College Football 25 early access may start sooner than you think.
Update: This article was originally published in 2024 and has been updated to reflect the overall success of College Football 2025.
The full release of the highly-anticipated College Football 25 video game is just around the corner, and for those who pre-ordered certain editions of the game, the early access release is coming even sooner. Here’s exactly when you can get your hands on the new game for both its early access and standard release.
When does College Football 25 Early Access begin?
The EA Sports website claims that early access for College Football 25 begins on July 16, however, when purchasing the game, many have claimed that they were prompted that early access begins on July 15 at 4 p.m. ET. This was also the case for this writer, who pre-ordered the Deluxe Edition for Xbox. So, while the EA Sports website says July 16 is when the three-day early access window begins, it may actually be the case that fans can get their hands on the game a day earlier.
As a reminder, this early access window is available for players who pre-ordered either the Deluxe Edition or the MVP Bundle. The game’s Standard Edition will be released a few days later. There are also some other perks that come along with those other pre-order options, including extra packs for your Ultimate Team and some in-game currency.
How did the launch of College Football 25 go?
Now that some time has passed since the launch of CFB 25, we can look back and see how EA handled the first college football video game in over a decade.
For the most part, the launch was as smooth as could be expected. There weren’t too many game-breaking bugs in the game, and all players could easily access it without too much interruption. While the servers did go down for brief moments, most players in the community would say that the overall launch of CFB 25 was a success.
The same can be said for the general community reaction to the game itself. With EA, you never quite know what you’re going to get, and many fans were worried that CFB 25 would simply be a cash grab for the company. To many players’ surprise, though, the game was extremely polished, featured a ton of content at launch, and saw dozens of updates throughout its life cycle.
We saw new uniforms added throughout the year based on real-life team choices, ratings were consistently updated, and most bugs were squashed within a short timeframe of being discovered. CFB 25 also maintained a high player base, which proved to EA that the franchise is set up for long-term viability. This inevitably led to the company greenlighting College Football 26, which was released in summer 2025, and College Football 27 will be following right behind it in summer 2026.
Overall, CFB 25 was a tremendous win for EA, the community, and the video game industry. It was a well-polished sports game that offered something for everyone, and it’s the primary reason we’re still seeing entries in the franchise to this day.