Electronic Arts has issued a statement with regards to its plans for the reveal of Madden NFL 21. A first look at the football game was confirmed for June 1, tomorrow, but that plan has officially been changed. Electronic Arts now says that "We'll find another time to talk football with you," preferring instead to stand in solidarity with the ongoing protests related to the death of George Floyd on May 25. The Madden NFL 21 reveal has been delayed.
Madden NFL 21 was initially revealed on May 7 during Microsoft's Inside Xbox next-gen presentation. The reveal featured NFL quarterback and Superbowl LIV winner Patrick Mahomes, but only showed a short clip of cinematic gameplay from Madden NFL 21. Since then, fans have anxiously awaited a more substantial introduction to gaming's most popular football series.
EA's announcement of a bigger reveal came one week ago on May 24. A simple tweet saying, "So much more than a name... First look coming soon #Madden21," accompanied a photo confirming the June 1 date. Electronic Arts held back any further teases between then and now, so exactly what was planned to be shown isn't clear. A taste of actual gameplay and perhaps some discussion regarding any new features is what fans' were likely expecting.
Today's statement from Electronic Arts made it clear that no reveal would be coming for the foreseeable future. Instead, Electronic Arts offered a statement of solidarity with the "African American/Black community of friends, players, colleagues and partners." EA says that its attention is on "actions we can take to drive change against the unjust treatment and systematic bias that is plaguing the nation and our world."
"We'll find another time to talk about football with you," is how EA ends its statement, insisting that there are bigger issues than a game to focus on right now. That's certainly true, all things considered, given the scale of the ongoing protests as well as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
There's no word on when EA will decide to revisit its plans for Madden NFL 21. It's possible that it will opt to showcase the game during another company's presentation, like Sony or Microsoft, instead. Part of what would be bad if EA went through with the reveal now is how much focus would be on it. And given the NFL's controversies regarding racial injustice in recent years, that's not a position EA would want to be in. As such, hopefully, it'll be back in the next month or two.
Madden NFL 21 releases April 28 on PS4 and Xbox One.