College basketball is back in the game.
EA Sports sent a cryptic tweet on Monday that hints at the revival of its college basketball video game franchise with a targeted release in 2028, according to Extra Points.
EA Sports’ decision to revive the college basketball video series comes after the resounding success it had when it released its first college football video game in over a decade in 2024; “College Football 25” became the highest-selling video game of all time in just a matter of months after its release.
EA Sports was among the industry’s leaders in basketball gaming in the early 2000s. Its NCAA basketball games (with earlier iterations named NCAA March Madness) were discontinued in 2009. It ended its college hoops games due to multiple variables, not limited to player name, image and likeness (NIL) concerns highlighted by O’Bannon v. NCAA.
After the NCAA lifted its restrictions on players earning money through NIL on July 1, 2021, EA Sports shared that it would re-launch its college football video game series, opening the door for its college basketball game revival.
When EA Sports’ college basketball video game series returns, it’ll have a new addition to the game that the previous iteration didn’t have: women’s college basketball teams, according to The Athletic. EA Sports is planning to include all 730 Division I men’s and women’s college basketball teams in the game, as long as they opt in, The Athletic added in its report. It also reportedly plans to compensate players who are willing to lend their likeness for the game.
A PR representative for EA Sports wasn’t able to provide further details on plans for a college basketball game.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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