Madden NFL 20

Development

Patrick Mahomes, the 2018 NFL MVP, was announced as the cover athlete on April 25, 2019, making him the first Kansas City Chiefs player to appear on a Madden NFL cover. The game featured 22 original soundtrack tracks written specifically for it, a first for the franchise, with contributions from Sage the Gemini, Denzel Curry, De La Soul, Joey Badass, Jay Park, Wiz Khalifa, Dillon Francis, Snoop Dogg, Lil Skies, and Saweetie. Brandon Gaudin and Charles Davis served as in-game announcers, while Jonathan Coachman hosted studio halftime and pregame segments.

Post-launch, Season 1 introduced Superstar KO, a mode where players select a team with a head coach and three players for 1v1, 2v2, or 3v3 matches; winning adds a player, and three wins make the player an 'undefeated champion'. Teams had unique playstyles, such as the Florida Keys with DJ Khaled as head coach focusing on blitz plays, the Magicians with Patrick Mahomes as head coach and Twitch Prime as sponsor focusing on run pass options, and Backyard Heroes with Lil Yachty as head coach focusing on sandlot plays. The online servers were shut down on April 15, 2024.

Reception

On Metacritic, Madden NFL 20 received 'generally favorable' reviews for console versions and 'mixed or average' reviews for the PC version. IGN rated it 8.1/10, praising new superstar players and control refinements as the best moment-to-moment gameplay of the console generation, but noting that Franchise mode had been left behind. GameSpot gave it 8/10, calling it an improved version that excels in some areas and leaves something to be desired in others.

GamesRadar+ praised the updated story mode and X-factor players, saying the game 'clears the roster and properly initiates the rebuilding phase for football's first franchise,' though Franchise mode felt neglected. Game Revolution gave it 3/5, praising X-factor for making stars feel 'bigger than ever' but criticizing the lacking Franchise mode. Game Informer gave it 7.5/10, summarizing that new features can only do so much for a series needing work in multiple areas.

Shacknews gave it 4/10, calling it 'the worst major sports league video game out there' and criticizing marginal improvements over previous installments.