Here's When Madden 17's First Gameplay and Cover Star Will Be Revealed

Electronic Arts today officially announced Madden NFL 17, the latest entry in its long-running professional football series. The game will launch on August 23, before the start of the 2016-2017 season, and is in development for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360.

The first gameplay trailer for Madden NFL 17 will be shown this coming Thursday, May 12, on the 3 PM PST/6 PM EST edition of ESPN's SportsCenter. Also during the broadcast, EA will announce the cover star.

As Pasta Padre points out, this will be the first time since 2009 that the cover athlete was not decided by a fan vote. When asked for an explanation as to why EA Sports is doing away with the fan vote this year, a representative said the US presidential election had something to do with it.

"With this election year upon us, we don't want you to lose sleep over another big decision," the rep said. "So, we decided to take the pressure off this year and hand-select someone for the job."

It was also confirmed today that Madden NFL 17--like other EA games--will be playable first on Xbox One by way of EA Access. Recently, EA also announced that Battlefield 1 would be available first for subscribers.

In its announcement today, EA made no mention at all regarding changes or additions to the Madden formula for this year's installment. Check back later this week to see the gameplay footage and learn who will be on the cover and inevitably face questions about the supposed Madden Curse.