<s>
Madden	B-Application
NFL	I-Application
21	I-Application
is	O
an	O
American	B-Application
football	I-Application
video	O
game	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
National	O
Football	O
League	O
(	O
NFL	O
)	O
,	O
developed	O
by	O
EA	O
Tiburon	O
and	O
published	O
by	O
Electronic	O
Arts	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
released	O
for	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
,	O
PlayStation	B-Operating_System
4	I-Operating_System
and	O
Xbox	B-Device
One	I-Device
on	O
August	O
28	O
,	O
2020	O
,	O
and	O
for	O
PlayStation	B-Device
5	I-Device
and	O
Xbox	B-Device
Series	I-Device
X/S	I-Device
on	O
December	O
4	O
,	O
2020	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
mobile	O
version	O
,	O
titled	O
Madden	B-Application
NFL	I-Application
21	I-Application
Mobile	O
,	O
was	O
released	O
on	O
iOS	B-Application
and	O
Android	B-Application
a	O
few	O
weeks	O
before	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
initial	O
launch	O
as	O
a	O
full	O
rework	O
of	O
the	O
2014	O
mobile	O
game	O
Madden	B-Application
NFL	I-Application
Mobile	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Jackson	O
was	O
the	O
second	O
Ravens	O
player	O
to	O
be	O
cover	O
athlete	O
of	O
a	O
Madden	O
game	O
,	O
after	O
Ray	O
Lewis	O
in	O
Madden	B-Application
NFL	I-Application
2005	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
released	O
on	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
,	O
PlayStation	B-Operating_System
4	I-Operating_System
,	O
and	O
Xbox	B-Device
One	I-Device
on	O
August	O
28	O
,	O
2020	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
officially	O
announced	O
on	O
May	O
7	O
,	O
2020	O
,	O
and	O
it	O
was	O
also	O
announced	O
the	O
game	O
would	O
be	O
available	O
on	O
upcoming	O
consoles	O
PlayStation	B-Device
5	I-Device
and	O
Xbox	B-Device
Series	I-Device
X/S	I-Device
upon	O
their	O
releases	O
planned	O
on	O
December	O
4	O
,	O
2020	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
EA	O
had	O
previously	O
announced	O
that	O
the	O
next	O
installment	O
of	O
Madden	O
NFL	O
would	O
also	O
release	O
on	O
Stadia	B-Application
in	O
winter	O
2020	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
EA	O
Tiburon	O
stated	O
that	O
Madden	B-Application
NFL	I-Application
21	I-Application
would	O
include	O
"	O
new	O
innovative	O
gameplay	O
mechanics	O
"	O
that	O
"	O
offer	O
advanced	O
levels	O
of	O
control	O
and	O
inspire	O
creativity	O
on	O
both	O
sides	O
of	O
the	O
ball.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
September	O
8	O
,	O
EA	O
announced	O
that	O
Colin	O
Kaepernick	O
would	O
be	O
made	O
available	O
to	O
play	O
in	O
the	O
game	O
and	O
sign	O
as	O
a	O
free	O
agent	O
,	O
the	O
first	O
time	O
he	O
appeared	O
in	O
the	O
franchise	O
since	O
Madden	B-Application
NFL	I-Application
17	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Madden	B-Application
NFL	I-Application
21	I-Application
received	O
mixed	O
reviews	O
from	O
critics	O
,	O
according	O
to	O
review	B-Application
aggregator	I-Application
Metacritic	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IGN	O
gave	O
the	O
game	O
a	O
6.0/10	O
,	O
criticizing	O
its	O
persistent	O
unfixed	O
issues	O
regarding	O
Franchise	O
mode	O
amongst	O
several	O
neglected	O
features	O
and	O
gameplay	O
bugs	O
,	O
writing	O
:	O
"	O
Despite	O
the	O
fact	O
that	O
Madden	B-Application
NFL	I-Application
21	I-Application
features	O
arguably	O
the	O
best	O
core	O
gameplay	O
the	O
series	O
has	O
ever	O
seen	O
and	O
the	O
introduction	O
of	O
a	O
fun	O
new	O
mode	O
in	O
The	O
Yard	O
,	O
the	O
continued	O
neglect	O
shown	O
to	O
classic	O
Franchise	O
mode	O
,	O
lack	O
of	O
innovation	O
across	O
the	O
board	O
,	O
and	O
technical	O
issues	O
leave	O
