Madden NFL 21 just got its last roster update a few days ago, but fans of the franchise are already busy talking about Madden NFL 22. Derrick Henry is supposedly going to be the cover star for the next installment in the franchise. While that leak has some excited, there's something hampering enthusiasm even among the most dedicated players of the long-running series. The franchise has seen more people complain about each year's loss, more than praise. That could mean it's time for a new move by Electronic Arts: The best idea for the franchise might be to take a year off. Of course, if the company did make that move, it would be a surprise to the gaming community.
It was just this week that Madden NFL 21 did indeed get the final franchise update. That means there won't be any more significant work on the game, other than bug fixes and light updates. The attention now does indeed turn to the next installment for many fans. If EA moves full speed ahead, Madden NFL 22 will be out in about five months. However, the company does still have an out. While the cover athlete was leaked, Henry or Madden NFL 22 hasn't been officially announced. In fact, the company hasn't confirmed there's any cover athlete, or a Madden 22. Maybe it should take that opportunity to announce there won't be one.
Madden Could Take The Road Less Traveled
There's some precedent if EA decided to hold off and take a year off for Madden, even if it's not likely. It doesn't happen all that often. Most of the time, when a game franchise starts down the "yearly release" tracks, the train doesn't want to stop. However, when it comes to Madden NFL 21 and the rest of the franchise, a break might be called for. There's been quite a bit of talk about how the series is little more than a reskinning and roster update, for $70 a year.
If EA did decide to hold off until Madden NFL 23, it would be roughly following in the footsteps of the WWE 2K franchise. 2K sports announced last year it was going to step back and skip a year. Instead, it released a smaller game, WWE 2K Battlegrounds, while the company talked about making sure the next installment in the series was going to be better. EA might be well-served to do the same with Madden.
Time Better Spent Elsewhere?
Considering Electronic Arts has made it clear it understands people's legitimate complaints about the Madden franchise, there's another reason why taking a year away from the series could be a good thing. The company is apparently working on restarting another long-running series that has had more than a decade off.
The NCAA Football franchise is going to make a return in the form of EA Sports College Football. EA announced it was bringing the series back earlier this year. There isn't a ton known about when the new title is expected to release, but quite a few have made it clear they'd like to see it sooner, rather than later. Perhaps it's worth diverting time and attention to launching EA Sports College Football and taking a break from the Madden NFL franchise so that the company can get both installments right the next time around. That way, Madden could come back strong in 2022, hopefully free of less bugs and systemic issues.
Madden NFL 21 is available now on Mobile, PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.