Category: MADDEN

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MADDEN

Madden 24 Beta Early Impressions

Madden 24 Beta

On June 8 EA Sports revealed the first trailer for Madden 24 along with this year’s cover athlete, Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen. We were fortunate enough to get our hands on a beta code and have been checking this years installment out.

There’s still a lot EA has promised to add to the beta, but here are our early impressions on franchise mode and the return of mini-games.

Franchise Mode

One of the most critical game modes for any sports video game is its franchise mode. If you’ve been following Madden for the last few years, you know that Franchise Mode has arguably been one of the titles biggest disappointments for the series.

One of the most frustrating things, but not a deal breaker, is the lack of customization options for coaches and players. For decades, there have been the same generic faces for coaches and created players. Madden 24 doesn’t seem much different. With how powerful systems are nowadays, there’s no reason why Madden can’t implement face scans for one of its most popular game modes. A minor change like this would make being a coach or GM even more rewarding.

The layout of Connected Franchise is similar to last season. It essentially looks copy and paste.

More options are now available if you’re into trading and improving your team. There are now six trade slots instead of three, and teams can trade draft picks up to three years down the road. It also appears that the trade logic has improved, computer teams seem much more eager to send trade offers. For example, I started my franchise as the Miami Dolphins and had trade offers from three teams for veteran defensive end Malik Reed. Each trade is similar but adds some depth to the experience.

Weekly strategies are back and that also looks to be essentially copy and paste.

EA has added a ton of new locations and team names for gamers to choose from. Each place has a unique market size and personality that could sway owners on where to relocate to. A ranking system also shows your fan interest in that area. In addition to the laundry list of new locations, EA has added several new team names to this year’s game.

Other changes to franchise mode include contract restructures and a feature that fans have been asking for over the last few years, the ability for all players, not just quarterbacks, to have up to four X-Factor abilities. The NFL Draft still feels underwhelming, but EA promises that draft classes will be more dynamic, with many superstar players drafted out of college. Some may even debut with key stats maxed out. Besides more superstar-quality talent, EA has promised that some players may need to switch positions to maximize their potential. For example, taking a quarterback and moving them to wide receiver could unlock an entirely different set of skills.

Mini Games Are Back!

Mini-games like rushing and passing attacks were part of the reason a lot of us loved the series in the first place.

The good news for those of us who feel that way is that EA not only brought back a bunch of the classics, but have added a bunch of new options that are sure to make some people very happy. This year, there are 14 mini-games ranging from the classic rushing attack to WR/DB battles and everything in between.

More to come!

 

 

 

 

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MADDEN

Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen Named Cover Athlete For ‘Madden NFL 24’

Madden NFL 24 Cover

As we speculated last week, Josh Allen is your Madden NFL 24 cover athlete. EA Sports announced the move on Wednesday. This is the 35th anniversary of the franchise.

“It’s such a small group of people who have ever been the face of Madden, so now to be on that list, it’s very surreal. It’s very humbling,” Allen told ESPN. “To think about where I was not too long ago and coming out of high school with zero offers, going to junior college and have one offer, University of Wyoming of all places, and then fast-forward to now.

“I don’t know if I would have believed you at that point, if you were to tell me in high school. It’s so surreal. Madden has such a special place in my heart.”

Allen has over 40 combined touchdowns (passing and rushing) in three consecutive seasons, and has passed for 18,397 yards in his first five years in the league. The Bills are 52-24 when Allen starts.

In addition to Allen being the first Bills player featured, this is the first time fans are featured prominently.

Last season, Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes graced the cover. In 2021, it was Lamar Jackson. Mahomes was on the front of “Madden 20,” Antonio Brown on “Madden 19,” and Brady was on “Madden 18.”

“Madden NFL 24” is set to be released worldwide on Aug. 18.

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MADDEN

Josh Allen Rumored As Madden 24 Cover Athlete

Josh Allen on cover of Madden 24

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen is rumored to be the cover athlete for Madden NFL 24.

In his first five seasons, Allen has led the Bills back to prominence, finished as an MVP finalist twice and emerged as one of the best quarterbacks in the league.

If a new rumor is true, Allen may soon be able to add another feat to his resume. He would become the first Bills player in franchise history to grace the cover of the iconic gaming franchise.

A quarterback has graced the Madden cover in four of the last six years, with Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes both doing so twice after sharing it for Madden NFL 22.

There was no cover athlete for Madden NFL 23, as the cover instead featured the late John Madden, the game’s namesake, to honor him after his passing in December 2021.

