Fans may have to pump the brakes on the EA Sports College Basketball game. Just days after EA Sports’ Vice President of Business Development Sean O’Brien said that EA was “up for the challenge” on building a game, a new report suggests that the game has hit a snag.
Sports Business Journal (SBJ) reports that schools are “weighing with rival video game developer 2K Sports for a separate product.”
According to the report, one of the big issues involves EA Sports’ proposal, including an exclusivity license. EA’s College Basketball game was planned to be the only “action simulation” college basketball game, and involved all Division 1 men’s and women’s programs.
Though talks remain “active and fluid”, there is the potential that EA Sports walks away from the game altogether if it can’t retain the exclusive license.
Insider Gaming had been working on a similar story ahead of SBJ’s report dropping, and can corroborate that 2K has continued to become a serious contender for the rights to college basketball. As reported in the past, 2K Sports believes it can turn around a standalone game more quickly than EA, due to its already built-in engine used for the NBA 2K franchise.
Those who spoke under the condition of anonymity believe that, if 2K wanted to and a deal was reached with schools, a game could come by 2027, at the earliest.
Said one source on Thursday, “Once EA put out the announcement, it lit a fire to increase the push and try and get something done.”
Originally, 2K’s proposal to the College Licensing Company called for a non-exclusive license that would see College Basketball be added to NBA 2K in the form of DLC. This DLC, as per the proposal, would initially start with limited teams before expanding each year, potentially culminating in a full college basketball game should it reach certain milestones.
This standalone game would likely not include every Division 1 program, and instead focus on larger schools, with “more than 100 men’s and women’s teams that would all receive ‘fair market value’ as well for their NIL”.
One program already aboard with 2K is UCLA, which announced on Thursday that it had signed a deal with the publisher.
“We’re excited to confirm we’ve entered into non-exclusive long-term partnerships with multiple elite colleges, including UCLA with more to be announced soon, as we embark on a new college basketball project,” a representative from 2K told SBJ. “We’ve been building NBA 2K into more than a game for decades, representing all that is basketball on and off the court along with basketball culture at-large. It’s a platform driving the sport and culture forward, and we intend to do the same for the college experience too. We look forward to sharing more about our plans for our college basketball project in the future.”
In a statement, the NCAA said that it was “negotiating a comprehensive licensing agreement” that would benefit both men’s and women’s student athletes.
“[While] the NCAA remains open to working with a gaming partner to do that, it appears the market has chosen to go in a different direction for the time being,” the organization said.
2K’s interest in a college basketball game, along with EA’s, was first reported in December 2024.
Insider Gaming has reached out to EA and 2K for comment on the latest report surrounding the future of College Basketball games. Should a response be received, it will be added to this story.
Mike has been covering the gaming industry since 2012, and has reported on some of the largest events in the industry while also working as an investigative reporter. Outside of…
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