Madden 21: EA Makes Announcement On Washington’s In-Game Representation

Madden 21 will ultimately have no trace of the Washington Redskins in the game, but removing the offensive media and artwork will not happen all at once.

In a statement from Electronic Arts, the plans for removing all of the old art was explained. “We are pleased to see Washington’s decision to change their team name and visual identity,” EA said in a statement. “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.”

A launch-day patch will remove most of the instances of the old Washington nickname. “The first changes will be available to our EA Access players and will include audio/commentary updates; motion graphics and presentation updates; stadium art, environments, crowd gear and signage updates; and uniform updates,” EA said. “Players may continue to see some outdated Washington references in other areas of the game at launch, but we are committed to removing all of those from the game in additional title updates coming shortly after launch.”

Here is an unpacking of the statement and explaining what it means as it relates to Madden. EA Access members can play the game early as a part of their subscription to the service. The launch day update will go live with them first. That update is expected to remove all of Brandon Gaudin and Charles Davis’ references to the old nickname. The same can be said for any halftime show as well with Jonathan Coachman.

Also, the motion graphics and overlays that carried the old logo should be removed. FedEx Field obviously has to be redone in the game so that it no longer reflects the offensive names, as well as the virtual crowd and the signs they will display when the camera pans into the stands.

One of the most obvious updates has to happen with the player uniforms and coach attires on the sidelines. For now it is believed Washington will be represented as a general, no-logo team until the new name is finalized and the artwork can be given to EA to add in a future update. This was one of the scenarios I discussed in an earlier article before EA made their plans public.

The more complicated and perhaps tedious task relates to Ultimate Team. There are so many player cards with real images of former and current Washington stars in action. All of that art will need to be replaced or edited to remove the logos and offensive references.

It’s unclear how long this will take, but EA has made it clear they are removing it from the game–but it’s not as if they had much of a choice. Once the name change was made official, it was only a matter of time before it would impact Madden. Unfortunately for EA, Washington owner Dan Snyder’s investors and sponsors didn’t force his hand until this summer, which didn’t give the developer much time to make the change.

If it’s not in the game anymore, it shouldn’t be in the game, anymore.

Source: Forbes