Welcome to EA Sports Madden NFL 26
Hey Madden Fans! Welcome to Gridiron Notes. We’re glad you’re here! These notes are a passion project for the development team, equipping you with all the news, notes and updates ahead of Madden NFL 26’s worldwide launch on August 14. The team heard your feedback with Madden NFL 25 and could not be more excited to start revealing Madden NFL 26, focusing directly on what we heard from you. Today we’ll walk you through the hardest-hitting, highest-level information about Madden NFL 26. The rest of the summer we’ll deep dive, mode by mode, into everything you can expect when you boot up the game on August 14. Gameplay When we talk about gameplay for Madden NFL 26, we are talking about real-world NFL data, seeing the tendencies and traits of the league’s Superstars, experiencing real football weather on the virtual gridiron, strategizing around the real X’s and O’s of football, and real community feedback coming through each snap, truly making every game you play feel different. We can’t share everything today, but we’re going to roll through some of our favorite gameplay features right now. Our Madden NFL 26 Gameplay Deep Dive is on the horizon and we can’t wait to show you what we have been cooking. QB DNA The Quarterback is the most iconic position in all of sports. To reflect that, Madden NFL 26 has completely reimagined quarterback mechanics, from animations to behaviors with our QB DNA. Not only are you watching Josh Allen’s rocket arm fire off a deep pass mid-jump, you’re doing that when you’re playing as Josh Allen, too. More than 500 new quarterback animations were added to Madden NFL 26. QB Signatures in Madden 26 are a visual replication of everything from how each quarterback holds the football in the pocket to their arm slot when slinging it down the field. We have overhauled our player traits system with 50 new player traits across numerous positions, all backed by real-world NFL tendency data. Does your quarterback in real life throw more often to the right side of the field? Joe Burrow, for example, will be more likely to set his feet before throwing than other quarterbacks. Josh Allen, as fearless as he is in real-life, will be trucking defenders as he takes a chance to scramble for a first down instead. Whether it’s Lamar Jackson getting shifty to avoid hits or Matt Stafford dropping his arm down to finesse a screen pass -- pocket presence, scrambling tendencies, and passing styles reflect the unique traits of today’s stars and tomorrow’s legends. Coach DNA Introducing Coach DNA, a groundbreaking feature that brings the personalities and tendencies of NFL Head Coaches to Madden NFL 26. Powered by machine learning stemming from years of real-world data, Coach DNA mirrors the unique styles and philosophies of NFL coaches. 4th and 3? You better be ready for Dan Campbell and the Lions to try getting a first down. Passing successfully on the Vikings? Expect some creative blitzes from their unpredictable defense. This data-driven playcalling brings real-life Head Coach tendencies to the virtual gridiron. Our second piece of Coach DNA is an overhaul to Coach Suggestions that also contains what we call Coach Speak. If you’re playing as the Lions, Dan Campbell will offer various suggestions depending on the down and distance, true to the Detroit Lions tendencies and mirror the way Campbell talks. On top of that, we have Realtime Coaching AI, where the CPU teams will make pre-snap adjustments and suggest playcalls that specifically counter your opponents tactics. Driving Coach John Madden’s vision further for teaching X’s and O’s is at the forefront of Coach DNA. We received a ton of positive feedback on our playbooks from the previous year and we’re happy to announce that we have nearly 1,000 new plays at the launch of Madden NFL 26. Our playbooks contain the current trend of motion and shift-based offenses you see from teams like San Francisco and Miami. For our defensive playbooks, you’ll find exotic blitz pressures, defensive disguises, and the all-new stunts and twists to lock down your opponents. Wear & Tear and New Depth Chart Positions Modernized roster management adds strategic depth with the Wear & Tear system and Dynamic Substitutions. Wear & Tear affects player performance, while Dynamic Substitutions allow seamless situational swaps without pausing gameplay. Highly-requested new depth chart positions modernize Madden NFL 26 featuring Edge, Nose Tackle, Long Snapper and the versatile Gadget position. This upcoming NFL season could see a dynamic, consistent two-way player in Travis Hunter and Madden NFL 26 is ready. Hunter will have abilities that counteract some of the Wear & Tear of playing both ways, meaning you can’t just throw any receiver at CB and expect the same result. Football Weather NFL Teams face the dual challenge of battling each other on the field while contending with various, harsh weather conditions through the season and we have brought that to life with Football Weather in Madden NFL 26. We have completely overhauled not just the visuals, but also the effects of weather conditions. Heavy snow, fog, rain and everything in between will affect movement, visibility, stamina, and ball control. If you’re playing a Madden NFL snow bowl, you’ll notice players slipping or moving as clunky as they would in a real-life blizzard. Physics from how players move to