Other EA Sports franchises handle this better, as EA FC generates age-appropriate players with strong variation, NHL has effective regen variety and clone avoidance, and EA College Football produces younger-looking and more diverse generated players. Madden is currently behind other EA franchises in this area. This directly impacts Franchise Mode because draft classes feel less meaningful visually, player identity breaks down over time, and league authenticity suffers regardless of gameplay improvements.
EA College Football already demonstrates a workable solution, as youth-biased generated faces for rookies, improved face distribution to reduce duplication, more modern hair and facial hair variety, and basic clone-avoidance logic across draft classes would significantly improve immersion.
Madden 27 is an important opportunity because body types were already updated recently, EA College Football provides a direct comparison, and this is a key window before next-generation transition years. Player identity is foundational to Franchise Mode, and the current generic face system actively hurts long-term Franchise play, so Madden 27 should address this with a modernized approach to generated players.
