NCAA 22 is a game that fans have been clamoring for, and that's only heated up as news about EA Sports College Football and NCAA rules changes come out.
Whether it's a potential release date or what you can expect in the title, here's everything we know so far about NCAA 22 or EA Sports College Football.
Latest - NCAA 22 won't happen despite NIL rule change
There's no doubt that excitement about the return of the NCAA Football gaming franchise hit an all-time high when news broke that the NCAA had changed their rules against athletes making money off their NIL or name, image, and likeness.
This was one of the major hurdles preventing the continuation of the series, and the biggest roadblock to including players when the series is revived.
However, early hopes of NCAA 22 are a bit premature, and that's not a title will be seeing released this year or at any point, but that doesn't mean it's over for college sports video games.
Thanks to new leaks, we know that the series will return with EA Sports College Football 24 no earlier than July 1, 2023.
With the title change now looking official, please click here for all the latest news on EA Sports College Football 24.
Notre Dame refusing to be in EA Sports College Football
One of the biggest looming questions about EA Sports College Football (NCAA 22) has to do with which schools will be on board for the new title.
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+ 5Things have already hit their first significant roadblock, as Notre Dame Athletic Director Jack Swarbrick released a definitive statement indicating that the school and their branding will not be allowed in EA Sports College Football (NCAA 22).
However, their biggest issue was the NCAA rules on NIL (name, image, and likeness), and with that now fixed we could see Notre Dame shift course.
EA Sports College Football - NCAA 22
EA have officially revealed that the next big college football video game is currently in development!
The game, which will be the start of a new series called EA Sports College Football (rather than NCAA 22 as fans expected), has a ton of promise!
So what do we know so far?
Release Date
EA Sports College Football (NCAA 22) has no official release date as of yet. While EA Sports Vice President Daryl Holt had initially stated it wouldn't arrive until 2022, that may have ended up being an optimistic prediction.
click to enlarge + 5New reporting by Matt Brown of Extra Points is now pointing to a release date in July of 2023, and that's assuming there aren't any further delays through the next two years.
While this is a big blow to fans who are excited to get back to college football, it's a big first step after a 7 year hiatus from the NCAA college football game series.
Gameplay
We certainly have no gameplay footage of EA Sports College Football (NCAA 22) just yet, and expect that's a long ways away.
click to enlarge + 5The good news, however, is we do know the kind of game EA are currently working on.
For starters, EA Sports College Football (NCAA 22) will not have the likeness of players or personnel unless image rights are awarded to players with the overturning of NCAA rules before the game releases.
Even if the NCAA image rights discussion makes progress, it may not be in time to impact a 2023 release.
The game will, however, have FBC schools, mascots, playbooks, traditions and more.
Trailer
The next big thing we'll get about EA Sports College Football will likely be an announcement trailer.
click to enlarge + 5This would follow in line with how EA develops its sports titles FIFA, Madden, and NHL.
This trailer will likely give us our first look at gameplay footage for EA Sports College Football (NCAA 22).
While an EA Sports College Football trailer could be years away, you can check out the Madden 22 trailer to see how this year's premiere EA Sports football game is looking.
Game Modes
The NCAA game series is most known for its amazing game modes, and we have very high hopes the classics will return in EA Sports College Football (NCAA 22).
click to enlarge + 5This includes Road to Glory, a story mode focused on created players that take you through the journey from high school to NCAA football, and Dynasty mode which lets you take over college football programs and handle everything from recruiting up.
These game modes felt much more polished and entertaining than current game modes for Madden 21 like the flawed Franchise Mode and at times incoherent Face of the Franchise mode.
But while EA has some misses with the Madden series today, other more positive innovations may make their way into the EA Sports College Football (NCAA 22) game like player movement systems and abilities.
On top of that, the latest on Madden 22 indicates they've got some major plans to upgrade Franchise Mode and add new features this year.