Electronic Arts has announced college football is coming back to EA Sports – just don't expect to play the game any time in the near future.

New documents circulating online (thanks, Gamespot) seem to suggest that the next-gen sports title might not hit the shelves until as late as July 2023.

Matt Brown, college sports reporter extraordinaire, has managed to obtain records from the Collegiate Licensing Company (CLC) that pins the EA Sports release window to summer 2023.

NEWS:

According to internal documentation from CLC that I obtained via Open Records request, the CLC told FBS institutions that EA Sports intends to release the new video game in "July of 2023".

— Matt Brown (@MattBrownEP) March 11, 2021

A lot more information about the game is included in Brown's report that you need to subscribe to in order to read.

It seems the EA Sports project really is still in the infancy at the moment, but it's nice to see the publisher taking it seriouisly. The new franchise promises to deliver authentic college football experiences and high-quality gameplay and via the CLC partnership, the franchise will include the rights to more than 100 institutions featuring the logos, stadiums, uniforms, gameday traditions, and more – but student likenesses and names likely won't be featured. EA hasn't announced platforms for the game yet, but expect it to appear on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.

“We’re very excited to collaborate with EA SPORTS to bring back the college football franchise, one of the most popular collegiate licensed products in our history,” said Cory Moss, CLC CEO back when the EA/College football deal was announced in February.

“The college football video game connects passionate fans to college brands and introduces new fans to the storied traditions, excitement, and game-day experience that make college football unique.”