EA has confirmed that it's existing games for Xbox One and Playstation 4 will receive free patches to upgrade them for next-generation consoles. The PS5 and Xbox Series X both feature ways to play current-generation games, both consoles will attempt to automatically boost games up to 4k resolution. While these options ensure broad inter-generation compatibility issues can arise from game limitations, this is where manual patches come in allowing developers to take advantage of the extra performance and radically overhaul their games.

Electronic Arts CFO Blake Jorgensen confirmed in a recent earnings call that EA would not charge consumers for these patches. "As usual, we have presented the quarterly phasing of our net bookings in our earnings presentation. Note that this year, the phasing includes the effect of revenue recognition from the games we are launching for the current generation of consoles that can also be upgraded free for the next generation."Update May 11th: In typical EA fashion, it has been confirmed that the free game upgrades will not be offered through Microsoft's Xbox Smart Delivery which allows for updates at any time but instead through EA's proprietary system which will only grant the free upgrade to those buying the game early and soon upgrading to next-generation consoles. To be eligible for the free upgrade in regards to Madden NFL 21, players must purchase the game on Xbox One before December 31st, 2020, and upgrade to Xbox Series X by March 31st, 2021. It is unclear how much the upgrade will cost or if it will be available for players who purchase or upgrade outside of this timeline.