pieces of CFB26 is that the game filled the major holes from CFB25. We'll have the main modes and in-game adjustments that were needed. I'll have a full review later in the summer when I get to play the whole game. During a week in which leaders in college football again argued about the future of the College Football Playoff and threats to leave the NCAA, this game was once again a reminder of the celebration of all of college football. There are so many more stadium run-out shots and new school-specific songs/chants added, along with turnover celebrations. We got Akron's tire celebration and Clemson's bus entrance in the trailer. New additions Delaware and Missouri State look as good as everyone else (and I particularly liked the Delaware playbook). CFB25 wasn't a reskin of Madden, as many gamers feared. It was uniquely college football. The early returns look like CFB26 will be that once again. (Top photo courtesy of EA Sports)
Reuters
5 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Star wideouts snag cover of EA Sports College Football 26
May 27 - Coming off outstanding freshman seasons, wide receivers Jeremiah Smith of Ohio State and Ryan Williams of Alabama will grace the standard edition cover of the EA Sports College Football 26 video game. It marks the first time in the video game franchise's history that the cover will feature a pair of wideouts. The game will be released on July 10. A major piece of the Buckeyes' run to the national title, Smith -- the No. 1 overall recruit in the 2024 class -- caught 76 passes for 1,315 yards and 15 touchdowns in 16 games in 2024. "Being on the cover of EA Sports College Football 26 is a tremendous privilege, and I'm proud to represent Ohio State alongside Coach (Ryan) Day while carrying the Buckeye legacy forward, celebrating the passion of our fans and the tradition of this incredible program," Smith said in a statement. Williams finished with 48 catches for 865 yards and eight touchdowns in 13 games for the Crimson Tide. He also rushed for two scores. "I know y'all think I'm young, but growing up, the oldest one I remember is the one with Mark Ingram," Williams told On3. "From there to 2014, just playing those games -- if I could ever be on the cover, it would mean the world to me. Just thinking back to little Ryan, that's what they called me back home. If he got to see what was going on right now, I could only imagine how excited he would be. It's a blessing. It's super exciting." Along with the standard edition cover, a deluxe cover featuring coaches, current players and former stars will be released. Ohio State's Day, Georgia's Kirby Smart and Notre Dame's Marcus Freeman are among the coaches featured and will also be in the game. Former stars Tim Tebow, Reggie Bush and Denard Robinson will also be on the deluxe cover. First released in 1998, the original EA college football video game franchise ran until 2013 before returning last season. Last year's edition racked up more than $400 million in sales. --Field Level Media
Washington Post
5 days ago
- Business
- Washington Post
EA Sports names WRs Ryan Williams, Jeremiah Smith as College Football 26 cover athletes
Alabama's Ryan Williams and Ohio State's Jeremiah Smith are the cover athletes for EA Sports College Football 26, the video-game developer announced Tuesday. The electric sophomore wide receivers were picked for the second edition of the franchise's reboot. Last year's game was the first in 11 years and was among the best-selling video games in 2024.
Associated Press
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Associated Press
EA Sports names WRs Ryan Williams, Jeremiah Smith as College Football 26 cover athletes
Alabama's Ryan Williams and Ohio State's Jeremiah Smith are the cover athletes for EA Sports College Football 26, the video-game developer announced Tuesday. The electric sophomore wide receivers were picked for the second edition of the franchise's reboot. Last year's game was the first in 11 years and was among the best-selling video games in 2024. Williams and Smith are posed together on the standard cover, while the deluxe edition also includes other players, coaches, mascots and former cover stars Reggie Bush, Tim Tebow and Denard Robinson. The '26 edition will test if the franchise still has the same staying power it had when it was released annually in the early 2000s. For the players who are featured in the game, it will certainly remain popular. Williams said in a statement released by EA Sports that the cover was 'a dream come true,' and Smith called it 'a tremendous privilege.' 'I'm proud to represent Ohio State alongside Coach (Ryan) Day while carrying the Buckeye legacy forward, celebrating the passion of our fans and the tradition of this incredible program,' Smith said. Williams and Smith broke onto the national scene in 2024 with their miraculous catches on the biggest stages. Williams' spinning TD grab to help beat then-No. 2 Georgia looked like it belonged in a video game. It was one of many wowing plays from the young receiver. Williams finished his freshman season with 48 receptions for 865 yards and eight receiving touchdowns. Smith was a major part of the Buckeyes' run to a national championship. He regularly hauled in one-handers that decimated the confidence of his defenders. In a CFP quarterfinals win over top-seeded Oregon, Smith had seven receptions, 187 yards and two touchdowns. He finished his freshman year with 76 catches, 1,315 yards and 15 receiving touchdowns. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: and
