EA Sports came out with an official statement that postponed the anticipated gameplay trailer and release date announcement, which should have come out today, June 1. The publisher decided to move attention away from the video game’s release and instead give voice to the ongoing George Floyd protests in the United States of America.
Reality more important to EA than simulation
EA Sports showed where their priorities lie currently by postponing the official Madden NFL 2021 trailer indefinitely. The publisher appealed to its followers to focus on the ongoing societal problems that plague the US nation and leave video games on the second row for a while.
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All of this is invoked by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota and the nation-wide protests against police brutality towards African Americans that ensued in the aftermath of Floyd's alleged murder.
An official statement from EA SPORTS pic.twitter.com/MKdgJjvKJB
— Madden NFL 21 (@EAMaddenNFL) May 31, 2020
Whether EA’s decision to rob the community of some virtual relief from the cruel reality – something video games have been doing successfully for decades, is a real topic of discussion. Of course, social injustices are something we should always react to accordingly, but as many have stated under EA’s tweet – negative stuff happens every second of every day and video games are one of the safest paths to comfort in dire situations.
This leaves us uncertain on when exactly the new Madden will be released. With the coronavirus still in consideration, we might even be staged for a diversion from the game’s usual early August release. Some even speculate that the developers are behind schedule and are using the Floyd situation to bail themselves out.
That’s perhaps going a step too far on the speculation, yet, it is EA we’re speaking of, so anything’s a possibility. Hopefully, we’ll hear from the publisher soon once everything has cooled down a bit.
