Madden 21 current-gen and next-gen title update – January 7 patch notes

The first major Madden 21 title update of 2021 went live on January 7, and it comes with a few major additions. The Madden devs have added a Spongebob-themed location for The Yard, which sheds some light on the teaser that EA Sports posted earlier this week. Additionally, the second set of post-launch Franchise updates, detailed by the development team yesterday as part of a new Gridiron Notes article, were also added to Madden 21.

The new title update is live for both current-gen and next-gen consoles, and PC users.

Madden NFL 21 (Xbox Series X|S & PS5)

Key Highlights:

• New SpongeBob Yard Location 
• Second set of post-launch Franchise updates

Gameplay Updates:

• Zone Coverage Improvements:
  • Tuning to Deep Zone defender logic to focus more on deep threats in their zone and less on shorter routes approaching their zones
  • Tuning to Deep Zone logic in Cover 1 to react quicker to Deep Over, Post, and any other deep crossing routes.
  • Updated the facing direction of Deep Zone players so they’ll face the ball rather than just the line of scrimmage, which will help Deep Zone defenders turn in the appropriate direction when covering deep routes.
  • Tuning to fakeout logic on Inside Release Post Routes (S-Posts). There was significant separation resulting from this release and cut when close to the line of scrimmage. This change prevents defenders getting faked out during this early segment of the route.
  • Added Gen 5-specific Change of Direction animations to locomotion which will improve a defender’s ability to transition from strafe to run quicker and smoother to help defenders get into position to play the ball quicker.
  • Tuning to improve ‘turn and run’ to better anticipate vertical speed threats
  • Tuning to allow faster top-end strafe speed for defenders in Deep Zone
  • Extended the distance that a Deep Third can look inside when anticipating Deep Crossing routes coming from the opposite side of the field.
  • Fixed an issue causing outside Deep Third defenders to leverage the No. 1 (Outside) Receiver too long even when the receiver was no longer a deep threat.
  • DEV NOTE: We’ve made significant tuning changes to zone coverage, specifically deep zones to better balance the deep passing game and increase anticipation of deep zone defenders. One thing to be aware of is that these changes only apply to defenders in zone coverage and will NOT impact ‘Match’ zone players after they have transitioned to man coverage on applicable match coverage plays. We will continue to monitor stats and feedback on both man and zone coverage towards future tuning updates and thank you to the Madden Community for the feedback on zone coverage.
• General Gameplay Fixes: 
  • Kickoff Playclock Exploit – Fixed an issue allowing the kicking team to remain at the Play-call screen indefinitely without having to call a play. This has been used as an exploit to force the receiving team to quit in order to get out of the game. Now the playclock will run down as it should and force the kickoff to be called when it expires.
  • Fair Catch Exploit – Fixed an issue causing the ball carrier to enter a state where he couldn’t be tackled after fielding a kick or punt off the ground following a fair catch. With this fix, any player on the receiving team who recovers a kick or punt following a fair catch will be able to get tackled.

Franchise Updates:

• The second set of Franchise updates announced post-launch have arrived, check out the Madden NFL 21 Gridiron Notes for more info:
  • New Commish Controls
    • Draft Auto-Pilot: Assign auto-pilot during the draft.
    • House Rules: Dictate how many times a play can be called in a game, and how long a player must wait before calling the same play again.
    • Undo Free Agent Settings: undo FA signings in the offseason directly through the transaction log. Click on a signing and revert it to send the player back into the free agent pool.
    • Team Override Settings: Commissioners now have the ability to turn on/off or allow users to keep individual settings for Heat Seeker tackling, Ball Hawk, and Switch assist.
  • Personnel Logic Improvements: New guidelines for CPU draft logic to assist teams in whether they should or should not have interest in drafting a first round QB.
  • Mouthpieces can now be applied in all new franchises, we are working to have this update come to existing leagues moving forward.

Presentation Updates:

• Fixed an issue preventing the play-clock from showing up on Kickoff plays

Madden NFL 21 (Xbox One, PS4, PC)

Key Highlights:

• New SpongeBob Yard Location 
• Second set of post-launch Franchise updates

Franchise Updates:

• The second set of Franchise updates announced post-launch have arrived, check out the Madden NFL 21 Gridiron Notes for more info:
  • New Commish Controls
    • Draft Auto-Pilot: Assign auto-pilot during the draft.
    • House Rules: Dictate how many times a play can be called in a game, and how long a player must wait before calling the same play again.
    • Undo Free Agent Settings: undo FA signings in the offseason directly through the transaction log. Click on a signing and revert it to send the player back into the free agent pool.
    • Team Override Settings: Commissioners now have the ability to turn on/off or allow users to keep individual settings for Heat Seeker tackling, Ball Hawk, and Switch assist.
  • Personnel Logic Improvements: New guidelines for CPU draft logic to assist teams in whether they should or should not have interest in drafting a first round QB.
  • Mouthpieces can now be applied in all new franchises, we are working to have this update come to existing leagues moving forward.