After video game developer Electronic Arts (EA) successfully revived its college football video game, basketball fans started wondering if a college hoops title was next. But now, it looks like EA’s own strategy might be the very thing that costs them the chance to get a game on the shelves before their biggest rival.
The sports video game business remains a vibrant and vital part of the fan experience. From online competition to gatherings with friends, video game culture permeates sports at multiple levels. With that in mind, what does this potential misstep mean for the future of a college basketball title hitting the market anytime soon?
Why Is EA’s Demand for Exclusivity Costing Them the Rights to a College Hoops Game?
Like college basketball itself, the video game market can be tricky to navigate. If you draw a parallel, Electronic Arts (EA) is the dominant force in producing sports games. Under those circumstances, they are like Duke, Kansas, UConn, or North Carolina: a perennial favorite, emboldened by decades of excellence.
Meanwhile, 2K Sports, a relative upstart in comparison, garnered national attention and acclaim through its NBA 2K series. You could equate them to a Gonzaga, a program not traditionally labeled as a blueblood but one that is perennially strong and widely respected.
As mentioned, when EA reintroduced its college football title, basketball fans believed a hardwood version would be in the offing. While that could still happen, EA may have overplayed its hand. According to Matt Brown of Extra Points, the gaming giant added a special provision for schools to work with it on a potential basketball game.
“It is EA that is asking for an exclusive license,” Brown reported. “If a school indicated it’d like to work with 2K on its project, EA doesn’t want them involved. My educated guess is why EA wants an exclusive license.”
He continued, “Because it knows 2K is the incumbent industry player and can beat EA to the market in multiple years. If EA is going to assume the expense of developing a basketball title (which will be very expensive and difficult), it doesn’t want consumers to get a two-year head start with the main competition.”
Basically, Electronic Arts wants to be the only college basketball game developer. This desire for exclusivity appears to be a clear attempt to cut 2K Sports completely out of the picture.
Now, this is where things could get sticky for EA. 2K Sports effectively owns the basketball market with its popular NBA 2K series. Colleges can see not only the quality of the product but also the revenue that it generates. Furthermore, as Brown mentioned, 2K will likely produce its game much faster.
A confirmation of our earlier reporting. Look for DLC within NBA2K *before* a standalone college basketball game.
But yes, 2K sources have told me there will be college basketball content *in this year’s NBA game*. Think Feb-ish. https://t.co/RbNJxi2pWI
— Matt Brown (@MattBrownEP) September 5, 2025
Still, it has been reported that a 2K version of the game would consist of a much smaller field — around 100 teams, compared to the 300-plus existing in Division I basketball — and most would be “power” programs.
In this battle of video game giants, it is possible that two separate college basketball games will be released with no overlap. This would mean that not all Division I teams will be featured in the same title. It remains to be seen how this will all play out and whether EA will ultimately revise its stance.
