First U.S. Professional Sports League to Commit All Teams to
Competitive Gaming and Esports; Players Will Compete to Represent their
Favorite NFL Teams
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. & NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Today, Electronic
Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) and the National Football League (NFL)
announced the launch of the Madden NFL Club Championship, a
landmark competitive gaming and esports event within the Madden NFL
Championship Series (MCS) involving all 32 NFL Clubs. With involvement
from every club across the League, this is the largest competitive
gaming commitment ever by a U.S. professional sports league, and
competition begins in less than 24 hours with the launch of EA SPORTS
Madden NFL 18 G.O.A.T Edition for Xbox One, the all in one
videogame and entertainment system from Microsoft, and the PlayStation®4
computer entertainment system on August 22nd. Players can
sign up today to compete at www.NFL.com/Madden.
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ELECTRONIC ARTS AND NFL LAUNCH THE FIRST MADDEN NFL CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP (Graphic: Business Wire)
Millions
can compete in pursuit of winning the Madden NFL Club Championship for
their favorite NFL team. Players will qualify first through online
competition with high-performers advancing to tournaments at select NFL
stadiums, popular cultural landmarks and more. Once the final 32 players
are identified, one per NFL team, they will compete in the Madden NFL
Club Championship Live Finals, a tournament occurring first at the Pro
Bowl Experience in Orlando, FL and culminating at the Super Bowl
Experience Driven by GMC in Minneapolis, MN with the winner receiving a
cash prize and two tickets to Super Bowl LII.
"Our first season of Madden NFL competitions was a great success,
engaging millions of players and igniting the passion of NFL fans
worldwide," said EA's Chief Executive Officer Andrew Wilson. "Now we're
taking competitive gaming and our NFL partnership to an unprecedented
level, with Madden NFL players competing to represent all 32 NFL
teams. The Madden NFL Club Championship is the opportunity sports
fans have been waiting for, to live their dreams and compete for their
favorite team on a global stage."
"Competitive gaming and esports are one of the most exciting ways to
engage a larger, younger and digitally savvy NFL audience," said NFL
Commissioner, Roger Goodell. "Collaborating with EA to create the Madden
NFL Club Championship presents a unique opportunity to capture the
excitement of NFL action and the passion of our fans with competition
that anyone can participate in."
The Madden NFL Club Championship is one of three currently
announced Madden NFL Championship Series EA Majors, the other two
are the Madden NFL Classic on October 20-21 and the Madden NFL
Challenge on December 15-16. EA Majors are the pinnacles of the Madden
NFL Championship Series with only the top players qualifying. The Madden
NFL Championship Series purse is $1.15 million for the season.
All players can compete in the Madden NFL Championship Series and
for a chance to qualify to compete in an EA Major through many means.
These competitive formats include online matchmaking now incorporating
the heavily engaging Madden NFL Ultimate Team Champions (MUT
Champions) experience, grass-roots tournaments known as Challenger
Events and mid-level Premier Events.
EA has the mission to make stars of all our players by making
competitive gaming accessible to all. Quickly becoming a leading
entertainment brand in competitive gaming, with top-selling videogame
franchises Madden NFL football, EA SPORTS FIFA and Battlefield
1, award-winning interactive technology and cross-platform digital
experiences, EA's competitive experiences ignite the passion of millions
of players and spectators through competition around the world.
For more details on the entire Madden NFL Championship Series
ecosystem, as well as details on the new Madden NFL Ultimate Team
Champions (MUT Champions) experience, please visit www.maddenchampionship.com.
About Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: EA) is a global leader in digital interactive
entertainment. The Company develops and delivers games, content and
online services for Internet-connected consoles, mobile devices and
personal computers. EA has more than 300 million registered players
around the world.
In fiscal year 2017, EA posted GAAP net revenue of $4.8 billion.
Headquartered in Redwood City, California, EA is recognized for a
portfolio of critically acclaimed, high-quality brands such as Madden
NFL, The Sims™, EA SPORTS™ FIFA, Battlefield™, Need for Speed™,
Dragon Age™ and Plants vs. Zombies™. More information about EA is
available at www.ea.com/news.
EA SPORTS, The Sims, Dragon Age, Plants vs. Zombies, Battlefield are
trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. and its subsidiaries. John Madden,
NFL, and FIFA are the property of their respective owners and used with
permission. Xbox and Xbox One are trademarks of the Microsoft group of
companies. "PlayStation" is a registered trademark of Sony Computer
Entertainment Inc.
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170821005401/en/
Electronic Arts Inc.
Travis Varner, 650-628-2717
EA Manager,
Strategic Communications
tvarner@ea.com
or
NFL
Alex
Riethmiller, 310-480-4681
NFL VP of Communications
alex.riethmiller@nfl.com
Source: Electronic Arts Inc.
News Provided by Acquire Media