Madden NFL 21 is coming this fall, with or without an actual football season, and EA has started to outline features we can expect from this year's cross-generational entry into the franchise. In a recent blog, the company outlined the two main single-player modes for the gridiron game: Face of the Franchise and Classic Franchise.

The Face of the Franchise mode is the story-focused mode where you create a player and oversee their career, from a promising high school prospect to an accomplished NFL veteran. You'll start by playing backup to your high school's star quarterback, and decisions you make will impact your relationship with him throughout the game. From there you'll go to college to build a career, and then get picked up by the NFL draft.

From there your NFL career can take several different story directions based on performance, from "Franchise Savior" where you're expected to take your flagging team to the Super Bowl, to the down-and-out "Understudy," to a dramatic injury comeback story. Story sequences will feature performances by Tye Sheridan, Cooper Andrews, Robert Patrick, as well as Snoop Dogg and Rich Eisen as themselves.

The Classic Franchise, by comparison, is what you'd expect. You can take up your favorite team and play through seasons with them. This mode is home to minor tweaks and improvements to fine-tune the football experience. The blog specifically mentions new X-Factor powers for the franchise, an expanded Wild Card Playoff round, retuned abilities, and various other fixes.

Madden NFL 21 will be the first game in the franchise to come to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. If you purchase the PS4 or Xbox One version, though, you'll be able to upgrade to the next-gen versions for free for a limited time with an offer EA is calling "dual entitlement." The offer was first announced during an Xbox Series X showcase that also focused heavily on Xbox's own similar Smart Delivery feature, leading to some confusion. It will also be coming to Steam for the first time.

Madden NFL 21 is coming on August 28. For more details, check out our Madden 21 pre-order guide.

Madden NFL 21