The cover star of Madden NFL 23 is the late coach and commentator, John Madden himself. The legendary figure will appear on all three editions of the game.
The move pays respect to Madden, who died in December last year. The cover art for this year’s digital edition also pays homage to the original John Madden Football game released in 1988 – you can see the old and new art side by side below.
While Madden appeared on every cover throughout the ’90s his last appearance was in 2000, when the franchise switched to spotlighting NFL athletes instead of its namesake. This year, however, Madden will feature on each of the game’s three covers.
Left: The original Madden game artwork. Right: Madden NFL 23’s All Madden Edition artwork. (Image credits: EA)
The digital recreation above was made by Philadelphia-based sports artist Chuck Styles while the other two covers, presumably its standard and MVP editions, feature Madden depicted separately as a broadcaster and a coach.
These covers aren’t the only homage, though, as an “interactive experience” sees two all-star teams led by Madden face off in the 1970s Oakland Coliseum, while the coach himself commentates the game through remastered audio clips.
The homage to Madden was revealed today, June 1, to coincide with the original Madden game’s release date in 1988, and EA is also renaming a renovated football field at its headquarters as “John Madden Field” in a ceremony with CEO Andrew Wilson and members of Madden’s family.
Madden was originally brought on to endorse EA’s football game in the ’80s, but refused to until it was turned from an arcade-style seven-versus-seven game to a more authentic simulation with 11 players on each team.
EA agreed, changing its plans, and finally released John Madden Football in 1988. It acquired the NFL license in 1993 and released Madden NFL ’94 as a result, with a subsequent game each year ever since.
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.
