Peak excitement at EA Sports with college football rejoining Madden in gaming universe

Day 2 of EA’s preview presentation provided a chance to compare and contrast the gameplay and features of the company’s stalwart NFL title against its newest star: College Football 25.

First, the real differences: Boom Tech is not in College Football 25. The new kicking and passing meters in College Football 25 are not in Madden 25. And, just like in real life, the college game does not play the same way that the pro game does.

“It really boiled down to what our core pillars were as a game,” McLeod said. “The first and foremost piece was around gameplay. We needed to make sure we had authentic, true college football gameplay through our CampusIQ. And that’s more wide open. There are larger ratings differentials. These are college kids, these are 18-year-olds at, say, a smaller-tier school going up against a 19-, 20-year-old at a large-tier, blue-chip school. There is a large differential there versus the NFL. They are the best of the best, that’s why they’re in the NFL. There’s more parity there. There is not as much parity in college football. So we wanted to replicate that first and foremost.

“But I think, too, one of the main differentiation points is the pageantry. Those sights, sounds, traditions of what college football is all about.”

The Oregon Duck rides a motorcycle out of the tunnel at Autzen Stadium in College Football 25. The eagle flies at Auburn. Fireworks are even launched from the correct location (Murphy Mellis Field, a field hockey facility) behind Kent State’s Dix Stadium.

Developers earned one of their strongest reactions at the May presentation by showing a real-life clip of rapper Sheck Wes’ “Mo Bamba” playing during a 2019 Michigan-Penn State game, then dissolved into the same scenario recreated in the video game — with “Mo Bamba” playing in the virtual Beaver Stadium.

Yes, it was chills-inducing — precisely the reaction the college football-obsessed developers are aiming for in College Football 25.

“It’s awesome because our art director is from England,” McLeod said. “Working on this game has made him a bigger college football fan, but it’s also made him realize how close college football, rabid fandom and pageantry is to Premier League soccer.

“When you look at it through that lens, the NFL, certain stadiums have their own unique pieces but it’s not that passion, that pageantry. The stadiums aren’t as big, you’re not at a Neyland (Stadium), a Big House (Michigan Stadium) and sort of feeling that rattling and pageantry across the board. … Some of the logic pieces that we had built in the Madden game do help each other out, but the way we present it is 180 degrees different.”

Those flourishes also speak to the similarities between College Football 25 and Madden 25. The language the developers of College Football 25 used to describe their focus on authenticity and game-day atmosphere echoed comments that Madden developers made about their game a year ago, but with one key difference revolving around their internal motto: Every school is somebody’s favorite school.

And then there’s the long-desired return of a legendary feature to Madden NFL 25: TeamBuilder.

Yes, the same web-based program that will allow players to create custom schools in College Football 25 is returning to Madden, clearing the hurdles of required NFL approval to truly give players a level of customization that once only existed in their dreams — or for some, their teenage years.

TeamBuilder’s inclusion across both College Football 25 and Madden 25 stands as a shining example of the power of collaboration, and the willingness to listen to the gaming community. As Madden NFL 25 creative director Connor Dougan noted, developers “get super hyped when we see cool PC mods of Madden,” and “can’t wait to see what the millions of people create and download.”

“TeamBuilder itself has been something that has been on the list of things that people want in Madden,” Madden NFL 25 senior producer Michael Mahar told me. “And by the way, it used to be in Madden. It had been there previously, before our time. But it’s something people wanted. It was also a priority for College (Football 25). This was one of the great advantages of working on American football, the ecosystem together. We can collaborate with other really talented people to bring something that should’ve never gone away back to the players, and then grow it.”