Madden NFL 21’s The Yard mode seems like it’s missing, well, the yard

This year, the long-running Madden NFL sim series is adding The Yard, a mode that replicates the sort of ball we played on our front lawns and at the park growing up.

Modes like this are important for Madden and EA Sports. The football franchise is a perennial best-seller and money-maker for the publisher, which sells millions of copies and makes more money off in-game transactions. It also has items for sale on mobile, and this mode will be on both mobile and the console/PC platforms. So it provides a new way for players to engage with the long-lived series, one that I’m sure EA hopes translates well on livestreams. And with this more casual football mode, EA is also hoping to grow Madden’s audience.