Madden 21 Arrives on August 28, With Lamar Jackson on the Cover

A slate of new details surrounding Madden NFL 21 have been revealed today. Among other things, we now have a release date for the next entry in EA's sports sim: August 28.

As usual, there are a few ways to play the game early. If you pre-order either the MVP or the Deluxe Editions of the game, you can start playing three days early on August 25. Otherwise, for every other edition of the game, you'll have to wait until the regular launch date on August 28. Aside from a release date, it's been revealed that Madden 21 will be coming to Steam on PC.

Elsewhere, Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson has been revealed as the cover athlete of Madden 21. This shouldn't be a massive surprise, given that earlier this year in April, Jackson himself leaked the fact that he'd be starring on the cover of the game over on Twitter.

This year, the big new addition for Madden is the "Skill Stick." On the offensive side of the ball, the Skill Stick allows you pull off moves to outmaneuver tacklers and pass rushers, while the defensive Skill Stick lets you power through offensive linemen when going for the pass rush. Tackling in the open field is seeing some improvements as well.

Finally for now, the Superstar players return to Madden 21. First unveiled in last year's Madden, Superstar players have X-Factor abilities resembling their real-life counterpart's unique skillsets, offering an edge over other players. Madden NFL 20 cover star Patrick Mahomes, for example, could throw farther when his "Bazooka" factor was in play.

Madden 21 launches on August 25 for the more expensive pre-order versions, and on August 28 for everyone else. It'll be coming to both the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X at some point later this year.