Every Thursday this month, EA Sports is having a Madden 20 livestream (on Twitch) and blog released, and every Friday, we’ll provide the details and break it down. Here is the schedule, which began yesterday:

 

THU MAY 2 AT 7 PM ET: Face of the Franchise: QB1 and Franchise Mode

 

THU MAY 9 AT 7 PM ET: Superstar X-Factor Abilities

 

THU MAY 16 AT 7 PM ET: Madden Ultimate Team

 

THU MAY 23 AT 7 PM ET: Gameplay Updates: Playbooks, RPOs, Improvements

 

THU MAY 30 AT 7 PM ET: Madden Mobile

 

The Blog

 

Career mode in Madden 20 is called “Face of the Franchise: QB1 Career Campaign”, which is a completely new direction from the now-extinct “Longshot” from Madden 18 and Madden 19. You can read the full blog post here, but I would stick with this article because it goes in more depth.

 

It kicks off with creating yourself as a quarterback – even using “face editing” to get an improved likeness. Once you have your player, you begin in college, choosing from top schools to attend, then competing for a national championship in the college football playoffs. Be the BMOC and take home the title, but bring your A-game, because your performance in college – just like on the real collegiate gridiron – has an impact on your capabilities and your draft stock.

 

The NFL draft doesn’t just happen, though – the combine comes first. Ever-increasing in importance and scrutinization, the combine is a key part of the process. And here, if you want your stock to soar, you’ll need to focus on every rep and decision you make to keep your name rising on draft boards. Where will you get picked, and where will your NFL career start? You’ll find out on draft day!

 

It sounds like the college and pre-draft experience will be more cinematic, but the decision-making process won’t stop there, as Madden 20 has a new Scenario Engine that “generates personalized playable scenarios, events, and dynamic challenges” that shapes your personality in the league. Also, players will choose their own Archetype—Strong Arm, Scrambler, Improviser, and Field General—with different Superstar abilities tied to it.

 

Not mentioned in the blog post are the teams you get to choose from in college: Florida, Oregon, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, LSU, USC, Texas, Clemson, Miami, and Florida State. Overall, it’s a definite disappointment that they are basically all southern teams (and none from the Big Ten), but ten beats zero.

 

Pro Bowl

 

Personally, I’m concerned that this is the first non-career feature discussed under “other Madden Franchise improvements” from yesterday’s blog, as the real version of the Pro Bowl is pointless enough. We will apparently get to play in the Pro Bowl as the game installs.

 

Ratings Spread

 

EA has adjusted player ratings to create more variety, including a larger difference in just one overall point (ex: 90 OVR to 89), and starters might now have an overall in the mid-50s in some cases.

 

New Scenarios

 

This was already alluded to in regards to the Scenario Engine, but it includes “branching dialogue, dynamic events that reflect your performance and choices, challenges that build the story of your unique NFL career, and more.”

 

Development Traits

 

To hopefully create a bigger discrepancy between true superstars and the rest of the league, “Superstar X-Factor” has been added as the top development trait to go along with Normal, Star, and Superstar.

 

Coach Mode

 

Those who want to play as a coach will also get scenarios, and the lineup UI is said to be overhauled for a “smoother” Franchise mode.

 

Progression Updates

 

Progression tuning “should ultimately lead to users being able to increase the OVR of more players” to provide more control on player development.

 

Draft Updates

 

This isn’t a big deal for those who use created draft classes, but computer-generated rookies will have more names, body types, ratings, and more. Also, development traits will be hidden until a rookie has played half the season, which is a welcome change.

 

Gameplay Effects Updated

 

There is only one example of a gameplay change for Franchise mode before the stream/blog in a couple weeks, but it’s hopefully a good one: Throw Power overhaul “to change QB trajectories.”