If you’ve been deprived of college football in your game console for almost a decade (because let’s face it, reality just doesn’t match up), brace yourselves for some welcome news. The much-loved spectacle, with its peculiar blend of elephant mascots, confetti snowstorms, and eye-watering tuition fees, is bouncing back onto your screens with the imminent release of EA Sports College Football 25.

As with anything NCAA related, the release schedule is a little more complex than a triple option fake punt reverse play. EA Sports College Football 25 is geared up for a grand entrance on Friday, July 19, across PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. Though EA has yet to spill the beans on the precise hour of kick-off, rest assured we’re all ears and will relay the intel as soon as the VA whistle blows.

Insatiable fans yearning for the gridiron before the official start can pull a fast one by pre-ordering the Deluxe Edition of the game. Marching towards the National Championship can be in full swing by Monday, 15 July at 4 p.m. ET if you snatch up the Deluxe version before the July 18 deadline. For those living in different time zones, don’t fear – we’ve decoded the schedule for you:

• 1 p.m PDT on July 15 for the west coast of North America
• 4 p.m. EDT for our friends on the east coast
• A pre-bedtime date of 9 p.m. BST for the U.K sports fanatics
• 10 p.m. CEST for the night owls across West Paris/Europe
• 5 a.m. JST on July 16 for the Tokyo gaming community – nothing like some EA Sports College Football 25 with your sushi breakfast, right?

A Deluxe Edition of the game comes generously packed with a bonanza of Ultimate Team goodies – think Alma Mater Ultimate Team Pack, a Cover Athlete Ultimate Team Pack, a Bring Glory Home Ultimate Team Uniform, and a neat little pile of 4,600 College Football Points (the game’s Ultimate Team currency). All this swag can be yours for a cool $99.99 on both PS5 and Xbox Series X.

You may wonder just what to expect as College Football 25 dusts off the virtual turf after a decade-long hiatus, and you’d be right to. This is no Madden-reincarnate, folks. Dispelling that notion is a 20-minute gameplay video peppered with unique features and settings that make you question if you’re really not packed amidst a crowd of over-excitable, paint-smeared undergraduates in Penn State’s White Out game.

You won’t lack for game modes in EA Sports College Football 25, either. The software firm’s classic offerings – from Ultimate Team to Dynasty and Road to Glory – have been spruced up, allowing you to chart your very own player’s college career trajectory, with nothing less than the Heisman Trophy in firm sight. Football’s home, folks, and it’s more high-def than ever. Bursting with fresh features, it’s the digital encounter you’ve been craving since the Madden’s not-so-little cousin went on its ten-year retreat.