After a little more than 11 years, college football is returning to the virtual gridiron.

This upcoming week, College Football 25 is set to be released by EA Sports. Longtime fans of football video games have been waiting more than a decade to be able to play with their favorite college programs in this format again.

The new edition marks the first time a college football video game has been released with the use of real-life player names. So it will make the experience even more enjoyable.

Here's everything you need to know before diving into College Football 25 soon.

Release Date and Information

Deluxe Edition Release Date: Tuesday, July 16

Release Date: Friday, July 19

Cover Athletes: Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers, Colorado wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter, Michigan running back Donovan Edwards

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and Series S

Top Player Ratings

Michigan CB Will Johnson: 96

LSU LT Will Campbell: 96

Oklahoma State HB Ollie Gordon II: 96

Tennessee RE James Pearce Jr.: 95

Ohio State FS Caleb Downs: 95

Colorado WR Travis Hunter: 95

Georgia FS Malaki Starks: 95

Michigan DT Mason Graham: 95

Ohio State HB Quinshon Judkins: 95

Georgia RG Tate Ratledge: 95

Missouri WR Luther Burden III: 94

Notre Dame CB Benjamin Morrison: 94

Texas LT Kelvin Banks Jr.: 94

Arizona WR Tetairoa McMillan: 94

Clemson ROLB Barrett Carter: 94

Iowa MLB Jay Higgins: 94

Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders: 93

Georgia QB Carson Beck: 93

Ohio State WR Emeka Egbuka: 93

Georgia LOLB Mykel Williams: 93

Kentucky RE Deone Walker: 93

North Carolina HB Omarion Hampton: 93

Ohio State HB TreVeyon Henderson: 93

Minnesota LT Aireontae Ersery: 93

California HB Jaydn Ott: 93

Ole Miss DT Walter Nolen: 93

Complete player ratings can be found at EA.com.

Features

Game Modes

Of course, the mode that most fans are most excited to dive into is dynasty. Take over a college football program and serve as its head coach, offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator while playing up to 30 seasons.

Every component of college football has been accounted for in dynasty mode, including the recruiting process, which appears to be more in-depth than ever before.

Road to Glory mode is also returning in College Football 25. This is a career mode in which the user controls their student-athlete (who can be a quarterback, running back, wide receiver, linebacker or cornerback) and plays through his collegiate career. There's a lot more to it, though, than just playing games.

Like the Madden series, College Football 25 will have Ultimate Team. The mode allows users to build a team by acquiring cards and then playing challenges, head-to-head seasons and more.

Road to the College Football Playoff will allow users to try to climb the poll and take their school to a national championship. The new 12-team CFP format will be utilized.

Gameplay

A big selling point of the in-game experience are the atmospheres that users will encounter. It will feel exactly like a Saturday on campus.

According to EA Sports, the game will feature "traditional team run-outs, rivalry rituals, synchronized crowd-chants, loudness meters as well as real game-day audio, fight songs and, of course, mascots."

Two broadcast teams are featured in the game. Kirk Herbstreit and Chris Fowler will handle big games, while Jesse Palmer, David Pollack and Rece Davis will be on the call for the rest.

Players in the game will be impacted by the wear and tear system. So it will be important to manage their health by not allowing them to become fatigued. They will be affected in different areas of their body over the course of a game.

Other notable gameplay features include new in-game passing mechanics, pre-snap recognition and home-field advantage, which will make it quite difficult to go on the road and win in the most hostile environments.