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EA Sports has published a new blog post about what’s coming to Madden NFL 22. That is not a typo. Even before the release of Madden NFL 21, the developer has begun to discuss some its plans for next year’s game as part of a new level of transparency at the studio.

Producer Seann Graddy said in the blog post that, while it’s “still very early” for Madden NFL 22, the development team is already planning for areas they would like to focus on.

With the caveat that Madden NFL 22 is only in pre-production, Graddy outlined some of the areas that EA Sports may address, but isn’t committing to definitively just yet.

These areas include:

• Coaching and staff management
• Scouting improvements
• New scenario engine enhancements
• New team chemistry system
• Commissioner Tools improvements
• MORE CONTENT – Examples: Relocation/Branding Assets for Franchise – New uniforms, names, and logos to relocation options for more variety and depth in deeper careers.

There will be “other key additions” for Madden NFL 22 that EA will announce later, Graddy said.

On the more immediate horizon, Graddy gave an overview for the post-launch support planned for Madden NFL 21, though again, he said these items are subject to change. The list includes things like basic player tuning, a refresh of the broadcast package for the Playoffs and Super Bowl, improved UI for career stats, and new commissioner tools that give players the ability to undo transactions and approve trades, among other things.

MADDEN NFL 21 – Post Launch Support

• TUNING – Improved progression and regression of players. Improve core player progression into the future such that X-Factors and other abilities for older players work well with incoming rookie classes.
• AI PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT – The AI will make better team management decisions in the draft, free agency and trades.
• PLAYOFF and SUPER BOWL PRESENTATION – Improve and refresh.
• X-FACTOR / SUPERSTAR ABILITY CUSTOMIZATION – Introduce the ability to customize X-Factor and Abilities on all players, allowing you to customize your roster as you see fit.
• CAREERS STATS UI – Improved UI showing historical player performances. More immersion and depth on how players have progressed in your Franchise.
• TRADE LOGIC – More fidelity, depth, and authenticity.
• RETIREMENT UI – Better insight into retirements each season to allow players to react/manage.
• PLAYOFFS UPDATE – Add an authentic playoff bracket screen to see who’s in, who’s won and who’s up next.

Also in the blog post, Graddy addressed some of the concerns people have expressed regarding Madden NFL 21’s Franchise mode being lacklustre. He said EA Sports will be “dedicating a higher percentage of team bandwidth” toward developing new Franchise features for Madden NFL 21 and Madden NFL 22.

“We are passionate Franchise fans, just like you, and we’re placing some of our most-passionate Franchise voices to lead the creative path forward,” Graddy said.

Finally, Graddy pointed out that EA treats the Madden NFL series like a “true live service” that grows and evolves over time with new content and features.

“The game you buy on launch day is only the beginning of the annual Madden NFL 21 journey,” Graddy said. “Our commitment to you is to deliver meaningful change to the game throughout the year. In Madden NFL 21, we’ll expand our dedicated live service team to allow for more focused delivery of Franchise improvements based on your feedback, while continuing to evolve the broader game for our wide cross-section of Madden fans.”

Currently, Graddy said EA is planning to launch “two or three” title updates for Madden NFL 21 over the coming months after launch.

In other news, EA Sports has confirmed that it’s making a last-minute change to Madden NFL 21 to remove the Washington Redskins after the real-world sports team dropped the name that was widely criticized for being racist. The game will be updated with a generic Washington team and logo until the actual sports group decides on and announces a new name.

Madden NFL 21 is coming on August 28 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One. It will also be coming to the next-gen PS5 and Xbox Series X, with free upgrades for current-gen owners through EA’s Dual Entitlement program. For more details, check out our Madden NFL 21 pre-order guide.

Just resigned from Microsoft. For the first time in two decades, I am a free agent. Look out world!
Going to miss all the great people I had the honor of working with over the years, but I’m excited to start the next chapter in my career. Stay tuned…

— Wall of Bill 🏒🥅 (@wcstillwell) August 3, 2020

Frog Fractions: Game of the Decade Edition is available now on Steam, bringing the strange and wonderful Frog Fractions to Steam for the first time. And, lo-and-behold, it secretly contains a whole other game within it–albeit one you’ll have to pay real money for.

Frog Fractions, which famously hides its real intentions behind the veneer of a frog-centric maths game, comes with a piece of DLC on Steam–Hop’s Iconic Hat, which adds a funky new hat to the game’s frog. The $8 hat is priced just high enough to turn people away–but check under the brim and you’ll find a new game.

PC Gamer is reporting that the hat awakens something new in the game. From the menu screen, there is a toggle for whether or not you want Hop to wear the hat. Put it on, and you’ll get a whole new experience–one that PC Gamer doesn’t spoil, and we’ll do the same.

Another Frog Fractions game was hidden away in Glittermitten Grove, and while some contend that this is Frog Fractions 2, others suggest that it’s actually Frog Fractions 3, and the second game was the ARG that led up to this game’s discovery. Perhaps the real Frog Fractions 2 was the friends we made along the way.

PC Gamer contacted series creator Jim Crawford for comment, and he called this ordering his “headcanon”–making Hop’s Iconic Hat, in a way, Frog Fractions 4.

The hat is discounted on Steam until August 9. After that, it will cost $10.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons‘ second summer update has arrived, adding dreaming, save backups, a weekly summer fireworks show, and more to the popular Switch life sim. That’s not all that’s new in the game right now, however; the Nook Shopping catalog has also added some new items to its seasonal collection.

