Tonight's NFL Draft represents a major milestone and transition for many young athletes as they take the next step in their football careers. Celebrating the big night, EA announced the release date for EA Sports College Football 26 (and Madden NFL 26).
EA Sports College Football 26 will launch worldwide on July 10, 2025 for Xbox and PlayStation. There will be an 3-day Early Access period beginning July 7th for those who purchase the Deluxe Edition of the game, which is only available for the Xbox Series X|S and PS5 consoles. For the second year in a row, it will not be released on PC despite the fact that Madden 26 will be.
Pre-orders for EA Sports College Football 26 are already available with multiple purchase options available. The Standard Edition ($69.99) includes the base game, but pre-ordering it ahead of launch will also get you the following in-game items:
- CUT All Hands Pack
- Dynasty Coach Points
- Road to Glory Skill Points
The Deluxe Edition, available for Xbox Series X|S and PS5 only, costs $99.99 and includes the following:
- 3 Day Early Access (July 7-10)
- 4600 College Football Points
- Early Access Ultimate Team™ Solo Challenges
- CUT Top Prospect Pack (Pre Order before June 19th to receive this.)
- CUT All Hands Pack
- Dynasty Coach Points
- Road to Glory Skill Points
The EA Sports MVP Bundle returns once again, giving the most passionate football fans the ability to purchase the Deluxe Editions of EA Sports College Football 26 and Madden 26 as a discounted bundle. This digital-only option is available for $149.99, representing a $50 savings than if you were to buy each game's Deluxe Edition separately. It's also only $10 more than if you were to buy the Standard Edition of each game separately. Here's everything included in the EA SPorts MVP Bundle:
Specific gameplay details for EA Sports College Football 26 were not revealed alongside today's announcement, but EA has confirmed a full reveal will take place in May. We did get an announcement trailer, however, which suggests a deeper link between both College Football 26 and Madden 26.
Last year's EA Sports College Football 25 marked the long-awaited return of EA's college football video game series. 11 years after the last installment -- back when the franchise was known as NCAA College Football -- fans were eager to return to the college football landscape. The game was a commercial success with 700,000-plus players in its first day of early access, and 2.2 million by the end. As of November 2024, EA Sports College Football 25 had become the best-selling sports video game of all time in the United States.
Despite its record-breaking sales, EA College Football still has room for improvement and it will be interesting to see which areas of the game EA has focused on during the offseason.