Madden NFL 26 Presentation + Authenticity Deep Dive

Welcome back, Madden players! 

Thanks for checking in to Gridiron Notes, your home for all news and updates for Madden NFL 26 straight from the development team. Are you here after checking out the Franchise Mode Deep Dive? If not, make sure you check that out after reading here!

We’re proud of the strides we’ve made in immersion, presentation and authenticity this year in Madden NFL 26 and can’t wait for you to jump on the sticks! Let’s dive in.

Gameday Experience

What you witness at NFL games is orchestrated by the talented gameday operations staff of every team across the league. In Madden NFL 26, we collaborated with those groups at every NFL franchise to deliver updates to:

• Field Art
• Mascots
• Stadium Motion Graphics
• Stadium Sounds
• Uniforms

Field Art

So, what does this coordination with NFL teams actually mean? How will it impact your game of Madden? For starters, you’ll get real world recreations of the different field art that appears when alternate uniforms are worn at home. If the Buccaneers are rocking the creamsicles at home, the field art at Raymond James will be, too. The differences on the field can be seen in the midfield logo, end zones, edge walls, and typography. 

You’ll see whiteouts in Cincinnati and Minnesota, as well as blackouts for the Eagles, Jets, Panthers, and Ravens. Equipping classic uniforms will result in retro field art being shown in Atlanta, Denver, Miami, New England, Philadelphia, Seattle, and Tampa Bay. And then there’s the Texans! They’ve got annual events with specific looks to celebrate Battle Red Day, Reppin’ H Town, and their White Out. There are plenty of other combinations of alternate uniforms and field art to be discovered in Madden NFL 26 and we’re excited to hear about your favorites! 

Mascots

For the reintroduction of mascots to Madden, we committed to delivering the best possible recreations. This started with full scans. We scanned mascots at events such as the Pro Bowl. Some teams even sent us their only full costume so that we could scan it at Madden’s Orlando headquarters! You’ll see mascots throughout a matchup in pregame runouts, during gameplay on the sidelines, and reacting between plays.

These are the 18 mascots available at launch:

1. 49ers - Sourdough Sam
2. Bears - Staley Da Bear
3. Bengals - Who Dey
4. Bills - Billy Buffalo
5. Broncos - Miles
6. Buccaneers - Captain Fear
7. Cardinals - Big Red
8. Chiefs - K.C. Wolf
9. Commanders - Major Tuddy
10. Cowboys - Rowdy
11. Dolphins - T.D.
12. Eagles - Swoop
13. Falcons - Freddie Falcon
14. Jaguars - Jaxson De Ville
15. Lions - Roary
16. Rams - Rampage
17. Ravens - Poe
18. Texans - Toro

We plan to include additional mascots in an upcoming title update.

And as a little bit of sports trivia, here’s a list of NFL teams that don’t have official in-stadium mascots (Chargers, Jets, Giants, Packers, and Raiders).

Stadium Motion Graphics

Another unique characteristic of NFL stadiums are the motion graphics that appear on the scoreboards and ribbon boards. 

As of this writing, we have authentic motion graphics for 26 teams:

1. 49ers
2. Bears
3. Bengals
4. Bills
5. Broncos
6. Buccaneers
7. Cardinals
8. Chargers
9. Colts
10. Commanders
11. Dolphins
12. Eagles
13. Falcons
14. Jaguars
15. Lions
16. Packers
17. Panthers
18. Patriots
19. Rams
20. Ravens
21. Saints
22. Seahawks
23. Steelers
24. Texans
25. Titans
26. Vikings

Similar to mascots, we plan to add more team-specific motion graphics in an upcoming title update.

Stadium Sounds

Close your eyes, and put yourself in your favorite team’s stadium. It’s kickoff on opening day. What do you hear? 

Sound is a crucial element to sports immersion. Our collaboration with NFL teams gives us access to the specific sound effects used at home games! 

For example, Minnesota has two types of Gjallarhorn sounds for specific game events. When the Vikings get a 1st down, they use a high-pitched version of the horn sound. When they’re on defense for a third down, you’ll hear the lower-pitched and more menacing version.

Coordinating with NFL teams also gave us an opportunity to identify and disable the SFX that are now outdated (goodbye electric zap sound for the Chargers!). We also leveraged our partnerships with NFL Films and ESPN to continue building our library of crowd chants and reactions. Whether it’s the “Who Dey” chant in Cincinnati or the “Who Dat” chant in New Orleans, you’re hearing authentic recordings with tens of thousands of fans.

Equipment

Equipment. Swag. Drip. Whatever you prefer to call it, we’re all about it, but we’ll start with our refactored uniform content. Uniforms have been completely redone via compositor. You might want to head into instant replay in Madden NFL 26 and take a look at the much more realistic, animating wrinkles and jersey twisting. You’ll also see a much tighter, and more realistic fit for players who wear flak jackets and back plates - those have also been visually redone!

Bonus here, our coaches on the sidelines have 3D embroidered team logos on their hats and visors. Small detail? Sure, but that is how authentic Madden NFL 26 is. We even have team logos on thigh pads - and of course, if you have been paying attention, the guardian cap, both sleeved and unsleeved, is in the game.

We heard you on being able to easily select a facemask that matches the helmet style, it became a process of “highlight every facemask till the game tells me it fits.” Now, facemasks automatically sort for you based on the helmet you have selected.

To read the entire Presentation Deep Dive, please click on the link below.

https://www.ea.com/games/madden-nfl/madden-nfl-26/news/madden-26-gridiron-notes-presentation-deep-dive?utm_campaign=mad26_hd_ww_ic_soco_twt_m26-presentation-blog-x&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&cid=84585&ts=1751474943315