80
EA Sports College Football 26 refines the series’ return with noticeable improvements to gameplay, Dynasty, and Road to Glory. Controls feel more responsive, animations are smoother, and the authentic college atmosphere shines through stadiums and traditions. Issues like conservative AI, slow menus, and lack of servers in some regions remain, but overall this is a solid and immersive step forward that reinforces confidence in the franchise’s future.
76
EA Sports College Football 26, especially patched up, will definitely get you ready for this year's IRL college football season. But I can't shake the feeling like it slipped a half-step or two. The honeymoon period is over. Let's see how they respond.
85
EA Sports College Football 26 is a natural but significant evolution from its successful return. With more rivalries, varied gameplay, a deeper Dynasty Mode, and the most immersive setting in the series, it solidifies itself as the king of digital college football.
8
Can have a steep price, but the overall scale and traditions represented for each respective college will always provide plenty of enjoyment. Unfortunately, the game is held back by the opposing team's AI making extremely stupid decisions and the occasional glitch.
2
Game is completely scripted. Don't believe me? Play a game where nothing is going rright, quit, then play again. Kickoffs fielded at the 5 get stopped at the 19. When the game decides it wants you to lose, you lose. Game is trash for the same price every year. Can't wait for the same thing next year for the same price with the same issues.
0
Very dissapointed so far. My favorite mode in the CFB 25 was solo battles in CUT. I was dissapointed to see that this mode was removed. The new Study Hall mode just seems like a needlessly simplified and less customizable version of solo battles. In solo battles I could set the difficulty depending on my mood in the moment, if I just wanted to relax and ram my players into the opposing teams defense on a low difficulty, that was an option and a fun one for me, but if I wanted to play a more serious game and actually use my brain, that was too! In CFB26 I feel locked into “trying”, which I understand may be, and likely is, what most players enjoy, still, I don’t see the reason to limit my ability to not try if that’s what my heart desires. It’s also obnoxious that I have to pay to keep playing the mode? So if I don’t have coins I have to buy them from the shop. Obnoxious. I also don’t enjoy the new progression, it feels incredibly slow compared to CFB25. I am not earning nearly as many packs in 26 as I would In CFB 25 (which was itself less than madden 24) Its hard not to feel like the reason for this is just a desire to encourage paying for packs. What makes me really dislike this game is the fact that I “earned” a premium only **** is obnoxious that I should have to pay to have an even comparable level of progression to CFB 25 I know this is not the only game to do this, but at least when I “earn” a premium reward in fortnite it’s straightforward, and the games main form of monetization, not to mention fortnite is free. EA expects me to not only pay $70 for the game, but then to spend money on a premium pass every season to earn packs where I MIGHT get a player I want, and then also buy more packs on top of that.I want to play a football game, not gamble, I have never spent a cent on packs or passes, and I never will. All this has done is remove any desire I had to play this game. I’m sure I’m just beating a dead horse, but i’m really dissapointed and sad, I was looking forward to this game, but now it’s ruined for me.
EA Sports College Football 26
Released On:
Jul 10, 2025
Metascore
Generally Favorable
82
User score
Generally Unfavorable
4.6
My Score
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All Platforms
Metascore
Generally Favorable
91% Positive
21 Reviews
21 Reviews
9% Mixed
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Jul 17, 2025
100
College Football 2026 is sport gaming perfection, a marriage made in heaven on the PS5 Pro. Amazingly, EA improved in every way on an already outstanding title.
Aug 7, 2025
85
EA Sports College Football 26 is a natural but significant evolution from its successful return. With more rivalries, varied gameplay, a deeper Dynasty Mode, and the most immersive setting in the series, it solidifies itself as the king of digital college football.
User score
Generally Unfavorable
34% Positive
34 Ratings
34 Ratings
12% Mixed
12 Ratings
12 Ratings
54% Negative
53 Ratings
53 Ratings
Jul 25, 2025
10
I loved this game. The vast variety of updates from last year made this game very engaging! I also liked how they added a whole new set of plays!
Jul 25, 2025
10
The game is quite fun! Although the AI can use improvement, it still holds through. Very fun edition this year!
Jul 17, 2025
85
College Football 26 is a triumphant, if imperfect, return to the gridiron. It successfully captures the spirit, passion, and strategic depth that make college football the beloved institution it is. The core gameplay is fantastic, and the immersive Dynasty Mode provides hundreds of hours of rewarding team-building. While marred by repetitive commentary and a smattering of intrusive bugs, the foundation here is rock-solid. For fans of college football, it’s an essential purchase. It’s still not a flawless champion just yet, but its potential to build a long-lasting dynasty is undeniable.
Jul 31, 2025
80
At the end of the day is College Football 26 a bad release? Absolutely not; it’s a great football game and it is better than the previous release. But for all the fans that jumped in last year for the return of the college football franchise, it’s a tough sell to say here’s a new game for $70 and it’s worth your money. For fans that didn’t jump in last year, I can’t recommend College Football 26 enough, but for all the gamers who picked up CF 25 I just can’t bring myself to give this my stamp of approval as the resident football reviewer for Gaming Age.
Jul 16, 2025
80
Despite the occasional flaw, College Football 26 builds upon its solid foundations to graduate near the top of its class. This is a fantastic football game that revels in the singularity of the college experience, from the pageantry, traditions, and electric atmosphere of each school on game day, through to the recruitment process, and the myriad heated rivalries between its 136 teams. After a hugely successful comeback, EA Sports College Football 26 furthers the series' upward trajectory, making for one of the greatest shows on turf.
