Madden NFL 21 announcement postponed as EA decry "unjust treatment and systemic bias"
Surprising!
Electronic Arts had planned to today announce Madden NFL 21, the latest annual sequel in their American football series. But in light of the protests, unrest, and violence in America right now after Minneapolis police killed unarmed Black man George Floyd, it didn't seem the time. "Our immediate attention is on actions we can take to drive change against the unjust treatment and systemic bias that is plaguing the nation and our world," EA Sports said in a surprising statement.
Update: PlayStation have done much the same for their June 4th event, saying "we do not feel that right now is a time for celebration and for now, we want to stand back and allow more important voices to be heard."
EA announced the nonannouncement on Sunday in a statement titled "It's Game Time":
"Tomorrow, we had committed to celebrating Madden NFL 21, but we're not going to do that now.
"We stand with our African American / Black community of friends, players, colleagues and partners. Our immediate attention is on actions we can take to drive change against the unjust treatment and systemic bias that is plaguing the nation and our world.
"We'll find another time to talk football with you. Because this is bigger than a game, bigger than sports, and needs all of us to stand together and commit to change."
It really is quite surprising from a large video games company like EA. Especially considering the NFL has at times opposed players simply kneeling before matches to protest police brutality and racism.