Jeremiah Smith, Ryan Williams on cover of EA Sports College Football ’26
EA Sports chose Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith and Alabama’s Ryan Williams to be on the cover of College Football ’26. We talk to the athletes about what this moment means to them.
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 should be 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 dives, 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.”
