Hall of GOATs sets 2024 launch date for arcade-style college football video game
Since the NCAA put its NIL interim policy into action back in July 2021, Matt Leinart always knew he wanted to help athletes succeed in the new space.
The former Heisman winner partnered with former USC wide receiver and teammate Greig Carlson to form Hall of GOATs last February. What started as plan to create exclusive NFT collections for college athletes has now morphed into a video game.
Moving away from NFTs made sense, especially given that trading volumes tumbled 97% from a record high this past January. They slid to just $466 million in September from $17 billion at the start of 2022, according to data from Dune Analytics.
Hall of GOATs is now currently developing the arcade-style game, with plans to release in early 2024. The free-to-play college football game is unity-based and will target PCs at launch. Future plans entail making the game accessible to mobile and console devices.
“We’re just really, really excited to give these kids an opportunity,” Leinart previously told On3 in an interview.
There is a major NIL facet of the project, too. Users will be able to purchase digital avatars of current and former college football stars, with NIL earnings going back to the athletes. So far, the list of players who have signed on include, Braelon Allen, Deuce Vaughn, LenDale White, Vince Young, Xavier Worthy and Zach Evans.
Caleb Williams will also be featured in the game and is part of the video game’s leadership team. When the company launches its beta version of the game, it aims to have roughly 200 athletes on the platform.
“Gaming is something I love to do in my downtime. It’s exciting to be a part of something that will elevate players like me with new opportunities in digital collectibles and gaming,” Williams said in a statement.
As part of the release of the launch date, Hall of GOATs has released a teaser trailer.
Hall of GOATs development
As for the game itself, former Electronic Arts engineer Brian Graham is leading the development of the game. He previously worked on Madden and NBA Live during his time at EA. The Hall of GOATs game will join a competitive market, especially with EA expected to release NCAA Football for the first time since 2014 next year. The company is definitely starting to work on the game, since Extra Points Matt Brown previously reported schools have been asked to send in files, such as fight songs.
Hall of GOATs is currently in the process of adding a creative director, lead game designer and senior producers, Carlson told On3.
“The developmental stage of game building is like a ‘blank sheet of paper.’ You get a chance to find the ‘soul’ of your experience and what will make it unique and worthy of players’ attention and time,” Graham said in a statement. “Joining HALL of GOATS takes me back to an older era of sports games from my arcade days, where we have creative liberty and can build on something that focuses on just being fun.”
To try and drive the conversation about the game, Hall of GOATs will soon release the Founder’s Pass. The games first limited-edition collectible, it will be available for a 72-hour window for $99.99. Perks of the pass include access to the beta version of the game, complimentary tickets to future NCAA games, discounts on all in-game purchases and darly access to all future player avatar drops.