this	O
gridiron	O
mismatch	O
coming	O
up	O
short.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Also	O
giving	O
the	O
game	O
3/5	O
stars	O
,	O
USgamer	O
wrote	O
:	O
"	O
Madden	B-Application
21s	I-Application
gameplay	O
takes	O
some	O
appreciable	O
steps	O
forward	O
as	O
the	O
generation	O
comes	O
to	O
a	O
close	O
,	O
with	O
The	O
Yard	O
providing	O
some	O
casual	O
fun	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Game	O
Informer	O
gave	O
the	O
game	O
a	O
7.75/10	O
,	O
writing	O
:	O
"	O
Those	O
looking	O
for	O
a	O
huge	O
step	O
forward	O
in	O
the	O
EA	O
Sports	O
 '	O
football	O
franchise	O
wo	O
n't	O
find	O
it	O
with	O
Madden	B-Application
NFL	I-Application
21	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
despite	O
its	O
lack	O
of	O
major	O
upgrades	O
,	O
Madden	B-Application
NFL	I-Application
21	I-Application
is	O
still	O
a	O
mechanically	O
sound	O
and	O
fun	O
football	O
game.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
his	O
review	O
,	O
Forbes	O
contributor	O
Brian	O
Mazique	O
cited	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
"	O
historically	O
low	O
"	O
review	O
scores	O
and	O
said	O
,	O
"	O
While	O
the	O
gameplay	O
is	O
in	O
as	O
good	O
of	O
a	O
spot	O
as	O
it	O
's	O
been	O
for	O
a	O
while	O
,	O
Madden	B-Application
21	I-Application
is	O
dragged	O
down	O
but	O
neglected	O
features	O
,	O
stagnant	O
and/or	O
underdeveloped	O
concepts	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Player	O
response	O
to	O
Madden	B-Application
NFL	I-Application
21	I-Application
has	O
been	O
overwhelmingly	O
negative	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
June	O
16	O
,	O
2020	O
,	O
the	O
trailer	O
for	O
Madden	B-Application
NFL	I-Application
21	I-Application
was	O
released	O
and	O
panned	O
by	O
reviewers	O
and	O
gamers	O
,	O
who	O
noted	O
no	O
new	O
apparent	O
changes	O
to	O
previous	O
installments	O
and	O
called	O
the	O
game	O
"	O
a	O
$60	O
roster	O
update	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Users	O
claim	O
that	O
no	O
changes	O
have	O
been	O
made	O
to	O
the	O
franchise	O
mode	O
in	O
recent	O
years	O
,	O
and	O
took	O
to	O
Twitter	B-Application
to	O
express	O
their	O
frustration	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
hashtag	O
"	O
#FixMaddenFranchise	O
"	O
became	O
the	O
most	O
viewed	O
on	O
Twitter	B-Application
in	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
on	O
July	O
1	O
,	O
2020	O
,	O
with	O
over	O
100,000	O
tweets	O
in	O
24	O
hours	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Upon	O
release	O
,	O
the	O
game	O
received	O
an	O
overwhelmingly	O
negative	O
response	O
from	O
Metacritic	O
users	O
,	O
who	O
review	O
bombed	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
entry	O
;	O
the	B-Operating_System
PlayStation	I-Operating_System
4	I-Operating_System
release	O
received	O
the	O
lowest	O
ever	O
Metacritic	O
user	O
rating	O
for	O
a	O
game	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
later	O
tied	O
with	O
Diablo	B-Application
Immortal	I-Application
in	O
2022	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Several	O
days	O
after	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
release	O
,	O
the	O
hashtag	O
"	O
#NFLdropEA	O
"	O
was	O
trending	O
on	O
Twitter	B-Application
,	O
with	O
users	O
calling	O
for	O
the	O
NFL	O
to	O
opt-out	O
of	O
its	O
exclusive	O
rights	O
deal	O
with	O
EA	O
Sports	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Despite	O
the	O
mixed	O
critical	O
reception	O
and	O
controversy	O
,	O
EA	O
announced	O
that	O
sales	O
of	O
Madden	B-Application
NFL	I-Application
21	I-Application
were	O
up	O
20%	O
compared	O
to	O
the	O
previous	O
year	O
's	O
installment	O
in	O
its	O
first	O
week	O
of	O
release	O
.	O
</s>