Three new limited-time items are now available to order: the rodeo-style springy ride-on, the Hikoboshi outfit, and the Orihime outfit. You can find these listed under the Seasonal tab in the Nook Shopping terminal, and each one will be available through August 31. The former costs 2,000 bells, while the latter two are each 2,500.

On top of the new seasonal items, August brings a handful of new fish and bugs to catch in the game. Those in the Northern Hemisphere can now reel in moray eels, rays, and soft-shelled turtles–among other critters–from the ocean and river. This month also marks the last chance for Northern Hemisphere players to catch various beetles and other summer insects. You can learn more in our fish guide and bug guide.

As previously mentioned, New Horizons’ recent 1.4.0 update also added a new summer event: fireworks shows. Every Sunday evening starting at 7 PM your time, you’ll be able to watch fireworks in the game with your friends and villagers. Isabelle will be stationed in your town plaza during the show and hand you a free wearable bopper. Redd will also have his own raffle tent, where you’ll be able to win festive items like balloons, pinwheels, and fountain fireworks.

Beyond the in-game activities, update 1.4.0 also finally added the long-promised island backup function. This is only available for Switch Online subscribers, and it lets you back up your New Horizons save data in the event that you lose or damage your Switch. However, this function works a little differently from the typical cloud saves offered through the service; you can learn more in our guide on how to back up your Animal Crossing save.

Many countries might be slipping into a recession caused by the ongoing coronavirus crisis, but some in the video game space are enjoying record revenue and profits. Recently, Capcom announced that it had its most successful first-quarter to a year–that is, the three-month period from March to June–ever in 2020.

According to the press release, these numbers were driven by impressive sales for catalog titles Monster Hunter World: Iceborne and the Resident Evil 2 remake. The release of the Resident Evil 3 remake also drew a strong response. As previously announced, this period brought lifetime sales of the Resident Evil franchise to over 100 million units for the first time.

Not all aspects of Capcom’s business were quite as rosy, however. Net sales for the company’s arcade operations were down more than 50% from last year due to closures caused by COVID-19, and its amusement equipment numbers were down 20% as well. Overall, net sales went up 32.2%, and the company’s operating income increased 39.1% year-over-year. No word yet on how much Zenny that translates to.

Capcom has a couple of new projects in the pipeline, particularly the confusingly-named RE7 follow-up Resident Evil Village and the upcoming RE3 costume DLC. Village still doesn’t have a release date yet, and it’s not clear whether or not it’ll count as Resident Evil 8, as was rumored early on.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Warzone will begin Season 5 this week, and Activision has rolled out a trailer detailing some of the new features and changes. Those teases include new maps, and big changes to the large-scale Warzone map.

The trailer starts with a Warzone change that has been rumored in the community. The stadium is getting its enclosed roof blown off, opening up a huge new area for firefights. It also shows what appears to be a supply train making the rounds in Verdansk, with several players landing directly on pieces of cargo.

From there, it moves into new maps for traditional Call of Duty multiplayer. Suldal Harbor and Petrov Oil Rig are both 6v6 multiplayer maps, while Verdansk International Airport will debut with Ground War and the Livestock map will be playable in Gunfight. The trailer also makes a point of showing some flashy new skins and cosmetics, though it doesn’t give them names.

The train was teased with viral videos distributed to streamers, hinting at things to come in the new season. That also confirmed the date for the new season, August 5. In preparation for that, you can begin pre-loading the patch on PS4. But be warned: It’s a big one again. On the bright side, the overall footprint of the game will be reduced by the update.

Developer Crystal Dynamics has confirmed that Spider-Man will join Marvel’s Avengers‘ roster as free, post-launch DLC. The studio also confirmed that the webslinger will be exclusive to PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5.

The team shared no specific information about how Spider-Man will play. There are also no screenshots of Spider-Man in-engine, signaling that Crystal Dynamics and co-developer Eidos-Montreal are still hard at work on the playable character.

Still, in a lengthy PlayStation Blog post, Crystal Dynamics’ associate art director Jeff Adams outlined what we can expect when Spider-Man arrives in the game after Marvel’s Avengers launches on September 4. Adams said Spider-Man’s “impressive acrobatic abilities will complement the experience, allowing you to seamlessly transition from navigation to combat,” stating he wants players to feel “graceful and light” while playing him.

In addition to the smooth gameplay Spider-Man presents, Adams specified he wants players to “be able to utilize a variety of web configurations and gadgets to enhance your traversal.” In order to make this happen, Adams said Spider-Man will get “unique skill trees” that will include an “impressive suite of iconic abilities and attacks at your disposal, [as well as the ability to decide] which gadgets and skills you wish to upgrade.”

Furthermore, with Spider-Man teaming up with Crystal Dynamics’ take on The Avengers, the webslinger will also get access to a variety of technology upgrades throughout the game. This includes “custom web shooter-based technology from Hank Pym, SHIELD, Stark Industries, and more.”

In terms of look, Crystal Dynamics’ Spider-Man for Marvel’s Avengers will be influenced by the work of both Steve Ditko and John Romita Sr., meaning players will see a Spider-Man that is both new and familiar to the source material. And when Spider-Man does arrive in-game, he’ll be introduced with a special event that’s comprised of “a series of unique challenges” designed for Spider-Man. These will test his abilities and, according to Crystal Dynamics, will yield “some exciting results.” He will also have multiple costumes like the rest of the game’s heroes.

Spider-Man is the second post-launch DLC confirmed for Marvel’s Avengers but the first one made exclusive to one console family. He joins Hawkeye, who will also accompany The Avengers sometime after the game drops this September for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. Marvel’s Avengers is also coming to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X.