Big Ten Daily (July 31): EA Sports College Football 25 Raking in Big Bucks
EA Sports' decision to relaunch its popular college football video game has been a profitable one. The new game, College Football 25, has already raked in hundreds of millions of dollars since its release on July 19.
According to Mike Straw of Insider Gaming, the game has already generated more than $500 million in revenue for the company. EA Sports believed that reaching $150 million would be considered a success.
EA has announced that College Football 25 has had over 5 million unique paid players across both PS5 and Xbox Series X|S within its first week.
— Mike Straw of Insider-Gaming.com/TWSN.net (@MikeStrawMedia) July 30, 2024
500,000 more played via EA Play Trial
The game has significantly outpaced expectations, as I've reported over the last couple weeks. pic.twitter.com/92oX6aTjEf
EA Sports halted production of the game after releasing NCAA Football 14 in July 2013. Even though it was one of the most popular sports video games the company created, lawsuits surfaced about the NCAA violating antitrust laws, prohibiting students to profit from their name, image and likeness.
With the NCAA passing NIL rules, EA Sports was able to relaunch the game and compensate players who opted in to sharing their name, image and likeness. Per On3, players who agreed to be in the game received $600 and a free copy of the video game.
More than 14,000 college football players agreed to be in the game.
Because the game had been sidelined for over a decade, many were eager to get their hands on the new version of the game. So far, more than five million unique paid players have played the game.
The Duck travels to Lincoln
Oregon coach Dan Lanning warned us that the school would have a unique marketing approach to joining the Big Ten. Apparently, taking a giant inflatable duck to Indianapolis for Big Ten Media Days was just Step 1.
Tuesday, the Oregon's mascot, "The Duck," traveled to Lincoln as Nebraska coaches and players met with reporters. It was a surprising development, as nobody seemed to know why he was in town.
The hell is the Oregon Duck doing in Lincoln, Nebraska???@BarstoolDucks @BarstoolHusker pic.twitter.com/jCR8Ug9pYS
— Barstool Big Ten (@BarstoolB1G) July 30, 2024
There are so many questions. Why was The Duck in Lincoln? Is this part of a Big Ten marketing initiative? Will he be part of the new Big Ten map commercial?
Hopefully, we get some answers. But, give some credit to Oregon, this was a fun surprise for everyone, helping us get through the final month of summer until we get to kickoff.
And for any potentially paranoid fans out there, Nebraska and Oregon will not play during the 2024 season — unless both teams compete in the Big Ten Championship Game. So, this isn't a Connor Stalions sign-stealing situation.
At least we don't think that's the case.
Related Big Ten stories
RUTGERS TABBED PLAYOFF DARK HORSE: Rutgers returns eight defensive starters, four offensive linemen and Big Ten leading rusher Kyle Monangai. Are the Scarlet Knights really a Playoff dark horse? CLICK HERE
JEDD FISCH UNDERSTANDS WASHINGTON'S TASK: Jedd Fisch talked about the challenges Washington faces as it starts from scratch in the Big Ten. It will replace 21 of 22 starters from last year's 14-1 squad. CLICK HERE
FUN THINGS FROM BIG TEN MEDIA DAYS: There were plenty of takeaways from Big Ten Media Days in Indianapolis last week. But here are some of the fun things that unfolded at Lucas Oil Stadium. CLICK HERE
DUSTIN SCHUTTE