Gaming fans of the NFL received welcome news on Wednesday, with EA SPORTS and the NFL announcing a new multi-year, expanded exclusive partnership to grow American football globally.

Under the agreement, the two parties will continue to drive innovation and expansion of the celebrated Madden NFL franchise, which will continue as the exclusive action simulation game for NFL football. The partnership will also support new content and experiences in EA SPORTS’ College Football, as well as entirely new, large-scale interactive experiences for football fans, built around community, social connection, self-expression and gameplay.

“Madden NFL has become one of the most widely-recognised and culturally relevant gaming franchises in the world,” said Renie Anderson, executive vice president and chief revenue officer at the NFL. “As we look to this new chapter in our partnership with EA SPORTS, our focus remains on the success of NFL simulation gameplay and providing our fans with the best entertainment and experiences around the sport they love.”

The partnership will also include global initiatives going forward, with EA SPORTS having already sponsored the recent NFL International Series game in Dublin, and hosting the first-ever Madden NFL Championship Series event in Spain during the NFL’s Madrid game next month.

“EA SPORTS and the NFL have built one of the most iconic partnerships in all of sports and entertainment, and we see so much opportunity ahead to deliver for football fans everywhere,” said Cam Weber, president of EA SPORTS. “With more than two billion games of Madden NFL played each year, the global community of football fans connecting through play has never been bigger.”