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The best sports games of 2024 shortlist contains an unfamiliar name duking it out with some elder statesmen. College Football 25 is the sim in question, and the return of EA’s NCAA series under a new name is a game changer for your best sports games of 2024 countdown. If you’ve spent any time at all in GamesRadar’s College Football 25 recruiting guide, you know exactly why it’s so, so good – but that moreish dynasty mode is just the beginning.
Yet there’s no free pass to the sporting crown, with those old favorites also enjoying stellar years. F1 24 and MLB The Show 24 fly under the radar as ever, while WWE 2K24 is the strongest wrestling sim 2K has produced in its decade at the helm. They might not have made our best games of 2024 list, but the top five here are so strong that names such as Madden NFL 25 and NBA 2K25 miss out altogether. But who’s nabbed the number one spot? Don your helmet, grab a pair of pads and prepare to cup balls of all shapes and sizes as we run down the best sports games of 2024.
5. EA Sports FC 25
Developer: EA Vancouver
Platform(s): PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X, Xbox One, Switch
It’ll never ever, ever, ever be deemed appropriate by some to praise the biggest footballing franchise on digital turf. Sure: EA Sports FC 25, like FIFA before it, does have issues. Fans will always be at odds with its pack odds, and online matches can turn toxic and sweat-tastic. Judged on merit alone, however, this is a powerful package. Career mode tweaks such as Live Start Points and women’s teams resuscitate an old-timer that was on life support, while Volta replacement Rush is genuinely brilliant. All-human five-a-side matches keep you hooked from start to finish, so long as one of your team-mates doesn’t spend the entire match with his controller rubber-banded. EA needs to fix that for EA FC 26. Had they come up with a solution post-release, this may have ranked even higher.
Learn more in our EA Sports FC 25 review, where we said that "the brilliant Rush mode soon pull you back in for another year"
4. F1 24
Developer: Codemasters
Platform(s): PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X, Xbox One
Codemasters and racing go together like Max Verstappen and world titles. These days the team behind McRae, Dirt, and Grid are focussed on digitized grand prix, and this latest high-speed tour of Melbourne, Monaco, and Monza does not disappoint. The full F1 season is present and correct, and looks staggering – it’s one of few sports titles where you will indulge in every possible replay, just to soak up those eye-catching liveries and gorgeous backdrops. F1 24 is also easier to pick-up-and-play than recent predecessors, although at a small cost: while the game feels great with a controller, the physics subtleties on offer through a steering wheel aren’t quite what veteran players are used to. A likeable licensed drive, nonetheless.
3. MLB The Show 24
Developer: San Diego Studio
Platform(s): PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X, Xbox One, Switch
Sony’s big bopper is going through a curious phase. In gameplay terms, it’s played similarly all the way back to its PS3 heyday – and for many, that sense of familiarity is like munching on your favorite fruit loaf two days after its best-before. Yet while it’s true that the series lacks freshness, The Show still plays ball with an authenticity and depth most other games can only dream of. Pitching repertoires mean every match tests your grey matter along with your thumb skills, while there’s still no feeling quite like spotting the up-and-in fastball you’ve been waiting for, and creaming it into the stands.
2. WWE 2K24
Developer: Visual Concepts
Platform(s): PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X, Xbox One
There’s a revolution afoot in the wrestling world, and we’re not referring to WWE moving to Netflix in January 2025. After the infamously awful WWE 2K20 saw its sequel cancelled, Visual Concepts went back to basics. Three years down the line, it’s paying dividends. WWE 2K24 delivers weighty back-and-forth bouts with tons of fan-servicing details, like fatigued grapplers crawling over for an exhausted pin attempt. Flaws from previous years have mostly been axed too, such as tag partners constantly preventing three counts. An abundance of modes provide longevity, but it’s one of these – MyFaction – that’s also 2K’s Achilles heel. Think Ultimate Team’s card-chasing model is a scam? Try acquiring the best cards in 2K24. It’s mostly pack luck, or nada. And it hampers an otherwise exceptional game.
Learn more in our WWE 2K24 review, where we called it "a brilliant, bombastic, bruising brawler"
1. EA Sports College Football 25
Developer: EA Orlando
Platform(s): PS5, Xbox Series X
11 years. That’s the wait fans endured for a sequel to NCAA Football 13. While it came under a new name, the end result transformed the genre. At a time when many sports series are struggling to balance authenticity with fun, EA Sports College Football 25 nails both. 130 teams with different playbooks, mascots and stadiums imbue the sim with unending variety, while trick plays and 50-yard missiles downfield are an utter joy to pull off. There’s depth, too, via the ruthless kicking meter and pronounced sense of difficulty when playing in packed away stadiums. As for dynasty mode: once you get stuck into recruiting, forget inconveniences like studying, work, or that little thing called sleep. The best sports game of 2024 – and one of the decade’s greatest, full stop.
Learn more in our College Football 25 review, where we said that "dynasty is going to rule your life"
Looking to get another game in? If speed is your thing, then check out our best racing games too!
