Way back in 1988, EA released its first Madden football game, titled John Madden Football. As the years went on, the series became the dominant football video game in the medium. In early 2005, EA made an exclusive licensing deal with the NFL which continues to this day. Now this Madden relationship has even crossed into the esports scene.
Since esports became popular, EA has dipped its toes into the scene with its Madden games. The company's biggest Madden-related esports contribution is the Madden NFL Championship Series, also known as the MCS. The series goes on for nine months throughout the year, featuring hundreds of players from all over the world. The 2020 Ultimate Madden NFL Bowl was notable for featuring a player who won the championship without using a quarterback. Now it appears that the NFL and EA have reached a deal that will ensure that Madden's biggest esports series will continue.
Earlier today, the NFL and EA revealed that they had reached a multi-year agreement that guarantees the continuation of the Madden NFL Championship Series esports league. The continued partnership will allow the MCS to align itself with the NFL's actual football season. The esports championship, the Ultimate Madden NFL 23 Bowl will also take place on the same week as Super Bowl 57. In addition, the tournament finals include a prize pool of $1 million in addition to another $700,000 that will be available throughout the season. As it so happens, this announcement comes as Madden 23's release date rapidly approaches.
In the announcement, VP of EA Esports Brent Koning spoke of the MCS and how it allows anyone to become an NFL champion from their couch:
"Madden NFL esports continues to deepen the love of the game with fans, players, and viewers. It’s teaching viewers how to improve at the game, while deepening engagement with Madden’s most loyal fanbase. Since the MCS started five years ago, it has helped showcase the game by elevating the greatest players in the world, while giving every single Madden NFL player the chance to go from couch to champion."
Ed Kiang, vice president of video gaming at the NFL also expressed his excitement at the continuation of the partnership and expanding the fandom off the field:
"Extending our partnership with EA is another avenue for the league to grow fandom off the field and enhance the EA Sports Madden NFL Championship Series by aligning Madden competitive gaming with NFL moments."
Over the years, the critical and fan reception to EA's Madden games have waxed and waned. The PlayStation 5 version of Madden 22, for example, has a 68 score on Metacritic and a user score of 0.6/10 and was loaded with technical problems. This includes one glitch that resulted in a hilarious touchdown play. At the same time, the franchise continues to be a consistent moneymaker for EA, with the installment selling over 7 million copies worldwide, and the franchise is showing no signs of slowing down.
Earlier this year, EA officially unveiled the latest game in the football franchise, Madden 23. Preorder bonuses were announced soon after as were changes that are being made to the Madden 23 franchise mode. Whether the upcoming game will fair any better with fans or critics than its predecessor remains to be seen.
Madden NFL 23 launches August 19 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: IGN