EA Sports took their leave from college football video games quite a few years ago. There were several lawsuits that sprung up from athletes when their names and likenesses were used in the games. It was then a battle for compensation as well, which prompted EA to put their line of NCAA Football games from making a return to the marketplace. In fact, their last release into the marketplace was NCAA Football 14, which came out back on July 9, 2013.
Now we’re finding out from a report by ESPN that the game franchise will make a return and will continue to use player likenesses and names. But there is a slight new catch in how the developers would continue with game development regarding the NCAA line of titles. Today, we’re finding out that EA Sports has partnered with OneTeam, allowing players to opt-in or out of the future video games showcasing their likenesses and names.
If a player opts in, then they will be compensated for being featured in the game. It seems that a player’s number figure for compensation right now is undecided, and it very well could be divided equally among the athletes. That could further prompt some players to get their faces scanned for the game, but we’re not sure just how many players will get a scan as there are too many athletes to warrant scanning each player right now.
With that said, there is also the ability to opt out of being showcased in the games. The development studio will have a process available for those not wishing to be featured in the game and compensated for their likenesses. Instead of being featured in the game, players will be replaced by a generic avatar. So it should be interesting to see how many athletes are keen on being featured in the game or opt not to be showcased in the finished product.
At any rate, we’ll have to continue watching for any news regarding just when this next game will be available in the marketplace. We’re sure that there will be quite a few players eager to dive into the game, especially since it’s been years now since the last installment was made available. Meanwhile, we’re also curious as to if this next game will make its way to last-generation console platforms or not.
