College Football 25, EA Sports' much-anticipated return to college football video games, is already making waves. Although the official release is set for Friday, players who pre-ordered the Deluxe Edition or MVP Bundle gained early access starting Monday at 1 pm PT / 4 pm ET. The game attracted over 700,000 players on its first day of early access.
(Photo : Electronic Arts / Screenshot taken from the official website.)
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Massive Player Engagement
Reports from various users on social media platform X showed impressive engagement numbers. YouTuber Bordeaux shared an image on his account, revealing that over 700,000 players were online playing College Football 25. This number only includes players with online accounts on Xbox Live or PlayStation Network, excluding those playing offline. The high player count led to server issues as the game struggled to accommodate the influx.
The game's early access period is limited to those who bought the Deluxe Edition or MVP Bundle, making the 700,000 players even more notable. The official release is expected to draw even more players once it becomes widely available.
Impact on Console Sales
Interestingly, the game's early access appears to have influenced console sales. X user @Welfare_JBP posted a screenshot indicating that Walmart sold over 1,000 Xbox Series S consoles on Monday. The Xbox Series S is one of the platforms College Football 25 is available on, as EA Sports did not release the game for PC or older-generation consoles. Walmart's listing for the 1TB all-black Series S model showed continued high demand, with over 200 people having the console in their shopping carts.
In a related post, Mat Piscatella, Executive Director and Video Game Industry Advisor at Circana, noted that many prominent MLB The Show content creators were streaming College Football 25. This occurred on the same day as the MLB Home Run Derby and right after a major content update for MLB The Show 24, highlighting the significant attention College Football 25 is drawing from the gaming community.
College Football 25 will officially launch worldwide on July 19. For more details, EA Sports has provided deep dives into the game's Dynasty mode, Road to Glory, and College Ultimate Team. In the meantime, players can look forward to more updates and insights as the release date approaches.
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