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Buying Madden 21 on Xbox One gets you an Xbox Series X copy as well

EA's football game will have Smart Delivery between Microsoft's console generations.

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Madden 21 will be cross gen on Microsoft's consoles.
EA, Microsoft; screenshot by CNET

If you buy Madden NFL 21 on Xbox One, you'll be able to play it on Microsoft's upcoming Xbox Series X as well, as revealed in Microsoft's Xbox 20/20 livestream Thursday. The cross gen compatibility doesn't appear to be part of the company's Smart Delivery feature, but a separate program offered by EA Sports and Microsoft.

You'll have to buy the game on Xbox One by Dec. 31, 2020, and upgrade to the Xbox Series X version by March 31, 2021, to take advantage of the offer.

Read more: Best video game consoles for 2020

"The development teams at EA are always pushing the envelope to leverage new technology in exciting ways that benefit their fans and we're thrilled by the work they've done in optimizing Madden NFL 21 for Xbox Series X," Sarah Bond, head of partnerships and business development at Xbox, said in a release.

Madden NFL 21 will come out for Xbox One, PS4 and PC sometime this year -- the series traditionally comes during the summer.

Read more: Best Xbox One games for 2020  

Originally published May 7, 8:35 a.m. PT.

Update, 9:39 a.m.: Notes that the upgrade program is separate from Microsoft's Smart Delivery.