Is the New NCAA Football Video Game Coming to PC? Yes, and Here‘s Why That‘s Exciting
After nearly a decade away, the beloved NCAA Football series is finally returning with NCAA Football 24 in summer 2024 – and for the first time ever, it will launch on PC platforms. This opens up the prestigious college football experience to a massive new audience and takes advantage of the power of modern gaming hardware.
A Brief History of NCAA Football Video Games
NCAA Football games date back all the way to 1993 on the Sega Genesis, with EA Sports taking over development starting with NCAA Football 98. The games featured hundreds of real college teams, stadiums, mascots, and fight songs that let players live out their college football fantasies.
Popular modes included Dynasty, allowing you to control a program for decades, and Road to Glory which let you take a created player from high school recruit to NCAA superstar. Customization was a huge draw, from creating your own player to designing uniforms and fields.
The last entry, NCAA Football 14 released in 2013 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, was considered one of the best – featuring improved gameplay mechanics like a new physics engine. However, due to legal issues surrounding player likenesses, the series was discontinued after this release.
The Triumphant Return Announcement
In February 2021, EA Sports announced a partnership with collegiate trademark licensing company CLC to officially restart development on college football games. No small feat, this involved negotiations with over 100 individual NCAA schools and conferences to license their marks and imagery in compliance with NCAA rules
EA Sports GM Cam Weber said at the time "We’ve heard from the millions of passionate fans requesting the return of college football video games." The company had likely been working on bringing NCAA Football back for years behind the scenes before securing the licensing rights to make the announcement.
Initially slated to return in Summer 2023, the release was pushed back to July 2024 to allow more development time for the coveted title.
Built for Next-Gen Consoles…and PC?
The revival was originally announced for "next generation consoles and platforms" – implying a focus on leveraging the power of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. During an October 2022 earnings call, it was reiterated the game would only be available on "next-gen platforms."
However, on February 1st, 2023 during their Q3 earnings call, EA officially confirmed NCAA Football 24 would be coming to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and PC.
This is a first for the series, which has never had a PC release before. It represents EA Sports embracing the booming PC gaming market, which is expected to hit $60 billion in 2024 according to Mordor Intelligence.
What NCAA Football 24 on PC Could Mean
Releasing NCAA 24 on PC unlocks technical potential that consoles can‘t match. Here are some of the benefits and features we could see:
Higher resolutions – The game could support upscaled 4K or even 8K graphics, far surpassing console‘s maximum 1440-2160p resolution. Crisp, ultra high-res NCAA Football? Yes please!
Uncapped framerates – Consoles are locked to 30-60 FPS. On PC, NCAA 24 could support 144Hz or more monitors for butter-smooth gameplay.
Ray tracing – Next-gen consoles have some ray tracing support, but expect PC to really show off realistic lighting and shadows with ray tracing turned up to the max.
Fast loading – High-speed NVMe SSDs on PC crush console loading times. Forget waiting, just get right into the action.
Multi-monitor support – Surround yourself with NCAA Football action across 3 monitors like being on a real sideline.
Controls options – PC offers support for keyboard and mouse if preferred over controllers.
Mod support – The modding community will likely dive into creating custom mods for NCAA 24 – new teams, stadiums, uniforms, and more.
| Platform | Resolution | Framerate | Ray Tracing? | Load Times |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PS5 | 1440-2160p | 60 FPS | Limited | Slow |
| Xbox Series X | 1440-2160p | 60 FPS | Limited | Slow |
| PC | Up to 8K | Uncapped | Yes | Fast |
The Modding Community Will Thrive
One massive benefit of releasing on PC is the ability for the modding community to tweak, customize, and expand the game in ways the developer may never do themselves.
Past NCAA Football games on console had amazing mods that let you play as new teams, gave uniforms complete makeovers, overhauled fight songs, and more.
EA Sports may even embrace this by releasing mod tools. Imagine what dedicated PC modders can do with Frostbite engine and official mod support!
Closing Thoughts and Predictions
As both a passionate college football fan and avid gamer, the news that NCAA Football 24 will come to PC excites me. The last game came out when the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 were still new – we‘ve come so far since in terms of realism and immersion. This revival paired with the power of PC gaming is a perfect match.
I predict NCAA 24 on PC will become the definitive version of the game, with higher fidelity visuals and smoother performance than consoles can provide. Support for mods will also give it incredible longevity to be enjoyed for years.
For college football gaming fans that have patiently waited years for the series to return, our patience is finally paying off. July 2024 and NCAA Football‘s triumphant comeback on the latest hardware, including for the first time ever on PC, simply can‘t get here soon enough!
