Madden 20: Release Date, Cover and Ultimate Team Details

Madden 20 took a predictable course by naming Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes as its cover star ahead of the game's Aug. 2 release date. 

No surprise there: Mahomes shocked the world last season in his first full year as a starter, completing 66 percent of his passes with 5,097 yards and 50 touchdowns against just 12 interceptions. 

The various covers are simple, yet effective: 

In a way, Mahomes redefined the game as onlookers know it. Defenses will start to adapt and he'll have to continue to evolve, but the no-look passes, incredible poise under pressure and outright manipulation of opponents was unexpected and refreshing. 

Madden 20 hopes to reinvent itself in a few ways, too. It starts with Face of the Franchise: QB1 Career Campaign, which steps into the place that Longshot and Longshot: Homecoming leave vacant. There, players will be able to insert themselves as a franchise quarterback into a custom career mode and attempt to become the next Mahomes. 

Other innovations include RPG-esque elements for superstar players and general gameplay improvements. 

Then there is Ultimate Team. 

Over the years, Ultimate Team's collection-based gameplay and fresh take on how to play Madden as a whole has become a go-to for a large chunk of the playerbase. As such, EA Sports has made it a point to pay the mode special attention with each release. 

With Madden 20, the theme seems to be a tailored experience for each player. A new structure for missions gives players a map to acquiring the loot they want, as associate producer Jake Stein explained at EA.com: 

"Now, Missions are not what is used to grant you rewards in Madden Ultimate Team. Instead, think of Missions as the vehicle to get you to that reward. And a Mission may not always be based off one particular thing. For example, a Mission could be something like 'Earn 50 Series Trophies.' Missions will link you to all of the play experiences like H2H Seasons, Squad Seasons, Solo Battles, etc., those places where you can earn those Series Trophies on your way to completing said Mission."

Missions outline how players can get what they want, which sounds like it will remove some of the RNG walls in front of players who want to build certain decks or lineups for various styles of play. Anything that helps streamline the experience so players have a better chance at their ideal custom builds would seem like a welcome addition. 

Also interesting is the introduction of a star system to Ultimate Challenges. Picking between one and three stars will determine the difficulty and rewards of each challenge. It sounds like a small thing, but a difficulty modifier means a more accessible experience for all level of players. That accessibility follows an overarching trend for Madden as a whole lately, so this one was a matter of time. 

Ultimate Challenges are where some needed quality-of-life updates come into play as well. Players will now be able to string together as many challenges in a row as they want instead of getting popped back out to a menu after each one. Like Mahomes before and after the snap, it's the little things. 

As expected, many of the general gameplay updates will arrive on the Ultimate Team fields, too. Player archetypes will play a role on the field, so players can better differentiate between an edge-rushing presence and a run-stuffer on the edge, as one example. The superstar abilities going out to only 50 or so players will also be present. 

The rest of the usual suspects apply here. Players can take their crafted rosters into Squads gameplay with others. They can fight through some Solo Battles or even hop into MUT Champions and attempt to qualify for weekend leagues. 

A diverse palette with a bit of everything doesn't stop there, either. Seasons are exactly what they sound like and have the player chasing a Lombardi Trophy. And MUT draft is a fun wrinkle—players draft a fresh squad and work through a six-game challenge. 

Within the roster-building itself, Chemistry Boosts are also back and will dole out bonuses for players who craft teams with certain plays, such as a power-run scheme. 

As a whole, Ultimate Team is once again a highly varied experience. Players can choose how to play and keep collecting as they go. That some of the new features steer players in the direction of rewards they want is nothing short of a nice development for the series and mode. 

Sprinkling in archetypes players can select and chemistry boosts before jumping into varying sorts of tournaments and otherwise makes it sound like Ultimate Team in Madden 20 is the most polished, all-encompassing version of the mode to date.