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EA Sports has rescinded its offer to universities for a standalone college basketball game.
In a memo sent to schools, obtained by The Athletic and first reported by Extra Points, EA Sports vice president of commercial partnerships and licensing Sean O’Brien said that EA would be pulling out because some schools had decided to work with rival publisher 2K Sports in an NBA game.
“Given there are some schools choosing to accept the 2K Sports proposal for inclusion in NBA 2K, the offer to be included in a college basketball video game will unfortunately have to be rescinded,” the memo read. “Everyone at EA Sports is disappointed that we all couldn’t find an acceptable path forward, but we appreciate your support in trying to bring a standalone college basketball game with all men’s and women’s Division 1 institutions and student athletes, conferences as well as the NCAA, in a way that fans have told us they want. We really appreciate your support. Good luck with back to school and an exciting start to the football season.”
In late June, EA Sports teased that the college basketball game would return for the first time since 2009. That franchise was shelved years before “NCAA Football” because of poor sales, before the football series ended due to name, image and likeness and legal concerns. A person briefed on the situation told The Athletic the target release date for the basketball game was 2028.
The Collegiate Licensing Company, which handles branding licenses for the vast majority of schools, put out its request for proposal for a basketball video game to developers in November 2024 following the record-breaking success of College Football 25. EA Sports was the only one to confirm it would include all Division I men’s and women’s teams that opted in, which would total 730 teams, as well as NIL money for players on each team in a standalone game. The proposal would give “exclusive (action simulation) rights” for basketball to EA Sports.
The CLC recommended the EA proposal to schools because it would include everyone. The plan would’ve been similar to football, running NIL through OneTeam Partners, and EA would’ve explored similar features to the college football game, like Dynasty Mode, Team Builder, Road to Glory and Ultimate Team.
Later that day in June, 2K Sports hinted it also planned to involve itself with college basketball, saying in a statement to The Athletic, “2K is the undisputed home of basketball gaming. We have a strong history with college hoops and are exploring exciting new ways to bring athletes and schools to life. Class is in session.”
Sports Business Journal reported last week that some schools were weighing an offer for their individual involvement in an NBA 2K game. Without securing exclusive rights, EA Sports has backed out. 2K Sports has not published a standalone college basketball game since 2008, also due to poor sales, and their plans don’t appear to immediately involve one.
Representatives for EA Sports and 2K Sports did not respond to requests for comment on Thursday.
(Photo: Stacy Revere / Getty Images)
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