EA Sports is wasting no time getting College Football 27 Ultimate Team moving. With early access beginning Thursday for MVP+ members, Season 1 arrives with a full slate of player reveals, new programs and a revamped progression setup that marks a major change from last year.
The biggest names are easy to spot. Bo Jackson, Richard Sherman, Tavon Austin, Brian Bosworth and Drew Bledsoe are all part of the Legends program, which will include more than 100 former college stars available from Day 1 of early access.
But the bigger shift is underneath the cards themselves. EA Sports rebuilt Ultimate Team around a new upgrade system that changes how rosters are developed and managed ahead of the worldwide launch on July 9.
At the center of that overhaul is Skill Points, now the currency for nearly every major progression choice. Players can spend them to unlock Dynamic Upgrade Paths, raise individual attributes, add ability slots and equip chemistries. Compared with previous versions, the system is designed to give players far more control over how cards evolve.
Those Dynamic Upgrade Paths are built around position archetypes, so two players at the same spot with similar overall ratings can grow in very different directions. A halfback on an East/West Playmaker path gets boosts to acceleration, change of direction and juke ratings.
A Contact Seeker halfback takes a different route, with upgrades to trucking, break tackle and stiff-arm. It adds a layer of strategy that College Football 26 never really had.
EA also gave players a way to respec items completely, wiping upgrades and returning spent Skill Points in just a few clicks. That removes one of the more tedious parts of last year’s system.
The early-access content drop comes with some heavyweight cards. Bo Jackson leads the Sunday Spotlight program as the first Showcase Player, available as an 86 OVR Limited-Time card and an 85 OVR Champion version. Devin Hester is the top card in Sunday Spotlight at launch at 88 OVR.
The Legends program, which launches July 7, will add 107 Core Legends to the pool. The list includes Ed Reed, Dan Marino, Joe Montana, Marshawn Lynch, Chad Johnson and Ronnie Lott. Each Legend carries an Era Chemistry label - Classic, Millennium or Modern - along with dynamic upgrades and individual objectives.
Richard Sherman and Drew Bledsoe both come in with 86 OVR Limited-Time cards, while DeMarcus Ware, Michael Crabtree and Brian Bosworth are 85 OVR Legends Champions.
Season 1’s highest-rated cards also include the Scheme Masters program, where Manti Te'o of Notre Dame and Todd Gurley of Georgia are both 88 OVR. Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith is the top-rated current player at launch with an 87 OVR All-Season card.
With Countdown running through July 9, Cornerstones debuting July 8 and the Legends drop landing July 7, College Football 27 Ultimate Team will have six different programs out before the game even reaches its worldwide release date.
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