I've been having this issue as well. I've lost 3 separate franchises to this glitch, so I've been testing things out trying to locate the source of the problem. I'll list everything I've noticed below along with summaries from other posts. Hopefully, this will aid in coming up with a solution.
Naming the Problem: After a few in-game seasons, the franchise save file gets corrupted. When attempting to load the save, no error message is given. It just loads for a few seconds and then brings you back to the load menu as if nothing happened.
MY OBSERVATIONS
- To start, I'm on PS4 but many users have reported this issue on PC, PS5, and Xbox. I initially thought it might've been a hardware issue since I have an older model but this doesn't seem to be the case.
- I've only done offline franchise modes. I don't know if the problem persists when making an online league and I don't want to pay the monthly PS Plus subscription necessary to find out.
- For each of my play-throughs, I have only been a coach. Several posts on here have described the possibility of issues cropping up when you switch between roles, such as from owner to coach and vice versa. However, I have started franchises as real life coaches (John Gruden, Mike Zimmer, etc.) and switched to a created coach several seasons in, so this idea can't be discounted entirely.
- My first franchise play-through was with the Raiders. After rebuilding for a few years, we had our first playoff match-up. I played through the game like normal. I was able to scroll through the post-game stats but, when I tried exiting the game, the game crashed. I booted the PS4 back up and tried to load the auto-save. This was when I first encountered The issue.
- I began a Cardinals franchise with the intention of creating a backup save every week. Once again, I made the playoffs. I saved twice: once for my regular save file and once for my backup. I played through the game. Once again, it crashed when I attempted to exit the game. As expected, the auto-save was corrupted. However, I attempted to load my regular save (the non-auto version) as well as my backup save. Both were corrupted. This echoes experiences shared by @jojuneau, @JediRalts, @Cathal_aus, @atomicbeag259, @mauzeyjj, @jrevo33, and @f_bird93.
- It was at this point that I created a Vikings franchise for the sole purpose of identifying the cause of this issue. I simmed forward several seasons and created a reliable save at Week 1 of the new season. The save seemingly does not get corrupted until the playoffs begin, which coincides with many of the posts I've seen on this thread as well as my own experience. I was able to play in-season games and proceed normally. However, once Wild Card Weekend started, my save file would become unreliable. Before my WC playoff game, I created a new save, exited, and attempted to load unsuccessfully. I remembered that my previous franchises became unusable during the same period of the season, so we can be fairly certain that the issue is tied to the playoffs.
- Once I reach WC Weekend in any franchise, I am able to sim through the playoffs like normal. I can get through free agency and the draft as well. After the off-season, I can create a new save that does not get corrupted. This reinforces the idea that the glitch only affects save games that are during the playoffs, and would explain why the backup save I had during my Cardinals run was corrupted.
- In a last-ditch effort to save my Vikings franchise, I loaded my clean Week 1 save. I simmed through the season, forcing wins to make sure I made the playoffs again. During WC Weekend, I played the game like normal. With just a few seconds remaining, I closed the Madden application. You know how the game will ask if you want to load from where you left off or else delete the active match-up's score? Well, my goal was to reboot, load the saved game that only had a few seconds left, and sim the rest. Well, when I tried to load, it didn't prompt me like I expected it to and I just ran into the same issue of not being able to load the file.
- I tried deleting Madden from my hard drive and re-installing. The issue still persisted.
MY THOUGHTS
- At this point, I cannot get any more useful information through trial and error. The rest of this post will be conjecture and my best attempts to identify causes and solutions. Please keep in mind that I am not a computer scientist, so take these with a grain of salt.
- We can be fairly certain that the glitch is localized entirely around the playoffs. The only save files that have gotten corrupted, in my experience, happen during this time of the season.
- I don't know if the glitch caused by exiting a playoff match-up is related. It very well may be it's own separate issue that just happens to mix with the corrupted save glitch in unfortunate ways.
- However, if these two glitches are related, there could be a number of reasons. The timing of the glitch leads me to believe that it is tied to in-season rewards related to the playoffs.
- There could be an issue embedded in the "First Playoff Game" event for coaches, where the press asks you questions and you receive staff points based on your performance. Perhaps the issue occurs when the game tries to reward you for a playoff win.
- The issue could be tied to the Madden profile reward system, where you earn XP for doing certain in-game activities.
- There might be a data-allocation glitch, where data is either being stored incorrectly or else not being accessed correctly when we try to load save files. This could be tied to the issue where users try to delete auto-save files, only for both the auto-save and the non-auto-save versions to be deleted. This has happened to me as well as @atomicbeag259 and @amuzie72.
- Without knowing more about Madden's code and what runs in the background, there is not much more I can offer. If I had to guess, I would say that the issue is embedded in the coach reward system, as this is the newest feature to come to last-gen franchise mode and is, therefore, the most likely candidate to introduce new bugs.
Basically, until this issue is resolved, we have two choices: either sim through every franchise game or stop playing altogether. I don't wish to stop playing, but the true source of fun in franchise mode (for me at least) is building the roster and then getting to compete for Super Bowls with the squad you created. At this stage, that is simply not an option.
