This week following the announcement of both EA Sports’ Madden NFL 21 & FIFA 21 which will be coming to the current Xbox One and PlayStation 4 alongside the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 later on, both games were announced to be supported for free versions on the newer consoles. The company unveiled this feature with Dual Entitlement which will save owners for the ongoing systems from having to buy another version for the upcoming consoles.
Players who purchase the game either digitally or physically will be granted a digital version of either title on the PlayStation Store or Microsoft Store which can then be downloaded on the respected system. EA Sports did clarify that users will not be able to migrate to another family of consoles with Dual Entitlement benefits alongside transferring their progress over to an opposing platform either.
But there is one thing that hinders owners for the coming sports games: you cannot take advantage of Dual Entitlement if you decide on purchasing a discless console with a physical copy of the game. In both FAQ’s for the feature, EA Sports clarifies that users will have to purchase the game digitally if the user decides to do so.
Madden NFL 21 [or FIFA 21] on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X will be a digital version of the game which you’ll be able to download once the game launches later this year. If you buy a physical copy of Madden NFL 21, you’ll need the disc to be inserted into your PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X to be able to launch Madden NFL 21 on those consoles. If you intend to buy a discless console, you will need to purchase Madden NFL 21 digitally to take advantage of the Dual Entitlement offer as physical discs cannot currently be used to upgrade to discless consoles.
While it is directed towards the Digital Edition of the PlayStation 5, the wording of EA Sports insinuates that Microsoft will also offer a similar iteration for the Xbox Series X as well. As of yet, that version of the next-generation console has yet to be announced. It was reported in April that the discless console would be dubbed the ‘Xbox Series S’ and only include 4 Teraflops in the unannounced system.
Regardless, this could be troublesome for fans who decide on pursing a next-generation console, but cannot afford the unit with a disc drive installed in the system. Assuming that the unit will cost more, it could leave a lot of players in the rain when it comes time to upgrade later on. This offer is also timed until the following installments of both games (Madden NFL 22 & FIFA 22), so users might not be able to act fast enough also.
Do you plan on buying the physical or digital versions for Madden NFL 21 and FIFA 21?
Madden NFL 21 launches on August 25, 2020; FIFA 21 is set to arrive later on October 6, 2020.