Many cover athletes have gone on to have poor seasons after being on the cover, be it due to injury, under-performance or something else. The “Madden Curse” has noticeably been less prevalent recently, though. Most notably, Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs won Super Bowl LIV in the same season he appeared on the cover for Madden NFL 20.

The Madden cover athlete will be revealed sometime in June. Stay tuned.

 

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MADDEN

Madden 24 Rumors

Madden 24 Rumors

Regardless of the time of year (and the quality of Madden itself), OS folks are always looking ahead. This year, there is a lot of talk about a lack of news and rumors about Madden 24.

When June hits, that’s when the Madden news really begins. But returning to the point about the lack of rumors, there’s not a lot to talk about as of now. Before official news started to hit last year, there were a lot of rumors about franchise mode, crossplay, how EA would honor John Madden, Madden coming to the Nintendo Switch, and Madden maybe replicating some tech that came to FIFA (HyperSense). We did end up getting franchise updates (albeit not as massive as maybe hoped), John Madden was on the cover of the game he pioneered, and FieldSense was a stand in for HyperMotion. It was a pretty standard year for being about 50 percent on the biggest rumors coming to fruition.

This year we haven’t heard anything about the development of Madden 24 beyond EA’s announcement of the closed beta and how those impacted by the cloud franchise issue in Madden 23 are getting an invite to that beta and half off Madden 24 (if they choose to purchase it).

EA is definitely in another transition period. New tech isn’t on the horizon but EA Sports College Football is a year out. It did get delayed a full year but development is in full swing now and how EA as a company is going to get back to handling two football games a year is going to be interesting. If one or both are bad, it’s going to ask a lot from consumers to support both year after year. The college football game will have that grace period where people buy it simply because they’re just excited to have it back in their lives, but that is fleeting.

While the lack of Madden 24 rumors is curious on some level, quality does seem like it’s going to matter more here because time is running out for Madden in some ways, even if those ways are just internal pressures.

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MADDEN

Madden 23 NFL Draft Program

Madden 23 – NFL Draft Program

Every April, football fans look forward to one event: The NFL Draft. Filled with mystery and with plenty of excitement, the NFL Draft is as big an event for football fans as the games themselves. EA decided to join in on the fun, releasing an all-new NFL Draft Program.

Madden 23 Ultimate Team has been winding down with its player releases, and EA is looking for exciting new content to fill the void. Honoring some of the brightest former and current NFL stars that were drafted throughout the leagues’ history, the NFL Draft Program comes baring an elite selection of player items, with seven of them baring 99 overall ratings.

The NFL Draft Program is a two-part feature, with the first set of players revealed yesterday, April 19, on Good Morning Madden at 10:30AM EST. Despite the reveal taking place on Twitter, the actual in-game release of the NFL Draft Program didn’t transpire until today.

Madden 23 – NFL Draft Program Details

The NFL Draft Program comes with plenty to offer in Madden 23. The biggest and probably the most popular feature of the new program, is that of the returning Mock Draft. For those that might not remember from Madden 22, or might be new to this experience all together, the Mock Draft feature in Madden 23 allows fans to earn NFL Draft Vouchers they can place into sets to fulfill a 14-pick Round 1 NFL Mock Draft.

To complete the Mock Draft, fans will have to play through Mock Draft Challenges with the maximum amount of challenge stars in order to earn these NFL Draft Vouchers. Once secured, fans can then place these vouchers into sets and choose which position they think will be selected for each of the first 14 picks in the NFL Draft this year. Keep in mind though that as soon as you select the position you think will be drafted, it will be locked in for good. So be sure to choose wisely!

Should you guess a certain amount of picks correctly, you will earn Mock Draft prizes. The more picks you accurately predict, the more rewards you will receive. Here’s the full list of Mock Draft rewards:

Mock Draft Pick Rewards

  • 1 Pick – 1,000 MUT Coin
  • 3 Picks – 83+ Overall Elite Player
  • 5 Picks – 91+ Overall NFL Draft Player
  • 7 Picks – 93+ Overall NFL Draft Player
  • 9 Picks – 95+ Overall First Round Draft Player
  • 11 Picks – Choice of 1 of 32 First Round Draft Players
  • 12 Picks – Choice of 4 of 32 First Round Draft Players
  • 13 Picks – All BND NFL Draft Past Heroes & Champions
  • 14 Picks – All BND NFL Draft Past Heroes & Champions plus 8 of 32 1st Round Draft Players
Madden 23 – NFL Draft Past Players

The first of the two-part NFL Draft Program drops consists of what Madden 23 calls ‘NFL Draft Past’ players, meaning all of these items are former or active NFL players that were drafted prior to 2023. This presumably means that the part two release will likely consist of the 2023 NFL Draft class members themselves, particularly seeing that some of the Mock Draft rewards consist of 1st Round Draft players.

