When EA Sports College Football 26 officially releases Thursday, loading up a game in Columbia, Missouri, is going to be a little like traveling back in time.
The game likely won't reflect the current scene at Memorial Stadium — an ongoing construction zone hovering over the north end zone that will not be complete until the beginning of the 2026 season.
On Day 1 of the video game's release, a game on Faurot Field will look like it did in the first edition of the college football video game in 2025. The 'Rock M' and grassy hill will still be there. The north-end zone concourse will still be populated by pixelated people. The view from the field to the artistic depictions of the nearby student residence halls and University Hospital will be mostly unimpeded.
But, in time, that could change.
An athletic department spokesperson told the Tribune that Mizzou has submitted the necessary graphics and renderings to EA Sports to update the design of the stadium in the game.
That means, when the game is due for an update or some patchwork, the on-screen scene on Faurot Field may change to the intended final rendering of MU's north end zone project at Memorial Stadium.
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There is no timeline for when that could occur, but Missouri has taken the necessary steps to make it a possibility.
"When schools have redesigned stadiums, they're required to submit to EA Sports a 3-D model of the changes, which we have done for the north end zone changes," the athletic department spokesperson told the Tribune. "But they're not updating the version that comes out this week. It will look like the 2024 north end zone. EA may offer a patch midseason or late in the season that includes an updated version of the stadium, but (that's) unclear as of now."
The spokesperson said any update likely would reflect the intended final design of the stadium and not the construction zone that is currently visible from parts of Stadium Blvd.
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Some gamers — those who preordered the deluxe package for the new release — were able to begin playing the game on Monday. The entrance to Faurot Field is the same as it was in the 2025 version of the game, which reflects what home games during the 2024 football season looked like.
Mizzou's $250-million renovation project to the north end zone is expected to be completed ahead of the 2026 season.
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Missouri football's stadium appearance could change in EA Sports video game
