10 Things You Should Do Before EA College Football 25 Arrives

The EA College Football 25 release date nearly here and there are some steps prospective buyers, and those who have already pre-ordered, should take before the game lands on shelves.

If you can believe it, EA’s first college football game in over a decade arrives next week. The highly anticipated release is set for July 19th on Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and PlayStation 5.

If you don’t want to wait that long, you can play up to three days early if you pre-order an upgraded bundle or subscribe to EA Play. More on that below.

If you’re planning to buy EA College Football 25 soon, or if you’re still thinking about it, we’ll take you through some tips that will help you prepare for the game’s highly anticipated launch.

Decide If You Want to Pre-Order

There are some great reasons to pre-order a copy of EA College Football 25 right now. Pre-orders come with some bonus items and there’s also that early release date.

On the other hand, there are also some reasons why you might want to hold off on a pre-order and wait.

If you’re currently on the fence, we’ve put together a guide that will take you through the best reasons to pre-order and the best reasons to wait.

If you’re current wavering, check it out. It could help you make a final decision.

Pick the Right Edition

If you haven’t pre-ordered a copy yet, but plan to, make sure you pick the right EA College Football 25 edition for your interest level and budget.

There are three versions of the game: A standard edition which is the cheapest option, a Deluxe edition with more content and an MVP bundle which also includes a copy of Madden 25.

We’ve put together a guide that will take you through the pros and cons of these editions and it should help you decide which one is right for you or the person you’re buying the game for.

Check on Your Pre-Order

If you do decide to pre-order the game, keep tabs on your order. If you periodically check your order, you’ll avoid a headache as we approach the release.

If you buy a physical copy of EA College Football 25, make sure your delivery information is up-to-date. If you move, you might forget to update your shipping address.

You’ll also want to make sure all of your payment information is correct so you don’t hit any snags when the retailer you bought the game from charges your credit card.

Most retailers charge you right away now, but some may charge when the game is preparing to ship.

Buy an External Hard Drive

EA College Football 25 may not require a 100GB download, but it will still command a large chunk of space on your console’s storage.

EA will continually update the game with enhancements and bug fixes and those patches will require space on your storage as well.

If you’re running out of space on your Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, or PlayStation 5, and/or you don’t like deleting files to make room for new games, you might want to use this time to invest in an external hard drive.

Samsung’s T5 Portable SSD is one of our favorites and you’ll also want to check out the WD My Passport 4TB.

Look for EA College Football 25 Deals

Before you pre-order the game, make sure you hunt around for deals.

There won’t be any huge price cuts, but you may be able to save money on a copy if you track deals between now and release day.

EA Play subscribers can take the usual 10% discount on a pre-order. They also get a monthly Ultimate Team Pack with their purchase.

Follow the Game on Socials

If you’re really interested in the game, and if you’re here you probably are, make sure you follow EA’s socials for the latest information about the game’s upcoming arrival.

There are two accounts you’ll want to follow: The official EA SPORTS College account and the CFB Direct account. The latter is the the home for all game updates from Developers, Live Ops, and Community Team.

Watch the Deep Dives

Just like it does with Madden, EA’s releasing deep dives that cover the game’s features and gameplay.

You can find all of these deep dives over on the official EA Sports College Football YouTube page.

Research EA Play

Some of you might want to look into an EA Play subscription. EA Play isn’t free, but a subscription nets you discounts, early release dates, a library of games to play, and more.

EA Play subscribers can take advantage of an early EA College Football release date and start playing the full version of the game up to three days before the official street date.

EA Play is $5.99 a month or $39.99 for a year. EA also offers another tier, Play Pro, which is $16.99 per month or $119.99 for the entire year.

Upgrade Your Console

If you still own an Xbox One or PlayStation 4, you’ll need to upgrade to an Xbox Series X/Xbox Series S or PlayStation 5 to play EA College Football 25.

Unfortunately, the game isn’t coming to Xbox One or PS4. The game seemingly won’t come to Nintendo Switch or Windows either.

Fortunately, the PS5, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Series S are widely available and you may be able to find a deal on one in the buildup to the game’s release.

Pre-Load EA College Football 25

If you want to play EA College Football ASAP, you’ll want to buy a digital copy. This will allow you to preload the game files before the release date in July.

If you pre-order a digital copy of the game, you can preload ahead of time and start playing as soon as the game unlocks.