Here’s the full set of Part 1 NFL Draft Past players you can now secure in Madden 23 Ultimate Team. You can acquire these new players by completing their sets, purchasing them from store packs, or securing them from the Auction Market. Down below is the list of NFL Draft Program Part 1 players that are live in Madden 23 Ultimate Team.

Limited Editions (99 Overall)
  1. Deebo Samuel (WR) – 49ers
  2. Tre’Davious White (CB) – Bills
Champions (99 Overall)
  1. Cam Newton (QB) – Panthers
  2. D.K. Metcalf (WR) – Seahawks
  3. Evan Neal (RT) – Giants
  4. Kevin Carter (LE) – Rams
  5. Brian Urlacher (MLB) – Bears
  6. Chad Greenway (ROLB) – Vikings
Heroes (97 Overall)
  1. Ryan Tannehill (QB) – Dolphins
  2. Brian Robinson Jr. (HB) – Commanders
  3. Breshad Perriman (WR) – Ravens
  4. O.J. Howard (TE) – Buccaneers
  5. Kenyon Green (LG) – Texans
  6. Grady Jarrett (RE) – Falcons
  7. Boye Mafe (ROLB) – Seahawks
  8. Jeff Okudah (CB) – Lions
High Elites (95 Overall)
  1. Davante Parker (WR) – Dolphins
  2. Quinn Meinerz (RG) – Broncos
  3. Logan Stenberg (LG) – Lions
  4. Steven Nelson (CB) – Chiefs
  5. Jaylon Johnson (CB) – Bears
  6. Michael Thomas (SS) – Dolphins
Mid Elites (93 Overall)
  1. Robert Tonyan (TE) – Packers
  2. Jack Sanborn (MLB) – Bears
  3. Cole Holcomb (MLB) – Commanders
  4. Jermaine Elumenor (RT) – Ravens
  5. La’el Collins (RT) – Cowboys
Low Elites (91 Overall)
  1. Mark Ingram II (HB) – Saints
  2. John Ross III (WR) – Bengals
  3. Phil Haynes (LG) – Seahawks
  4. Michael Brockers (DT) – Rams
  5. Tyson Alualu (DT) – Jaguars

Remember, this is only the NFL Draft Past players. So be sure to check back next week when the Part 2 set of NFL Draft Program players are released in Madden 23 Ultimate Team.

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MADDEN

Madden 23 Update 1.15 Mostly Focused on MUT – Patch Notes

1.15 Update

Madden NFL 23 update 1.15 arrived earlier today on all platforms, focusing mostly on Ultimate Team.

1.15 Patch Notes
  • Mission activities no longer disappear after completion.
  • Harold Carmichael & Jet Anderson player portraits now appear correctly in MUT.
  • Team Diamond player portraits appear correctly in the depth chart.
  • Fixed an issue where some users were unable to apply filters to Binder items.
  • Fixed an issue in practice mode that required the second controller to be turned off before entering the mode, then turning it back on, once inside the mode to control both sides of the ball.
  • Fixed an issue where BND players were showing up in the list of cards eligible to complete sets.
  • Fixed an issue where some users were getting an “Invalid Line-up” error when entering. challenges even if the line-up was correct.
  • Rank tab removed from MUT Champions.
  • Fixed an issue where upgraded team captains could be added to sets.
  • The “Global Profile” button is now only available in the MUT Hub.

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MADDEN

Madden 23 Update 1.14 Patch Notes

Madden 23 Update 1.14 Patch Notes

EA has just put out a new update for Madden23, and we have the complete list of changes and fixes added with the patch.

Update 1.14 includes Ring of Honor 2023 content. Players can expect five of the greatest players to ever grace a football field to be inducted into the Madden NFL Ring of Honor!

Here’s the announcement by EA Sports about today’s title update.

As for the inductees, check out the list below courtesy of EA (via the Madden Ultimate Team Twitter account):

Inductee: Tony Gonzalez

Supporting Cast:

‣ Priest Holmes
‣ Will Shields
‣ Dante Hall
‣ Willie Roaf
‣ Trent Green

Inductee: Deion Sanders

Supporting Cast:

‣ Jerry Rice
‣ Darren Woodson
‣ Rickey Jackson
‣ Chris Hinton
‣ Merton Hanks

Inductee: Barry Sanders

Supporting Cast:

‣ Herman Moore
‣ Kevin Glover
‣ Robert Porcher
‣ Stephen Boyd
‣ Larry Tharpe

Inductee: Lawrence “LT” Taylor

Supporting Cast:

‣ Carl Banks
‣ Perry Williams
‣ Terry Kinard
‣ Mark Bavaro
‣ Joe Morris

Inductee: Randy Moss

Supporting Cast:

‣ Randall Cunningham
‣ Asante Samuel
‣ Vince Wilfork
‣ Thaddeus Moss
‣ Gary Anderson

If there are any gameplay changes and patch notes released, we’ll update the article to reflect it.

 

 

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EA Claim Big Changes Are Coming To Madden 23

Madden 24

Despite Madden 23 being the third-best-selling game of 2022 in the United States, it sounds like major changes are coming.

The game doesn’t work on a technical level and has devolved into a poor simulation-style game. The people at EA have admitted there is a problem, now the question is “What changes will Madden make?” Here are a few suggestions.

Solve the awareness issues

What are some solutions to these awareness issues? Limiting pre-snap options would be an obvious start. There should be some motion and audible options, but not to the extent that Madden has allowed. The vast array of options have lead to most of the handful of plays every year that no one cans top.

If my opponent only runs one or two plays out of the pistol, I should get that information before I play them. If I knew what plays were their go-to’s, I could pick a defense to counter. This would incentivize diversifying your offense, and punish running the same plays repeatedly.

Show me what people are actually running in game. When playing someone online, after every play, the game shows you what they just ran, but not really. The game shows you the base play they ran, but doesn’t show you all the adjustments they made at the line. Show people what beat them so they can adjust.

Cosmetics

Give EVERY player a realistic character model. There is no reason the in game models do not have a clear resemblance to the real life players they depict.

Above all else though, make sure the game works. People are tired of seeing highlights where the ball just magically appears at the fifty-yard line for no reason. People are tired of seeing clips where a player gets tackled only for them to get back up and keep running after going through their end-of-play animation.

All players really require is EA address some of the low hanging fruit issues that have plagued the game for years. Do that and the tone towards the franchise will start to shift.

 

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Madden 23’s Final Roster Update Is Live

Madden 23 Final Roster Update

The final roster update of the season for Madden NFL 23 arrived today. Inexplicably Super Bowl LVII MVP Patrick Mahomes is not a 99 overall and will not be joining teammate Travis Kelce in the 99 Club. After limping around on a bum ankle for a few weeks, EA did raise his toughness to a 99. One would assume Mahomes will be an overall 99 when the ratings drop for Madden NFL 24.

Jalen Hurts went up to an overall 87, the same rating as Dak Prescott who went down a point. Aaron Rodgers also dropped a point to an overall 86. Other than Patrick Peterson going up a point to an 85 and James Bradberry IV dropping a point to an overall 84, there wasn’t a lot of movement.

Players can now start a new Franchise beginning at the Super Bowl.

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Madden 23 Joining The Game Pass Line-up

Xbox Game Pass Madden 23

Just in time for Super Bowl, Madden NFL 23 is joining the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate library. The latest edition of EA Sports’ football will be available beginning Thursday, Feb. 9 to Game Pass Ultimate subscribers on PC and console (Xbox One and Xbox Series X)

Here’s the complete Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass lineup for February 2023:

  • Madden NFL 23 (Console and PC via EA Play) – Feb. 9
  • SD Gundam Battle Alliance (Cloud, Console, and PC) – Feb. 9
  • Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord (Cloud, Console, and PC) – Feb. 14
  • Cities: Skylines – Remastered (Cloud and Xbox Series X) – Feb. 15
  • Shadow Warrior 3: Definitive Edition (Cloud, Console, and PC) – Feb. 16
  • Atomic Heart (Cloud, Console, and PC) – Feb. 21

And here are the titles leaving Game Pass later this month on Feb. 15.:

  • Besiege (Game Preview) (Cloud, Console, and PC)
  • CrossfireX (Cloud and Console)
  • Infernax (Cloud, Console, and PC)
  • Recompile (Cloud, Console, and PC)
  • Skul: The Hero Slayer (Cloud, Console, and PC)
  • The Last Kids on Earth (Cloud, Console, and PC)

Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass both cost $9.99 a month. PC Game Pass includes EA Play access, which offers another 70 games on PC. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, at $14.99 per month, gives subscribers access to everything, the PC Game Pass and Xbox Game Pass libraries, EA Play on both console and PC, as well as Xbox Live Gold membership.

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