American football is undoubtedly one of the most popular sports in the USA, and the Super Bowl’s popularity – the annual championship game of the National Football League – is solid proof of this.
Thanks to video games, players have the unique opportunity to lead their favorite teams to the finals and test their skills against the best of the best. Can you do better than real champions?
Update, October 2024: Each year brings more video games for us to enjoy, which can make old recommendations no longer relevant.
If left untouched for too long, the article loses its original meaning and value, which is to help you find outstanding American football video games. For this reason, we decided to update the article and so we added some new great entries to the list to make it relevant again.
Check out some of the best American football games for PC on the list down below
| Game | Release | Video | |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Madden NFL 23 | 2022-08-20 | |
 | Madden NFL 22 | 2021-08-20 | |
 | Madden NFL 21 | 2020-08-28 | |
 | Blood Bowl: Chaos Edition | 2012-10-11 | |
 | Blood Bowl 2 | 2015-09-22 | |
 | Mutant Football League | 2017-09-26 | |
 | Bowl Bound College Football | 2015-09-03 | |
 | Blood Bowl 3 | 2023-02-23 | |
 | Madden NFL 20 | 2019-08-02 | |
 | Axis Football 2018 | 2018-09-14 |
Football Simulator
| Release year: | 2022 |
| Genre: | Sports |
| Developer: | Refactor Games |
Advertised as the most dynamic and physics-driven football game ever made, it’s certainly a treat for every American football fan.
Football Simulator, despite its name, lies more on the goofy side of Football video games. Physics-driven gameplay is not exactly what you’d expect; it doesn’t make the game more realistic, but rather more hilarious and ridiculous, due to how physics actually works here and how objects interact with each other. Imagine a football version of the Goat Simulator; you’re guaranteed to witness a lot of memorable moments that will leave you laughing for a good while. Maybe it’s not the most accurate version of American football out there, but it sure can be extremely fun.
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Madden NFL 25
| Release year: | 2024 |
| Genre: | Sports |
| Developer: | EA Orlando |
If you’re a fan of American football and you’d like to try it yourself, you can’t go wrong with the Madden NFL series.
Madden NFL 25 is a perfect choice for those who are looking for a realistic American football experience. The series is being constantly developed and polished since 1988, and new Madden games are released every year on a regular basis. Developers are doing their best to make each game even better than the last one, adding new features and improving the existing ones, and Madden NFL 25 is no different. The most important change here is the introduction of Boom Tech, a physics-based tackling system that takes player physique into account when calculating tackling outcomes, which results in even more believable matches.
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Mutant Football League
| Release year: | 2017 |
| Genre: | Sports |
| Developer: | Digital Dreams Entertainment |
Not every game has to be realistic to be fun. If you prefer a more ridiculous approach to American football, you have to try Mutant Football League.
MFL takes American football to an alternate universe, where anthropomorphic mutants and other evil creatures are playing a more violent version of the popular sports game. It’s more brutal, but also more humorous, so don’t expect a dark and depressing atmosphere, as it’s quite the opposite. The Dynasty Edition of MFL includes the base game as well as several DLCs that introduce new playable monsters and arenas. It also adds a new addictive Dynasty mode, where you can earn experience and manage your team in greater detail.
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Axis Football 2020
| Release year: | 2020 |
| Genre: | Sports |
| Developer: | Axis Games |
Axis Football 2020 is a game made by a small indie company, which means that it may have some flaws, but it’s quite a gem nevertheless, and it’s certainly made with love.
Axis Football 2020 is a fun project made by a group of hobbyists. Due to limited funds, developers had to go with simpler graphics, so don’t expect a lot in that department, but doing so allowed the team to focus more on the other aspects of the game, namely – the simulation. It’s quite impressive how well the game simulates the real thing, and if you could only forgive Axis Football’s presentation layer, you’d quickly find yourself addicted, trying all the possible strategies and advanced tactics on the pitch.
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Blood Bowl 2
| Release year: | 2015 |
| Genre: | Sports, turn-based strategy |
| Developer: | Cyanide |
In certain aspects, Blood Bowl 2 is quite similar to Mutant Football League, but there is one fundamental difference between the two.
Some of us don’t have the necessary reflexes to fully enjoy most of the American football games, where reaction time and pressing various keys in quick succession are what matters the most. What if we old-timers and thinkers wanted to enjoy some sports action, too? Blood Bowl 2 is the answer, as it turns a fast-paced sports game into a turn-based one, giving us more time to carefully plan each move. Keep in mind that it’s a fantasy take on football, so we’ll meet not only humans but also orcs and other creatures during play. It’s also worth noting that Blood Bowl 2 contains violence combined with humorous dialogues, so it can serve as a great stress reliever.
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Legend Bowl
| Release year: | 2020 |
| Genre: | Sports |
| Developer: | Level Ready Games |
Fans of retro-style titles shouldn’t feel left behind, as there’s also an American football game that was made especially with them in mind. It’s Legend Bowl.
Legend Bowl is an old-school game that aims to incorporate certain modern solutions into classic gameplay. It’s a small indie title, so it was decided to go with simpler 2D pixel art graphics and focus more on the fun factor through various gameplay mechanics. Legend Bowl achieved a balance between arcade and simulation, making it a game that is easy to learn and pick up by newcomers but also offers some good challenges for more experienced players. You can play through career mode, customize your team, and experience a weather system that can sometimes create surprising twists during play.
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Bowl Bound College Football
| Release year: | 2015 |
| Genre: | Sports, simulation |
| Developer: | Grey Dog Software |
For the final game on the list, we’ve got something really unique – a true college Football Manager experience.
There aren’t many American football manager games that focus on college football, and there are even fewer that turn the simulation aspect into the most important one. BBCF is an advanced simulation engine that fills the very specific market niche and does it in a surprisingly good way. It lets you become the coach and take control over one of many college football programs and tailor your very own college team in order to hopefully win the champion’s title. It’s mostly a text-based game with a multitude of complex options, but a friendly user interface makes it easier to quickly find whatever you may need.
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The Best American Football Games
Have you ever wanted to become a football player, but it was too much of an effort for you to really care, so you just gave up? Or maybe you were dreaming of becoming a coach and leading your team to victory, but you didn’t get the opportunity to show your strategy skills to the others? Or maybe you sometimes felt so frustrated when your favorite team lost Super Bowl, that you wished you had a chance to personally control each move of every footballer to show them how it’s done?
American football computer games allow players to experience the thrills of a real thing without the need to ever leave their comfortable chairs. All that’s best about football is right at your fingertips, so you can just launch your favorite American football game and get down to business.
No matter if you prefer real-time fast-paced action or a slower tactical approach. It doesn’t matter if you prefer realistic 3D visuals or gorgeous 2D pixel art. It doesn’t even matter if you prefer to manage an entire team or become a star yourself – there’s certainly a game for everyone, so pick your favorite from the list above and have a great time while tinkering with all the possibilities.