The trailer focuses heavily on Lamar Jackson, which makes sense considering he’s the cover athlete. But it also lets us in on a few key gamplay elements the Madden team has been working on this offseason. We’ll through them all individually below, but it seems as if EA Sports is really making an effort to give the gamer more customized control than ever before.

Here’s the description EA Sports provided along with the gameplay:

The trailer is limited. It only shows us about 90 seconds of what we can expect from the new game, and doesn’t dive too deep into new features. Still, it’s interesting if you’re someone who buys the Madden series every year.

MORE: ‘Madden’ cover athletes since 2000

MORE: Fans react to ‘Madden 21’ trailer

Madden 21 trailer

You can view EA Sports’ official trailer for Madden 21 above.

Madden 21 release date

The Madden 21 release date is August 25, 2020. At the end of the trailer, EA Sports says the game is available then, which adds up because video games are typically released on Tuesdays. However, if you have EA Access, Origin Access or Origin Access Premier, then you can play three days earlier on August 22, 2020. The trailer also says if you preorder Madden, you’ll be eligible to play three days earlier.

Madden 21 cover

Lamar Jackson is the cover athlete for Madden 21. There are three different covers for the three different versions of Madden 21. There’s the standard edition, Deluxe Edition and MVP edition. 

What’s the difference between the Madden 21 editions?

There are three editions of Madden 21: Standard, Deluxe and MVP. They each come with different features you can get through pre-ordering the game.

Standard

1 of 32 Players from NFL Team Elite Packs 5 Madden Ultimate Team Gold Team Fantasy Packs 1 “Your Choice” Uniform Pack

Deluxe

3-Day Early Access to Madden NFL 21 (8/25/2020) 12 Madden Ultimate Team Gold Team Fantasy Packs 1 of 32 Players from NFL Team Elite Packs 1 “Your Choice” Uniform Pack

MVP

3-Day Early Access to Madden NFL 21 (8/25/2020) Lamar Jackson Elite Item with Power Up 1 Large Quicksell Training Pack 17 Madden Ultimate Team Gold Team Fantasy Packs Madden Championship Series Ultimate Champion Pack 1 of 32 Players from NFL Team Elite Packs 1 “Your Choice” Uniform Pack

New features in Madden 21

All Out Control

From EA Sports:

This seems like an interesting new addition to Madden. It won’t do much to help people were critical about Madden 20 being too difficult to stop the run, but it should be fun for offensive players to get some new animations in the game. The trailer does a good job of showing the type of stick-work you can show off with this new feature.

Dominate The Edge

From EA Sports:

This basically just seems like EA Sports added their new offensive stick features and added it on to defense, which makes sense. There were complaints from Madden 20 users about the pass rush being too dominant, especially by the computer players. Guys like Joey Bosa, Myles Garrett and others became nearly impossible to guard with your offensive linemen.

Some more details from EA Sports:

Clutch Stops

EA Sports explains that there have been improvements into the tackling mechanics. The company explains, “Tackling advancements include location-based tackling, breakdown tackling and improved dive tackling for all-out precision defense.” This sounds like an interesting feature, but I doubt it will have a major impact on gameplay. Seems like it’ll just lead to more interesting animations than anything else.

More from EA Sports on location-based tackling:

Strike Your Pose

“User controlled celebrations” sounds fun, but it’s hard to imagine what that means. Do we get to create our own custom dances? In Madden 20, when you score a touchdown, you’re given an option of four celebrations. Madden doesn’t directly explain what’s new in Madden 21, but it should be intriguing to discover just what this means.

Face of the Franchise 2.0

Face of the Franchise is back for another season. Madden introduced this game mode in Madden 20 and it provided a backstory of you as a college quarterback. You got to pick your name, appearance and which college you went to. Then you played in two playoff games, participated in the NFL Combine and found out where you were drafted. Then you’d play your NFL career like in superstar mode.

Madden 21 will be slightly different, though.

“Push the limits of your legacy in Face of the Franchise: Rise To Fame,” EA Sports’ website reads. “The new playable documentary career mode offers all-out levels of agency and depth throughout your journey to the Hall of Fame.”

More from EA Sports:

So this year allows you to start your career in high school, and play some additional games in college football. While some people were critical about Face of the Franchise in Madden 20, the version in Madden 21 sounds fun to me.

Next, you’ll start your college career on National Signing Day where you’ll pick between ten Division 1 schools. You’ll be able to play two seasons of the College Football Playoffs where you’ll attempt to win not one, but two NCAA Championships. While in college you’ll have the chance to stay as a quarterback or switch positions to a running back or wide receiver.

After your college career, you’ll be attending the NFL Combine where you’ll have the chance to test your skills and run the iconic 40-yard dash.

When you finally enter the NFL, your career doesn’t stop. You’ll have the chance to experience different storylines each season as you make your case for the Hall of Fame.

Superstar X-Factors in Madden 21

Superstar X-Factors are back in Madden 21, which is either good news or bad news depending on who you ask. The X-Factors have been improved upon though, as EA Sports says, “Explore over 50 new Superstar and X-Factor abilities, fresh out of the lab designed to elevate the stars of a new generation in Madden NFL 21.”

There were already a number of X-Factor abilities, so adding in 50 new ones will be interesting. We won’t know what they all are until a later date as details are limited at the moment.