how the ball carries will be adjusted to mimic weather conditions. Think again about chip shot field goals in heavy weather... We’ve also added finer details making the elements a part of the homefield where cold weather teams will not get as impacted when playing in the cold and wet as warm weather teams… but to balance, when playing in extreme heat, those cold weather teams will tire out faster, which is a little detail, with a big impact, that came straight from NFL players. Foundational Football Football fundamentals are not optional, they’re essential so we’re doubling down on core football principles to give players more depth and control. Explosive locomotion, run and pass blocking, defensive zone coverage, physics, and new mechanics are at the forefront of improvements as we heard your feedback. When we say “Explosive NFL Gameplay”, here is what it means to us. Simply, that the left stick feeling has never felt better in Madden. It’s not just “fast players are fast, the end.” Our Explosive Locomotion differentiates the north-to-south speed of athletes like Tyreek Hill vs the wiggly, east-to-west players like Jahmyr Gibbs. With Explosive Locomotion a player who runs a 4.2 40-yard dash will feel like a player who runs a 4.2 40-yard dash. We want our players to feel the visceral difference between fast and explosive in Madden NFL 26. Custom Defensive Zones lets you gameplan and adjust like a real NFL coordinator. With Custom Defensive Zones, you’ll be able to set the depth of your zone defenders at the line of scrimmage to take away that pesky corner route from your opponent. Do you want your safeties to align to a certain hash, the passing strength, or elsewhere? AI Logic, custom zones and more deliver an overhaul to defensive coverage in Madden NFL 26. We can’t wait to share more including how we have leveled up the trenches with our Foundational Football features. Be on the lookout for our upcoming Gameplay Deep Dive! Madden NFL 26 doesn’t just tweak mechanics, we’ve made a commitment to the soul of football - the fundamentals. Franchise Mode The team heard your feedback and transformed the coach customization and immersion features in Madden NFL 26 Franchise Mode. New challenges make the game to game, week to week experience feel different. First things first - in the NFL no two coaches are alike. Now, in Madden, that’s also true. We’ve added hundreds of new heads and brand new gear for when you’re creating your coach and style. We’re also introducing a new metagame with Coach Abilities in Madden NFL 26. You can now check out the scouting report and customize your gameplan against your opponent each week. Coach Abilities are also more than just a menu item, they can trigger via in-game scenarios. For example, one ability could “Increase your Offensive Tackles’ success chance against Power Moves.” Leveling up your coach gets you access to more abilities. And of course, CPU teams will be able to take advantage of these gameplans as well, gameplanning against you! Playbooks become a large focus for your Franchise this year with Play Sheets. Play Sheets are another component of your weekly gameplanning, allowing you to add extra plays to your playbook. The Play Sheets you’ll be able to access depends on how you level up your coach. Managing player Wear & Tear is now a part of Franchise strategy, too! Remember when we mentioned Travis Hunter in the Gameplay section? Upgraded trainer roles mean trainer abilities are used to manage Wear & Tear. Franchise mode comes alive with enhanced presentation including halftime shows and weekly recaps with Scott Hanson and all-new custom broadcast packages for Sunday, Monday, and Thursday primetime games! More on this, and a whole bunch more Franchise and Presentation in a future Gridiron Notes this summer. Presentation NFL atmospheres come to life with revamped authenticity In Madden NFL 26. Experience team-specific runouts, crowd chants, mascots, and pre-game traditions such as Minnesota’s Skol chant or Baltimore’s light show. Let’s talk Head Coaches. More gear means more authentic-looking coaches. Dan Campbell is going to have that signature Dan Campbell look on the sidelines, complete with his T-Shirt or rolled-up long sleeve. In terms of uniforms, the team added more alternate and classic jerseys from Nike, including the Texans redesign. Stadium edge walls and field arts are being aligned with specific uniforms. Bengals rocking a white-out? Buccaneers in the creamsicles? The field logos will match those uniforms. Another in-stadium detail we added: In-venue prompt graphics packages from teams’ real-life jumbotrons will be in the game. It’s all in the details, and this is just the tip of the iceberg. We can’t wait to share more with you in Franchise & Presentation Deep Dive. Superstar Step into the spotlight and live your dream NFL career. Import your Road to Glory player from EA SPORTS™ College Football 26 or craft a brand-new avatar to take the league by storm. From rookie hopeful to legendary icon, every week brings fresh Story of the Week narratives that pull you deeper into the heart of the game. Career Chapters will guide you down the path to becoming a Superstar. Start as a bench player and work your way into different phases of your career by meeting objectives. But fail to please your coach and you could find yourself back on the bench and looking at a redemption arc. