College Football 26 gameplay deep dive details improvements

EA Sports is taking community feedback into account for College Football 26.

Among the features inspired by community suggestions are dynamic substitutions, which allow players to swap athletes in and out without having to pause the game. Better filters help in finding the right substitution, especially in light of CFB 26's new wear and tear system.

Under this system, individual body parts of athletes can be damaged and strained during the action on the field, forcing players to make tough roster decisions and think strategically -- is this next game one where the best players can be rested to prepare them for facing their biggest rivals on their home turf? Even the weather feeds into the system.

EA's execution of this appears to be pretty clever, as players themselves will get to decide on the impact of the wear and tear system on their games. Users can tone down the damage of tackles or speed up recovery times.

The wear and tear system will not only have gameplay implications by lowering the performance of players, but also have visual effects. Based on what kind of injuries they have, athletes will be moving and behaving differently, expressing their ailments through their animations.

The role of Toughness ratings is elevated further under this system, as it not only dictates how much damage a player can take before being injured, but also influences recovery times.

CFB 26 will add 10 additional archetypes and rebalance abilities, emphasizing the importance of momentum. When a player really starts getting into the groove, they'll receive boosts to their stats and ability upgrades -- including to the powerful Heisman tier. However, momentum cuts both ways: If a player's performance is subpar, their stats and abilities can drop further. Once again, wear and tear impacts this functionality by potentially downgrading stats and abilities.

Altogether, CFB 26 features over 2,800 new plays and over 45 new formations in the available playbooks, delivering a great many more options for players.

The game also shares some improvements with Madden NFL 26, such as field vision being affected by the height of players. It will also get a major defensive play overhaul in reaction to feedback from fans.

For all the details on this area and other additions, check out the official EA blog.