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EA Sports cancels 2014 college football game, is evaluating series' future [Update: EA settles lawsuit]
Electronic Arts has canceled its college football game, originally set to publish in 2014. EA Sports GM of American Football Cam Weber wrote in an EA blog that the publisher is "evaluating our plan for the future of the franchise." The news follows the NCAA's decision to not renew its licensing partnership with EA Sports in July, leading the publisher to move forward in a three-year deal with the Collegiate Licensing Company to create college football games without the NCAA names and marks. EA Sports' last published game in the series was NCAA Football 14. Weber notes that the publisher has "been stuck in the middle of a dispute between the NCAA and student-athletes who seek compensation for playing college football," referencing a string of lawsuits, including that of former Nebraska quarterback Sam Keller that began in May 2009. Weber says that while EA has worked to settle these legal issues, college football conferences such as the SEC, Big Ten and Pac-12 withdrew their support for the upcoming game. "Our decision does not affect our commitment to NCAA Football 14 and the consumers who love playing the game," Weber adds. Update: EA and CLC have settled the aforementioned student athlete likeness lawsuit, according to a press release from The Lanier Law Firm, found after the break. "Based on this settlement and other recent court rulings, EA Sports has agreed to change the way it develops future games featuring NCAA athletes in order to protect the rights to their likenesses," the notice reads. Terms of the settlement will be submitted to the court for approval and does not involve the NCAA, which is still a defendant in the case.
