The tagline for EA Sports has been, "If it's in the game, it's in the game."
Well, EA Sports is no longer in the game of college football.
The game design company announced on Thursday that the edition of their popular college football game released last month, would be the last game in the series.
According to a statement posted on the EA Sports web site by Cam Weber, the general manager of American Football:
Today I am sad to announce that we will not be publishing a new college football game next year, and we are evaluating our plan for the future of the franchise. This is as profoundly disappointing to the people who make this game as I expect it will be for the millions who enjoy playing it each year.
Weber mentions the fact that the NCAA and several conferences (the SEC, the Pac-12 and the Big Ten in particular) withdrew support for the game this summer. EA Sports did reach a licensing agreement with the Collegiate Licensing Company, but that deal was apparently not enough to ensure the game's survival.
Additionally, hours after EA Sports made their statement, it was announced that the game giant had reached an agreement with the players in three different class actions suits related to their avatars in the series. That settlement agreement, according to USA Today, means that tens of millions of dollars may be distributed to thousands of players.
By settling the lawsuit in conjunction with CLC, this means that the NCAA is the lone remaining defendant in the Keller-O'Bannon court case. The NCAA has declared that they are willing to fight the case and any decisions related to the case all the way to the Supreme Court.
