EA is "quickly working" to update Madden 21 in light of Washington's rebranding plans
Developer says it will feature "a generic Washington team" in the meantime
Electronic Arts has confirmed it is "pleased" that Washington has pledged to change the name and branding of its football team, stating it is "quickly working" to update Madden 21 with a "generic" placeholder team until the team unveils its new team name and logo.
"We are pleased to see Washington's decision to change their team name and visual identity," an EA spokesperson told US Gamer. "We are quickly working to update Madden NFL 21 to feature a generic Washington team, while we await final word on the updated team name and logo design."
However, the developer did warn players that given the team has yet to confirm its new branding and the game is out next month, players will "continue to see some outdated Washington references in other areas of the game at launch" that will only be rectified once a patch is deployed. Once the update has been completed, though, EA insists the changes "will include audio and commentary updates, motion graphics and presentation, stadium art, environments, crowd gear and signage, and uniforms" as detailed by US Gamer.
Madden 21's next-gen versions were shown off during EA Play Live last month. As Ben summarised at the time, the operatic trailer gave us another look at Madden 21's next-gen debut, after a brief snippet was shown during last month's Inside Xbox event.
Madden NFL 21 is scheduled to release on August 28, 2020, for PC via Steam and Origin, PS4 and Xbox One, although some fans with special editions will be able to play three days earlier. Anyone who buys the game on Xbox Series X or PS5 will be able to upgrade from an Xbox One or PS4 copy for free until Madden 22 is released. This offer is now also coming to FIFA 21. For more information, head to EA Sports next-gen website.
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Vikki Blake is GamesRadar+'s Weekend Reporter. Vikki works tirelessly to ensure that you have something to read on the days of the week beginning with 'S', and can also be found contributing to outlets including the BBC, Eurogamer, and GameIndustry.biz. Vikki also runs a weekly games column at NME, and can be frequently found talking about Destiny 2 and Silent Hill on Twitter.