A year after it was first announced, EA’s return to college football has a release window. In an interview with ESPN, Daryl Holt, the vice president and general manager of the company’s EA Sports division, said the publisher plans to release the game in the summer of 2024. If another year-and-a-half of development sounds like a lot for what will become an annual release for EA, it’s because the company says it wants to create a title fans will want to play.

"That's the best date for us to bring the game that we think is going to meet or exceed our player expectations," Holt told ESPN. "And cover the breadth and scale of what we want in the game. We're trying to build a very immersive college football experience."

Besides announcing a release window, Holt shared some details about what the final game will look like. He said the title would feature at least 120 schools, all 10 FBS conferences and the College Football Playoff. He added that EA was working on finding a way to include real-life student-athletes in the game. “Our intent is to work towards that and find a meaningful way to include them in the game,” he said. An EA source told ESPN athletes would be compensated if they end up in the game. The final product will also feature Dynasty and Road to Glory modes – the latter allowing you to create your own player and take them through the college football process.

2024 is a long time to wait for a new college football entry, but after nearly a decade since the release of NCAA Football 14, most fans are probably happy to wait if it means EA delivers a polished game. Holt promised EA Sports would share more information about the title ahead of release.

Electronic Arts is dipping back into college football with a limited-time mode in Madden NFL 22. The Campus Legends mode features ten school teams, including rosters filled with college football icons, as well as current and former NFL stars who are alumni of those squads.

The event is available through the Superstar KO multiplayer mode. The college teams are Clemson University, University of Miami, Louisiana State University, University of Florida, University of Oklahoma, University of Texas, University of Southern California (USC), University of Oregon, University of Nebraska and Michigan State University.

EA notes Madden 22 is now the first game since 2013 to include a college football experience. The publisher announced earlier this year that it's bringing back the College Football series. The next game in the no-longer-dormant franchise is likely years away though, so college football modes in Madden might have to do the trick for now.

To mark the release of the mode, former college and NFL stars Vince Young and Reggie Bush will play against each other as their respective alma maters (University of Texas and USC). The pair faced off in the Rose Bowl in 2006, and they'll return to the Rose Bowl Stadium to repeat the matchup in Madden 22. You can watch the showdown tonight starting at 7PM ET on the NFL YouTube or Madden NFL Twitch channels.

You have a few weeks to check out Campus Legends. The mode will be available until September 27th.