Madden NFL 21 PS4 PlayStation 4 1

EA Sports has commented on a social media campaign which trended earlier this week, as fans registered their dissatisfaction with Madden NFL 21’s improvements to the popular Franchise mode. Earlier this week, the publisher released a blog post outlining the additions and improvements it’s making to the upcoming American football simulation’s Franchise and Face of the Franchise mode.

Unfortunately, the changes being made to Franchise are minimal, with the addition of new X-Factor abilities and an expanded Wild Card playoff round. Honestly, it reads like patch notes rather than the release of a brand-new game. Fans feel that the publisher has been prioritising Madden Ultimate Team over other key areas of the title, as the card collecting mode is a much bigger money spinner for the firm.

As an attempt to pacify its community, executive producer Sean Graddy recorded a video message addressing the concerns, noting that the company’s listening to feedback and will be share more information on its plans for Franchise moving forwards. It’s quite a hollow statement which will do little to quell the criticism, but it’s at least admission that the publisher has heard the community’s concerns.

Of course, whether it actually acts on the feedback will remain to be seen. Franchise has remained relatively static for much of the generation, so it’ll be interesting to see whether the publisher makes a concerted effort to improve this part of the release as we head into the PlayStation 5 generation and beyond.

[source ea.com]