EA Sports Secretly Revives College Basketball Game – What This Means for Fans and the Future of the Sport

While talks have renewed about college basketball video games, there haven’t been many details revealed about when it would be released. Matt Brown of Extra Points reported a memo from the Collegiate Licensing Company indicated the EA Sports game would return for the 2028-29 season and would be a series released every two years with updates added in between.

It’s also renewed a possible competitor in the college basketball landscape. Not long after EA Sports teased its return, 2K Games hinted at wanting to get in the business. The publisher of the NBA 2K series made College Hoops 2K8 in 2007. In a company earnings call in July, EA Sports CEO Andrew Wilson said the company would commit to a college basketball game the same way it did in college football, bringing “iconic traditions and rivalries, and of course, March Madness.”“You’re dealing with passionate fan base who are at a special time in their lives, and then that carries with them for the rest of their life,” O’Brien said. “We felt that we really captured lightning in a bottle with college football. I think we would love to try to do the same for college basketball.”The video game company teased college sports fans in June when it teased the development of a college basketball game.It’s been a minute since college basketball graced the video game arena—over a decade, actually, since NCAA Basketball 10 hit the shelves back in ’09. But guess what? EA Sports is cooking up something that’s got fans buzzing again. They’re in the early, sweat-on-the-brow stages of plotting a grand comeback for hoops gaming, aiming to wrap every Division I men’s and women’s team into one colossal package. It’s no small feat—Sean O’Brien, EA’s VP of business development, calls it “a daunting task,” and I can’t disagree. But here’s the kicker: the triumphant revival of college football games has lit a fire under them, and they’re eager to capture that lightning-in-a-bottle magic once more, this time for March Madness and all its iconic rivalries. The plot thickens, too, with 2K Games nudging their way back into the college basketball game scene. While the release date remains a mystery, whispers suggest we might see this game hit courts around the 2028-29 season, with updates keeping the action fresh. It’s an exciting time for college hoops fans — old school meets new tech, and the game is on. LEARN MORE

“We’re up for the challenge, and we’re in the process of trying to figure out how that could come together,” said EA Sports vice president of business development Sean O’Brien.

The EA Sports executive confirmed the plan for the game would be to include all Division I men’s and women’s basketball teams, which he called “a daunting task.” But he noted the success of the company reviving the college football video game, and the overwhelming response it got from it paved way for another college sports franchise.”2K is the undisputed home of basketball gaming. We have a strong history with college hoops and are exploring exciting new ways to bring athletes and schools to life. Class is in session,” 2K Games said in a statement to USA TODAY Sports. Now, EA Sports confirmed to USA TODAY Sports it’s in the early stages of hopefully putting a game together.A college basketball video game hasn’t been made since NCAA Basketball 10, released in 2009. The series was shelved, but the success of reviving the College Football video game series led a renewed interest in bringing back one centered around March Madness.

EA Sports is “working through a strategy” to bring college basketball back into the video game world.