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On Thursday, the NFL, NFL Players Association, and Electronic Arts agreed to a multi-year deal to extend their exclusive rights to keep Madden as the only football simulation game on the market for the foreseeable future.
“Madden NFL 20 was the most successful title in its franchise history,” said Cam Weber, EA Sports’ executive vice president and group general manager via email. “Our rapid growth this year was industry-changing and was a key forcing function in driving the biggest and widest-reaching deal in interactive entertainment for the NFL.”
This past year was the biggest it’s ever been after EA reported that amount of “unique” Madden players increased by 30% on top of the franchise being able to broadcast it’s tournaments on ESPN and EPSN2 on separate occasions in lieu of actual sports having been canceled since March.
According to industry tracker The NPD Group, video game sales in April hit $1.466 billion which was from $846 million last April. In that span, Madden was the 9th-best selling game, behind NBA 2K20 in 4th place and MLB: The Show 20 in 8th.
“Our rapid growth this year was industry-changing,” Weber said, “and was a key forcing function in driving the biggest and widest-reaching deal in interactive entertainment for the NFL.”
The newest edition of the franchise - Madden 21 - is set to be released in early August and will feature 2019 NFL MVP Lamar Jackson on the cover, following last year’s MVP, Patrick Mahomes. EA is expected to release its’ first look at Madden 21 on June 1.
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