Madden NFL 21 Update: EA to Remove Washington Nickname and Logo From Game
In a Madden NFL 21 update, Electronic Arts has indicated they will be making a last-minute change. The game developer recently confirmed they will be removing the logos and team name for the Washington Redskins. The move arrives after the organization announced they’ll make changes to their longtime team name and logos.
EA to remove Washington’s nickname and logos due to team changes
On Friday (July 17), ESPN reported that an Electronic Arts representative confirmed they will alter their upcoming Madden NFL 21 game to address the Washington Redskins’ changes.
“We are pleased to see Washington’s decision to change their team name and visual identity,” a statement from an EA representative said. “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.”
The news of EA’s decision to alter the game first arrived via Kotaku on Friday. The Madden gameplay trailer that arrived several weeks ago features in-game footage featuring the team with their current logo.
The franchise originally started out back in 1932 as the Boston Braves. They’d eventually change to the Boston Redskins, and ultimately relocated to Washington, D.C. in 1937, becoming the Washington Redskins. In 1971, a Native American designed the Redskins’ logo featuring an American Indian chief. The Redskins’ name and logo stayed in place up until this year.
This past Monday, the Washington organization officially announced in a statement it would be changing its nickname.
There have been rumors about what the new name could be, but nothing has been officially revealed yet. Head coach Ron Rivera said they wanted a name that has to do with the military. Based on ESPN’s report, the team is planning to keep its burgundy and gold colors in place for jerseys and other gear.
How will the Madden NFL 21 update work?
Based on ESPN’s report, the physical copies of the new Madden NFL 21 game are already in production. Those discs were created with the Washington Redskins’ name and logos, so they can’t be changed on the discs themselves.
However, EA said they will have a patch so that when gamers connect to the internet with their game system, it will change the Washington team’s assets. The physical copies of the game have a release date of Aug. 28, 2020.
Gamers who pre-ordered the Madden video game get access on Aug. 25, 2020. For those who get the digital game three days early via EA Access, they’ll notice the changes in terms of “audio/commentary updates; motion graphics and presentation updates; stadium art, environments, crowd gear, and signage updates; and uniform updates.”
It was also mentioned in EA’s statement, “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.”
While the team’s name and logo will be generic at first, future title updates will arrive to fix those once an official name and logo are in place.
Visit our Madden news page to stay updated with more of the latest details about the upcoming game.