EA Sports College Football 25 Sells 2.2 Million Copies for $100 1

It’s nothing new in the games industry, but it’s probably something you’re going to see a lot more: an eye-watering 2.2 million people coughed up $99.99 to purchase EA Sports College Football 25’s Deluxe Edition, which launched three days early, on 16th July. The game is available for everyone from today, 19th July.

Of course, we should probably stop calling this Early Access, because it’s not really. The launch date for EA Sports College Football 25, regardless of what the executives tell you, was 16th July – it’s just peasants purchasing the standard edition have been forced to wait an additional three days. You’re going to see more and more publishers adopt this strategy moving forwards.

It should be noted that the Deluxe Edition does come with some additional in-game content on top of the earlier release date, so there’s inherent value there – but clearly the push for $69.99 games hasn’t been enough, and publishers are finding crafty ways to drive those prices higher. We’re sure Rockstar is going to make a killing when it inevitably follows the same strategy for GTA 6 next year.

Back on topic, though, the enthusiasm for EA Sports College Football 25 is incredible, and it tagged on another 600,000 players prior to its official launch through subscription EA Play. These are staggering numbers, and you’re probably going to see the game absolutely explode over the weekend. Circana analyst Mat Piscatella said this “may indeed be the mass market breakout hit this console gen really needs”.

The interesting thing about this game is that, while these numbers are extraordinary, its success is likely to be centralised in a single country. While American football has gained in popularity throughout Europe over the past decade, resulting in regular competitive games in London and Munich, the fascination predominantly revolves around the NFL as opposed to the college leagues.

[source ign.com, via x.com]