In June, EA Sports teased its intention to release a new college basketball video game, marking the return of the company’s longstanding franchise for the first time since 2009. However, according to the latest reports, growing competition from rival basketball video game brand, 2K Sports, could potentially lead them to scrap the idea entirely.
EA Sports tentatively announced a soft launch date of 2028 for the return of their college basketball series, shortly after teasing the return in a social media post.
However, despite EA Sports receiving an endorsement from the Collegiate Licensing Company after both companies submitted formal bids, it appears that 2K Sports remains interested in creating a rival college basketball game.
In the days following EA Sports’ announcement of a new game, 2K Sports followed suit by teasing the possibility of its own game in their own post on social media. And behind the scenes, they began reaching out to individual schools regarding licensing deals for their new game.
Specifically, on Thursday, UCLA Athletics announced a “long-term collaboration” with 2K Sports that will “bring the rich legacy of Bruins basketball to a future project”. It is worth noting, however, that the collaboration is not an exclusive deal, which would still allow EA Sports to secure a licensing agreement with UCLA Athletics to include the program in their upcoming game as well.
While UCLA’s agreement with 2K Sports may not be a dealbreaker for Electronic Arts specifically, other schools could soon follow suit. According to Ben Portnoy of Sports Business Journal, not being able to secure the exclusivity they desire in creating their new college basketball game could lead EA Sports to scrap the idea entirely.
“Talks remain active and fluid, but should EA Sports not be able to retain the exclusivity it desires, sources caution it could potentially exit college basketball gaming altogether,” wrote Portnoy.
Portnoy noted that around 300 schools and more than 20 conferences have already opted into EA Sports’ proposal through CLC. However, considering how Electronic Arts has made it a point to share its intention with the game, which was to include every Division-1 college basketball program, there certainly seems to be at least some caution as EA Sports proceeds with how to accomplish that mission best.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.