Madden NFL 21 is officially releasing on August 28, but you don’t necessarily have to wait until then to play the professional football game. The game’s EA Play early access trial is now available, giving subscribers the opportunity to play as many as 10 hours of the full game ahead of its official release date.
The early access period for Madden 21 actually started on August 21, which explains why you may have seen reactions, commentary, and gameplay footage emerging on social media over the weekend.
You need an EA Play membership to access the Madden 21 trial. The service, formerly known as EA Access, costs $5/month or $30/year.
If you’re willing to wait a little longer, you can start playing Madden 21’s full version–with no time limits–by purchasing the $80 Deluxe or $100 MVP edition of the game. This unlocks on August 25. This version also isn’t tied to any subscription, so you pay once and then keep the game forever.
All of your progress from the EA Play trial is likely to carry forward if you choose to buy the game outright. EA Play members save 10 percent on all EA digital content, which knocks down the price of Madden NFL 21’s standard version from $60 to $54. Additionally, the game will support a free next-gen upgrade for both Xbox and PlayStation until the release of next year’s game.
Madden NFL 21 introduces a number of updates and improvements over last year’s game, while it also adds a brand-new, arcade-style backyard football mode with trick plays. For more on Madden NFL 21, check out GameSpot’s video above where we speak with producer Seann Graddy and run down everything that’s new.
