A new Title Update is available in Madden NFL 21 today that includes many updates to gameplay, playbooks, Franchise mode, The Yard, and Superstar KO. Below is a breakdown of what’s included in today's Title Update:

To view the EA Gridiron Notes used for today's Title Update article, Click Here.

Key Highlights:

• Franchise Updates:
  • Dev Trait Regressions
  • X-Factor Customization
  • Playoff Bracket
  • Career Stats
  • Retirement Improvements
• New Feature: Yard Play-A-Friend 
• SSKO & Franchise stability improvements and bug fixes 

Gameplay Updates:

• Fixed an issue allowing offensive users to breakout of the handoff on Gun Flex Y Off Mtn Counter and run with the QB, making the play appear to be a version of QB Draw
• Fixed an issue causing awkward ball warping on some on HB Toss plays
• Fixed all distance-related abilities to take pass-leading into account as a triggering condition
  • DEV NOTE: Route Abilities were not giving catching benefits due to the pass leading of the Quarterback. E.G. A receiver with Short Out Elite would not receive any benefit if the receiver was inside the numbers when the pass started even if the pass lead caused the receiver to catch the ball short, outside of the numbers. Any time a ball is led to the area on the field that the Ability is designated for the receiver will get all the Ability catching benefits.
• Fixed a playbook issue on a specific Jet Sweep PA play causing a blocker to miss a rushing defender
• Fixed an issue where motioning an outside receiver would cause inappropriate defender coverage swapping vs. specific coverages
• Added functionality for user-controlled defenders to successfully Hit Stick the ball carrier immediately following a Block-Shed
• Tuning to reduce reaction-time penalty for Linebackers with the LB Style Trait set to ‘Cover;’ this tuning should make coverage LB’s react quicker in reading running plays and moving towards their run fits

Playbook Updates: 

• Blocking improvements: 
  • Made several adjustments to improve blocking on plays like Inside Zone Split, RPO Read WR Screen, PA Jet Sweep, and RPO Peek
  • Improved Left Tackle blocking on Pass plays in certain formations to address an issue where the blocker would miss an Edge Pass Rusher
• Updated Out Routes in compression formations and the Tight End’s route in RPO Y Peek so the releases are cleaner and the routes are more effective
• Addressed issues where the Halfback and Tight End would sometimes run into each other on plays like Zone Split Lead, Alert X Smoke, and RPO Alert Jailbreak Screen
• Alignment improvements: 
  • Strong Safety in Cover 3 is in better position to play outside runs vs Wing formations
  • Adjusted Wide Receiver splits in Spread formations to improve spacing and timing
• Updated the Halfback's run hole on 0 1 Trap plays which gives the Halfback more space away from the Defensive Lineman who’s being trapped

Franchise Updates:

•  Face of the Franchise Updates:
  • General stability improvements
  • Fixed an issue with several abilities not unlocking or equippable when they should be
  • Fixed an issue in the WR Drills causing users to sometimes fail the drill even after making the appropriate catch
• Franchise Updates:
  • The first set of Franchise updates announced post-launch have arrived, check out the Madden NFL 21 Gridiron Notes for more info on the following changes:
    • Dev Trait Regressions: Star, Superstar, and Superstar X-Factors will now have desired counts that are treated as the “correct” amount of each Dev Trait in your Franchise. Eligible players will be regressed in priority order until the target is met. These targets can be changed via Commissioner settings.
    • X-Factor Customization: We brought over our functionality from player mode that allows the player to alter the Superstar and Superstar X-Factor abilities on their players inside of Core Franchise as both a coach and an owner.
    • Playoff Bracket: Starting Week 13 of the regular season, there will be a Things To Do item that takes you to the current playoff picture if the season ended that week including the seeding for each team that would be in the playoffs. Once Wild Card week begins, the playoff bracket will also have the scores of all games that have been played, and the box score available by clicking on the matchup. There will also be a way to access this bracket through the “schedule” button, with a new tile labeled “Playoff Picture”.
    • Career Stats: One of the top community requests for several years now, we added the week matchup and result of the game to each player’s season stats via their player card. We also added what team a player finished their season with on each year of their career stats via their player card.
    • Retirement Improvements: In Re-Sign Players week, there will now be a Things To Do item that takes you directly to the Transactions screen sorted to Retired players to provide a quicker look into who is riding off into the sunset.
  • General stability improvements
  • Fixed an issue where the user was sent back to the Things to Do tab when exiting out of a screen even if they were on a different tab

The Yard Updates:

• New Feature: Yard Play-A-Friend.
  By popular demand, you can now play against your friends in The Yard.
  
  How it works:
  0) Select the Play-A-Friend tile in The Yard hub.
  1) Pick a venue and party size and build out your party as you normally would.
  2) Make sure to tell your friend’s team what venue and party size they should select.
  3) At the prompt, both party leaders set the same matchmaking password. This can be anything you want, just make sure you both enter it exactly the same.
  4) … (Magic of the internet happens here)
  5) Play against your friend and make sure they know you are better than them.
  
  NOTE: You won’t earn progression from Play-A-Friend games. 

Superstar KO Updates:

•  Stability and UI improvements for Superstar KO Endless Run.

Presentation Updates:

• Added functionality for users to toggle the Passing and Kicking Feedback Text on/off via the ‘Visual Feedback’ setting in the settings menu

Which of these updates are you most excited about? Share your thoughts on today's Title Update in the comments below.