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Sorry, CBB video game fans — an EA vs. 2K standoff is ruining Kentucky’s virtual title dreams

Updated Aug. 29, 2025, 10 p.m. by Wazzu Watch 1 min read

Right in the heat of pre-College Football 26 hype, just days before the second-annual edition of the video game reboot was released, EA Sports dropped an atomic bomb on ravenous fans.

Not only was the college football game ready to roll ahead of the 2025 season, but a college basketball game was also finally in the works for the first time in 16 years.

NCAA Basketball 2010 was the final release, and now, nearly two decades later, another was coming in 2028.

Bring the Madness.

Lets run it back, EA Sports announced.

Bring the Madness.

Lets run it back.

#CBB #ItsInTheGame pic.twitter.com/iBNhGxn2yj 2028 is a heck of a wait, but for the game we all know and love to return, wed do whatever it took.

Mark Pope will be on his third championship coaching at Kentucky by then, but we need to see it in virtual form, too.

Then came this weeks news, Ben Portnoy of Sports Business Journal breaking the sad news that even 2028 may be too soon for the series revival.

And its because 2K yes, the same folks in charge of the popular NBA video game series, along with PGA, NHL and WWE, plus Bioshock, Borderlands and others wants in, too.

Or all of it? Part of it? More of it than EA Sports wants to give up? Thats the question of the hour.

In short, EA Sports wants exclusive rights for an all-inclusive college basketball game while 2K wants only the biggest brands to participate in a narrower focus.

The approach weve proposed is to create a game that includes all 350-plus NCAA Division I schools both mens and womens teams included with name, image and likeness compensation for all athletes, 32 conferences, the NCAA and all things that make March Madness the most exciting month of sports and all the traditions and pageantry fans love, EA Sports VP/Business Development Sean OBrien told Sports Business Journal in a statement.

Just as weve done with EA Sports College Football, we want to take the same inclusive approach that represents every school and athlete in an experience that truly delivers for fans of the sport.

As for 2K Sports, it appears theyre moving forward with their own thing potentially as an extension of the NBA 2K series rather than an expanded standalone like EA Sports would prefer.

Were excited to confirm weve entered into non-exclusive long-term partnerships with multiple elite colleges, including UCLA with more to be announced soon, as we embark on a new college basketball project, a 2K spokesperson told SBJ.

Weve been building NBA 2K into more than a game for decades, representing all that is basketball on and off the court along with basketball culture at-large.

Its a platform driving the sport and culture forward, and we intend to do the same for the college experience too.

We look forward to sharing more about our plans for our college basketball project in the future.

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As for the NCAA, there is a real question as to whether theyd be willing to agree to a limited release, instead previously negotiating a comprehensive licensing agreement that benefitted mens and womens student-athletes from all Division I schools.

While the NCAA remains open to working with a gaming partner to do that, it appears the market has chosen to go in a different direction for the time being, the NCAA told SBJ.

The bad news? Talks remain active and fluid, but should EA Sports not be able to retain the exclusivity it desires, sources caution it could potentially exit the college basketball gaming altogether, Portnoy reports.

That would kill our dreams of a full March Madness experience with all 350 schools competing to cut down the nets, but if youre looking for a positive, Kentucky should be safe regardless as the biggest brand in the sport.

Youd still get to compete as your favorite players with Pope on the bench, but it just wouldnt be the same full experience.

Get it together, guys.

Figure something out and let the kids (young or old) play.

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