Trailer for 'College Football 26' released, with game to include real-life coaches

After a successful first relaunch in 2024, the newest installation of EA Sports' "College Football" video game series will be back in full force this summer with some tweaks and changes.

The trailer for "College Football 26" was released on Thursday, displaying some of the changes EA Sports made to the game following "College Football 25." Arguably, the biggest change in the game is that real coaches will be involved for the first time ever in the series. Over 300 current college football coaches, including assistants, lent their likeness for EA Sports to use in "College Football 26," according to a release.

The release didn't share all of the coaches who agreed to be a part of "College Football 26." However, Notre Dame's Marcus Freeman, Ohio State's Ryan Day and Texas' Steve Sarkisian were seen in the trailer, while Penn State's James Franklin, Oregon's Dan Lanning and Georgia's Kirby Smart were among those named in the release.

For the second straight year, thousands of players have agreed to lend their likeness for the "College Football" video game series. There will be over 2,8000 new plays and "unique schemes" added to "College Football 26" from last year's game. The Wear and Tear feature also underwent changes, allowing users to "manage fatigue strategically and save your favorite playmakers for key moments with Dynamic Substitutions that allow you to rotate players in and out on the fly."

In terms of game atmosphere, EA Sports also enhanced the Stadium Pulse feature for "College Football 26." In the newest edition of the game, there will be a more intense camera shake, new heads-up display visuals and a clock distortion that will force users to the high pressure of playing on the road at a hostile environment. Rivalry games, the College Football Playoff and high-stakes matchups will also be more impacted by Stadium Pulse.

Other game features include the return of the Trophy Room (which shows all the trophies and accomplishments a user has won while playing the game) and Cross-Play across Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5 in Dynasty Mode.

Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith and Alabama wide receiver Ryan Williams were named as the cover athletes for the standard version of "College Football 26" on Tuesday. The deluxe version of the video game includes a few more star players (such as Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik and LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier), coaches (such as Day and Smart), legends (Reggie Bush, Tim Tebow, Denard Robinson) and mascots, along with Smith and Williams.

"College Football 26" will be available for purchase on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S on July 10. The game can also be preordered now through the EA Sports MVP bundle, which includes the deluxe versions of "College Football 26" and "Madden 26," granting three-day early access to both games.

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