Jul 14, 2025
80
A strong outing for the rebooted college football series, with revamped coaching systems and a polished presentation that elevate the experience.
Jul 16, 2025
70
College Football 26 is a very good college football video game, but I don’t think it’s a great one; I’m pretty choosy when I use that word. This year’s version walks a little taller, looks a little more toned, and has better footwork than last year’s model. It has put in the work in the off-season, but there’s still more to be done. Proper teaching tools aren’t here yet (for the love of God, EA, please, so my friends can play this game without spending days of their lives on YouTube), and Road to Glory and Dynasty still need meaningful changes. But Dynasty is at least compelling enough, and the on-field game still has it where it counts. You can tell the College Football team is listening, and that it cares. EA has avoided the sophomore slump, but like any college football fan will tell you, you don’t build a Dynasty off a couple good seasons alone. You have to build for the future. College Football 26 is a step in that direction, but EA will have to keep at it if they want this series to be up there with the all-time greats. You’ve got potential, kid, and you’re better than last year. What matters now is if you can take that leap (you know, the one we’re all expecting you to) next season.
Jul 20, 2025
10
Wow, what a difference a year makes! The presentation this year is amazing! Better crowds, more life, better lighting and the bands are absolutely incredible. Dynasty gameplay, finally a game that plays like real football! Last season, way too many interceptions, solution, run to the outside. In my experience, most teams played very similarly on CFB 25. All of this is fixed! Having to really mix it up on offense, adapt to a less than stellar o line with quicker plays. You cannot abuse outside runs, you are forced to read the defense and run accordingly. Passing, fantastic, very real stats so far. Absolutely love dynasty mode this year! Graphics and sound, the lighting is such a huge improvement! Much better looking game and much better animations and tackling. The bands, the sounds, love it!
Sep 1, 2025
7
Some improvements over CFB25 but comes with annoying bugs and glitches that I already encountered in the first hour of playing it. Gameplay is definitely smoother than 25 and less laggy in the menus and AI defense doesn't make crazy no-look interceptions or such like before.
Sep 27, 2025
6
EA Sports FC 26 arrived with the promise of evolution, but in practice, it falls far short — especially for those who already played FC 25. The overall feeling is that this is just a minimal annual update, with very few real changes and an overemphasis on surface-level **** gameplay remains almost identical to last year’s, with only a few minor adjustments that don’t significantly impact the experience. There’s no real revolution in passing, shooting, or player movement systems. The result feels more like an expansion of FC 25 rather than a true new **** graphics are also disappointing. While there’s a slight improvement in lighting and some details in kits and stadiums, the visual leap is barely noticeable, especially considering we’re in the current console generation. Many players still have generic facial expressions and repetitive animations — something EA had promised to fix but didn’t deliver **** Ultimate Team, EA once again focused heavily on microtransactions, adding a few small updates to the card system and seasonal events, but failing to address long-standing issues like unbalanced matchmaking and the strong “pay-to-win” feel. Meanwhile, Career Mode and Clubs received such minor changes that they feel purely cosmetic, lacking any meaningful new **** short, EAFC 26 doesn’t justify the full price of a new game. It feels much more like “FC 25.5”, with a new skin and a handful of additions. For those who already own FC 25, the upgrade isn’t worth it — unless you’re a die-hard fan or simply want updated rosters.Pros:Updated rosters and a few new licenses.Slight improvements in ball physics and movement.Some small quality-of-life additions to Ultimate Team events.Cons:Very few gameplay changes.Stagnant graphics, underwhelming for the current generation.Career Mode and Clubs are almost identical to last year.Heavy focus on microtransactions in Ultimate Team.Final Score: 6.0/10A competent game, but lacking innovation. For those expecting a real evolution, EAFC 26 is a major disappointment.
Aug 12, 2025
4
There has been some slight improvements to customization some new animations, but outside of that gameplay is still atrocious with the frostbite engine on top of that just for example, and rolled to glory you have goals, not completing you have coaches glitching out on the sideline there’s clearly a lot wrong with the animations in this game. I do not know how EA was able to regress in a year, but I would highly recommend that you do not waste your money on this game.
Jul 17, 2025
4
Cons: Compared to last year’s edition, this game is a big let down. The overall quality of the gameplay is a step down. The AI logic is worse, the blocking, pursuit angles, and defensive zones play out with more egregious outcomes. The addition of BoomTech makes the game feel clunky and you will see a lot of rag doll moments from the players. The annimation blending is terrible, most of the time when its 3 or more players trying to interact, their annimations cancel eachother out andeach player ends up not obeying the laws of physics at all. The metas in this game are based off nurfed user imput, the DBs have a worse reaction to balls in the air so jump balls are favorable to WRs and throws into double coverage arn’t punishable at a high enough rate. Theres bugs in the game that force busted coverages, and onside kicks are favorable to the kicking team due to poor AI response. There is also missing equipment options so it makes the players look a lot like how they did in CFB 25. Pros: The sights and sounds are a step up from last year. The overal presentation of the game really makes it feel like a college saturday. Stadium atmosphere took a step forward as a whole.
SummaryBring Glory Home in EA SPORTS™ College Football 26 and experience the world of college football. Whatever path to greatness you choose, from high school recruit to the Heisman, or as a coach, you can forge your legacy.
Rated Efor Everyone
Platforms:
- PlayStation 5
- Xbox Series X
Initial Release Date:Jul 10, 2025
Developer:
Publisher:
