2K Sparks Excitement: Is the Ultimate College Hoops Game Making a Triumphant Return?

For those of us who’ve been craving a new college basketball video game, the latest news from Electronic Arts (EA) is a bit of a gut punch. After teasing hopes with their triumphant return to college football in 2024 and hinting at a college hoops series earlier this year, EA has decided to hit the brakes on their ambitious college basketball project. The reason? Rival publisher 2K Sports is entrenched in crafting its own college basketball experience, throwing a wrench into EA’s plans. While officially, no college basketball game has seen the light since 2008, recent rule shifts around name, image, and likeness (NIL) have reopened the door for gamers and athletes alike. EA was eyeing a massive lineup — think 730 men’s and women’s teams, NCAA branding, and March Madness thrills — aiming to snag a 2028 launch. But with some schools leaning toward 2K’s proposition to integrate college teams into NBA 2K, EA has quietly pulled out of the race. Meanwhile, 2K is cooking up something substantial, promising over a hundred programs and even tossing in a few surprises in the near future. All this shuffle doesn’t just rewrite the playbook for college hoops in gaming — it also signals an evolving landscape where athlete compensation and fan engagement merge in fresh, exciting ways. The saga of college basketball video games is far from over, and it’s shaping up to be one heck of a showdown. LEARN MORE

Electronic Arts’ plans for a full-fledged college basketball video game have been shelved, the company has reportedly told schools, in part because rival publisher 2K Sports is building its own CBB offering, though it remains unclear whether that product would be built into 2K’s NBA game or released as a standalone title.

Following the success of EA’s 2024 return to college football, the company teased a corresponding basketball series this June. 2K announced its own ambitions “to bring athletes and schools to life” later that same day. There hasn’t been an official college hoops game released since 2008, though recent changes to NIL and revenue-sharing regulations re-opened the door. College Football 25 was the best-selling sports video game of all-time.

EA had reportedly committed to including up to 730 men’s and women’s teams in the game as well as NCAA IP such as March Madness. According to The Athletic, EA was targeting a 2028 launch for a game that could have competed with NBA 2K for basketball gamers’ interest. However, in a memo first reported on by Extra Points, the company told programs it was unwinding development “given there are some schools choosing to accept the 2K Sports proposal for inclusion in NBA 2K.”

UCLA confirmed its participation in 2K’s project in August for both its men’s and women’s programs. On Thursday, 2K released a statement saying, “we’re working on a college basketball experience that will feature more than 100 programs. … We’ve got big plans for 2027 and beyond, and even a few surprises coming in early 2026.” It’s possible that the company could include college teams and players within its NBA 2K game—which already features WNBA players—before releasing a fuller college option either as an add-on to the existing game or a standalone purchase. Players would likely be compensated for contributing their name, image, and likeness to the game. Students appearing in this College Football 26 each received $1,500.

Extra Points reported in July that 2K’s original proposal to the College Licensing Company—which manages branding deals for most schools—centered around a limited number of teams appearing in a tournament format as a paid add-on within NBA 2K, alongside the possibility of a standalone game as early as 2030.  

“We’ve been building NBA 2K into more than a game for decades, representing all that is basketball on and off the court… and we intend to do the same for the college experience,” a 2K spokesperson said last month. 2K Games is a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive. 

MLB The Show 25, published by Sony Interactive Entertainment, took a more conservative approach to integrating college IP this year, adding eight schools that players can send their avatars to, including LSU, Texas and UCLA. A representative for EA Sports did not respond to a request for comment on the current state of their plans.