

Madden gave me that X factor I'm too turnt up.- Tyrann Mathieu July 31, 2020 Madden designers said this year's cover athlete, Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, requested a signature X-Factor called "Truzz." Chiefs safety Tyrann Mathieu, an X-Factor this year, tweeted about his excitement at being selected. By the end of last season, they garnered attention among gamers and NFL players. They also decide which players get Superstar abilities, strengths created to accentuate a particular high-level skill a player possesses even if their overall ratings don't match it. Scantlebury and fellow game designer Nick Farah are the Madden employees in charge of deciding which 50 players receive X-Factor abilities - unlockable in-game attributes that temporarily power up star players when they are "in the zone" - each year. "That no other player should be acknowledged for."

"We want those players to have abilities that really speak to them, to what they do on the field," Scantlebury said. It's a big reason Jones was given a "Momentum Shift" X-Factor attribute in Madden NFL 21, which launches to the public Friday. In Scantlebury's eyes, those two plays shifted the momentum of the game and showed Jones' impact, which is what the designers of Madden strive for each year.
