Madden 20 Confirmed With Cover Star, Release Date, College Football Mode, X-Factor Players, And More

Madden NFL 20 has been announced with its cover star and a list of exciting-sounding new features, including the return of college football.

Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes will be on the cover of Madden NFL 20. Mahomes is a good pick for cover athlete, as he’s one of the most exciting players in the NFL right now. He was the NFL’s Most Valuable Player in 2018.

In terms of new features, Madden 20 brings a few especially noteworthy ones. Starting off, college football will be featured in the game in a limited capacity. A new mode called QB1 will see players creating a quarterback in college and then taking them through the College Football Playoff and eventually to the NFL Combine where they’ll compete for a spot on an NFL roster.

“Last long enough and you just might leave a legacy and even play in a few Pro Bowls. This new and customizable career campaign is all about you, with personalized playable scenarios, events, and dynamic challenges. The choices you make early on will affect how your career pans out,” EA says.

There are 10 colleges to choose from in Madden 20, including Texas, Oregon, Oklahoma, Clemson, Florida, LSU, Miami, Texas Tech, USC, Florida St. It is a big deal that Madden 20 has college football, because EA has been out of the college football game for years amid various lawsuits. You can learn more about the situation here.

Madden 20 also adds new “X-Factor Players.” This new “game-changing” system will allow players to use “unique abilities” to make NFL superstars feel powerful. It appears Mahomes is one of them, and his unique ability is probably his quick feet and ability to escape.

“In total there will be around 50 Superstar X-Factor players and over 30 additional Superstar players,” EA says. “The difference between the two are the Zone abilities and Superstar abilities. Zone abilities are best described as once-a-season moments that only the league’s best can pull off, while Superstar abilities are traits that are unique to some of the most talented players that you see each and every game. In total there are over 20 Zone abilities for the 50 Superstar X-Factor players and over 140 Superstar abilities. Each game you will see and feel the difference because of these special traits.”

Additionally, Madden 20 features the “Urban Symphony,” which is what EA is describing as “a soundtrack that highlights pop culture, hip-hop music, and urban lifestyle trends, while mixing in traditional musical elements of the sport (i.e. marching bands) to create an original soundtrack that truly delivers on the emotion, history and meaning of football.”

Madden 20 launches on August 2, but people who buy the more expensive Superstar Edition can play three days early.