College basketball video game details: What to know about EA Sports' plans for NCAA hoops reboot

Last summer, EA Sports' "College Football 25" dominated the video game space as fans were overjoyed with the return of the video game. Now, it appears that much success is having ripple effects across the industry.

EA Sports on Monday announced it next plans to bring back a college basketball video game in the near future. It has been over 15 years since the last college basketball video game, and that drought has potentially increased the demand for a new version.

Here's the latest on the potential return of a college basketball video game:

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EA Sports college basketball video game details

After successfully rebooting the college football video game, EA Sports is expected to bring back a college basketball video game that features both men's and women's teams, Matt Brown first reported.

Between 1997 and 2009, EA Sports released a version of NCAA Basketball each year with some of the most popular college basketball players of the year on the cover. The series was discontinued in 2010, in large part due to the fact that players weren't getting paid residuals from the game's profits along with the game not being totally popular.

Now that NIL allows players to be paid, EA Sports is back in the college sports business. According to Brown, those in charge of a college basketball video game didn't consider making a new one until after EA Sports College Football 25 proved to be a huge hit.

The College Licensing Company (CLC) reportedly sent a memo to college conference offices that revealed it first proposed a new college basketball game in November of last year. While Brown reports that five companies showed interest and three filed official bids, the CLC recommends EA Sports be the one to bring back the game in 2028.

On social media, EA Sports hinted that it was getting back into the college basketball game.

Bring the Madness. Let’s run it back. #CBB #ItsInTheGame pic.twitter.com/iBNhGxn2yj

While the NCAA will be a licensing partner in the game's creation, Brown reports that "NCAA" will not appear in the title of the game, similar to EA Sports' college football game. Brown added that the working title is EA Sports College Basketball, although that isn't official.

When will college basketball video game come out?

• Release date: 2028 (expected)

College basketball fans will still need to wait a few years. EA Sports is anticipated a 2028 launch.

Last college basketball video game

The last time there was a college basketball video game was in 2009, when EA Sports released NCAA Basketball 10 as the 13th iteration of the game, as the first 11 were named NCAA March Madness. For 2K Sports, the last college basketball game was College Hoops 2K8 in 2007, which was one of several versions that were released in the 2000s.

However, licensing issues forced the companies to shut down production of the games in 2010 along with the college football games.