Salem, OR — Midway through December, and EA Sports has pushed out another title update for Madden NFL 20. For its December title update, new alternate versions of every offensive and defensive playbook for each team have been updated. These playbooks closely mimic what the teams have actually used through the current NFL season.

Players can toggle on the “NFL Live Playbooks” option in the Game Options setting from the main menu to access these new plays. As for the rest of the update to Madden NFL 20, certain players have received new X-Factor titles while others lost their designation based on their play during the current NFL season.


Below is a detailed breakdown of what’s included in today’s title update:

Key Highlights

  • NFL Live Playbooks
    • Alternate versions of every offensive and defensive playbook for each NFL team have been added as playbook options in Play Now and Franchise.  In addition to the new plays and formations these playbooks introduce, these books will also be used to update playbook content throughout the rest of the Madden NFL 20 season.  These alternate playbooks are updated versions of each teams’ scheme that closely mimic the plays they’ve been running so far in the NFL season.
    • To access these playbooks, toggle on the ‘NFL Live Playbooks’ option in the Game Options settings from the main menu or via the Advanced Settings option in the Team Select screen. The Advanced Settings option in Team Select is how Franchise players will be able to access the alternate playbooks. The NFL Live Playbooks will NOT be available for use inside of Custom Playbooks but will instead function like the ‘generic’ playbooks and the alternate playbooks will also NOT be supported by Formation Subs inside of Franchise mode. More details about some of the new playbook content can be found below in the ‘Gameplay’ section of the notes.

 

  • New X-Factor Players:
    • Ravens QB Lamar Jackson, replacing Chargers QB Philip Rivers
      • X-Factor: First One Free
      • Superstar Abilities: Escape Artist, Juke Box, Fast Break
    • 49ers DE Nick Bosa, replacing Rams RB Todd Gurley
      • X-Factor: Unstoppable Force
      • Superstar Abilities: Strip Specialist, Finesse Specialist
    • Jets SS Jamal Adams, replacing Cowboys CB Byron Jones
      • X-Factor: Reinforcement
      • Superstar Abilities: Enforcer, Under Pressure
    • Patriots FS Devin McCourty, replacing Bears FS Eddie Jackson
      • X-Factor: Zone Hawk
      • Superstar Abilities: Lumberjack, Pick Artist
    • Cardinals OLB Chandler Jones, replacing Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliott
      • X-Factor: Fearmonger
      • Superstar Abilities: Reach Elite, Edge Threat Elite
    • Updated Jaguars DE Calais Campbell
      • Replaced Reach Tackle with Inside Stuff
  • Updated Superstar Players:
    • Buccaneers WR Chris Godwin
      • Route Technician
    • Vikings DE Everson Griffen
      • Power Specialist
    • Ravens CB Marlon Humphrey
      • Man Up
    • Ravens LT Ronnie Stanley
      • Secure Protector
    • Saints RT Ryan Ramcyzk
      • Secure Protector
    • Vikings WR Stefon Diggs
      • Cross Specialist, Post-Flag Specialist
    • Jaguars RB Leonard Fournette
      • Bulldozer
    • 49ers DE Dee Ford
      • Edge Threat
    • Cowboys CB Byron Jones, downgraded from X-Factor to Superstar
      • Acrobat
    • Eagles TE Zach Ertz, downgraded from X-Factor to Superstar
      • In-Out Elite
    • Chargers QB Philip Rivers, downgraded from X-Factor to Superstar
      • Pocket Lead, Arching Deadeye
    • Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliott, downgraded from X-Factor to Superstar
      • Inside Zone Guru
    • Bears FS Eddie Jackson, downgraded from X-Factor to Superstar
      • Zoned Out
  • Downgraded Superstar & X-Factor players, no longer equipped with any abilities:
    • Colts MLB Darius Leonard
    • Chargers RB Melvin Gordon, III
    • Jets MLB CJ Mosley
    • Redskins SS Landon Collins
    • Falcons FS Keanu Neal
    • Rams RB Todd Gurley
    • Browns DE Myles Garrett
      • DEV NOTE: Superstar X-Factor reshuffling is part of our ongoing continuous development plan to keep the rosters and players as up to date as possible with the events of the NFL season. These updates will apply to Front End rosters for Online head-to-head games, exhibition and new Franchise leagues created with the ‘Custom Roster’ option. The re-shuffles will NOT impact existing Franchise leagues, as those leagues are already in progress with their own performance progression/regression and will not apply to new Franchise leagues created with the ‘Pre-Season Roster’ option.

Global Updates

  • General stability and connectivity improvements
  • NFL Player Likeness Updates:
    • Panthers WR Chris Hogan
    • Panthers MLB Shaq Thompson
    • Panthers RG Trai Turner
    • Panthers FS Tre Boston
    • Panthers TE Ian Thomas
  • Added Chiefs alternate helmet with grey facemask
  • Updated the chin strap on the Xenith Shadow helmet to white instead of team color
  • Updated stadium clocks in Packers stadium

Franchise Updates

  • DEV NOTE: As mentioned above, Superstar X-Factor reshuffling is also a part of Franchise’s continuous development plan to keep the rosters and players as up to date as possible with the events of the NFL season. The ability to update abilities for existing Franchise leagues is something that the team is committed to but has caused some recent stability issues. In order to keep the servers stable and maintain the integrity of existing leagues, some abilities will not directly map between Franchise and other modes. Some Franchise & QB1 Mode examples are: 
    • The ‘Omaha’ ability is currently using the Ultimate Team trigger conditions rather than the Franchise triggers
    • The QB version of ‘First One Free’ will have slightly different zone conditions in Franchise
    • The following ability changes only apply to new offline and online leagues:
      • TY Hilton will have his Superstar X-Factor ability ‘Rac Em Up’ & the correct Development trait
      • Superstar X-Factor Keenan Allen has the ability ‘Rac Em Up’
  • Fixed an issue where coach users would sign a player to an extension, then go into edit player (even if the user didn’t edit the player) the contract would change current year’s contract.
  • Fixed an issue in Cloud and Offline leagues where changes to Edit Coach appearance were not being saved

Gameplay Updates

  • Playbooks Updates:
    • NFL Live Playbook Highlights:
      • New formations: Defensive 4-3 Even, 6-1, 46 Cub, Dime Sugar 3-2, Dime Sugar Weak; Offensive Heisman package
      • Inverted Veer changed to ‘Power Read’
      • Updated play-calling AI for Ravens playbook to call more QB option run plays
      • Defensive formations added to NFL Live playbooks for Bears, Dolphins, Lions, Patriots, Rams, Jets, Chiefs, Jaguars, Jets, Patriots, Saints, Lions, Vikings, Packers, Ravens
      • Offensive formations added to NFL Live Playbooks for Ravens, 49ers, Rams, Bears, Seahawks, Jets, Chargers, Spread
    • Fixed an issue causing misaligned players when using the Nickel Triple formation vs. Shotgun Taysom Hill Package
    • Fixed an issue causing missing play art with base align/flip on some Nickel 3-3-5 plays
  • Tuning to prevent user-controlled defenders from triggering fake-out animations vs. ball-carrier special moves (Juke, Spin, Hurdle) regardless of ratings match-up on Competitive game-style only. This applies vs. all ball carriers, including those holding X-Factor and Superstar abilities
  • Fixed an issue causing the offense to get put into random formations when using hurry-up in MUT Squads

Ultimate Team Updates

  • DEV NOTE: NFL Live playbooks will not yet be offered in Ultimate Team. We will make them available in the near future once every playbook has been populated with enough content to offer the maximum amount of value to our players.

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