Following the reveal of what’s new to Madden NFL 21, fans of the series’ franchise mode were quick to point out that the minimal updates made for Madden NFL 21 felt more like patch notes than upgrades you would expect in the next iteration of a long-running and successful franchise like Madden. Today, EA Sports released a blog post detailing the roadmap not only for Madden NFL 21’s post-launch lifespan, but also what improvements the team is exploring for Madden NFL 22.
Following Madden NFL 21’s reveal, a social-media movement called #FixMaddenFranchise, as well as other prominent community feedback led to the team rethinking how it approaches franchise mode. As a result, the development team is devoting a higher percentage of team bandwidth to provide updates to Madden NFL 21’s franchise mode post-launch, and make even bigger changes for Madden NFL 22’s franchise. The plan right now is to operate Madden NFL 21 as a platform, delivering significant content updates through two or three releases over the next few months.
Following launch, Madden NFL 21 players can expect tuning updates to improve the progression and regression of players, new commissioner tools, improved A.I.-driven personnel management, improved playoff and Super Bowl presentation, customizable X-Factor and Superstar abilities, improved U.I. showing historical player performances, better trade logic, better retirement U.I., and updates to the playoff U.I so you can better track the postseason action.
If you’re looking for bigger changes, EA Sports is already laying out what it wants to do with Madden NFL 22, saying it’s not committed to doing these things just yet, but it’s “exploring creatively.” The areas the team is currently looking into include coaching and staffing management, scouting improvements, new scenario engine enhancements, new team chemistry systems, more commissioner tool improvements, and additional content like new logos, names, uniforms, and options for relocation. EA Sports says it will share more as the development team gets closer to Madden NFL 22.
While fans of franchise mode are sure to still be disappointed with the meager offerings at Madden NFL 21’s launch, hopefully this acknowledgement of the team’s neglect of the mode, as well as the commitment provided through the roadmap help ease the tension within the community. Madden NFL 21 launches on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on August 28. It will come to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X later this year.
[Source: EA]
Madden NFL 21
Platform:
PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Stadia, PC
Release Date:
August 28, 2020
Source: Game Informer
