Madden 17 Release Date, New Features, Cover and EA 2016 Presence

Mar 09, 2016 05:32 PM EST

With every year comes a new Madden game, which has been the tradition for over 25 years. This year's football simulator will have another offering, and it is not too early to talk about what new highlights will be on Madden 17.  This is the latest news about Madden 17 Release Date, New Features, Cover, and EA 2016 Presence. 

According to Gotta Be Mobile, EA is currently hiring for a new Madden game that has yet to be officially announced.  If that is the case, then perhaps it is too early to discuss what will hopefully not just be an updated roster, which is often a criticism of certain versions of the game. 

Sports news site Bleacher Report discusses the possibility of improvements like "a more aggressive catch" as well as catches that are occasionally missed.  Then there are improvements like making a little easier to block a field goal or punt, as well as more realistic elements like the weather and injury presentation.  Then there is the issue of customization, such as players customizing their uniforms, logos, and stadium.  There are also improvements discussed before such as the Auto Functioning Draft Mode and Player Morale System. 

Speaking of players, this leads to a discussion of who will be receiving the coveted cover spot on Madden 17.  The past several years had EA players voting on a Madden cover through ESPN, and the vote for that should probably be in May to be announced in late May. 

As for narrowing down the actual release date, we can look to last year as an indicator of what will occur this year.  On April 16, 2015, the Madden Blog announced the release date of Madden 16, which means that the release date of Madden 17 will probably be announced next month.   This puts a release date for Madden 17 in August, which is the time when the last five games of the series have arrived.  The formal announcement of the next Madden game comes with a gameplay video. 

Generally, the games arrive in late August, and the last two Tuesdays of August are the 23rd and the 30th as being the most likely release dates for Madden 17.  There is talk that Madden 17 will not only come to the PS4 and Xbox One, but it could come to older generations of the PS3 and Xbox 360.  

More will probably be revealed at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), a video game convention held every year at the Los Angeles Convention Center in June.  This year, EA will not have a booth on the show floor, but rather host a three-day event at Club Nokia from June 12 to June 14, with a press conference on June 12, at 1 PM PT.  There will be probably more to hear about Madden 17 at this.