Madden NFL 21, a controversial football video game, has hinted at a confusing crossover with, of all things, Spongebob Squarepants. The most recent title in EA’s yearly sports franchise has been met with significant skepticism from fans and critics alike.
During its release, the game was a buggy disaster, and when it finally functioned properly, it was generally unaltered from its immediate predecessor, Madden 20. Fans reacted to this clear absence of effort on EA’s part by giving the title the worst Metacritic user review in history and asking that the NFL change EA as its licensed video game developer.
Instead, NFL strengthened its partnership with EA by revealing, unbelievably enough, that the infamous sports simulator would play host to the official NFL Pro Bowl this year. This serves as a quite unorthodox way to make up for the scarcity of physical sports, which have been stopped on a massive scale by the coronavirus pandemic.
EA, to its credit, has been doing improvements to Madden NFL 21 post-release, particularly by putting work into the next-gen edition of the game. This upgraded game utilizes real-life tracking data from real football players to more precisely simulate their behavior on the field, and it also comes with the visuals and loading time enhancements one would anticipate from a next-gen upgrade.
In addition to enhancing the game itself, though, EA appears to be expanding Madden 21 in unusual directions. Last January 5, the official Twitter account of Madden NFL 21 posted a message asking players if they are ready.
The message was followed by a yellow screen featuring the face of Spongebob Squarepants and a date – January 7, 2021. Players should consider themselves lucky that the date is inevitable because the tweet contains no more details and only a link to the official Spongebob Squarepants Twitter account. One can guess that this upcoming crossover is somehow associated with the forthcoming NFL Wild Card game which will feature a cameo from the cartoon character himself, but nothing is confirmed yet.
Are You Ready? @SpongeBob#Madden21 pic.twitter.com/RVamcE4BYW
— Madden NFL 21 (@EAMaddenNFL) January 5, 2021
Spongebob Squarepants is no stranger to the video game industry. The beloved sea sponge got his own game in 2003, and the past year saw a full remake of the game in the form of Spongebob Squarepants: Battle for Bikini Bottom – Rehydrated.
Sentimental fans love the game for catching the spirit of the show and its crazy horseplay, and a few are likely looking forward to the game’s upcoming mobile version. However, high-energy 3D platformers are very recognizable from realistic football simulations, and it’s much simpler to see Spongebob flourishing in one than the other.
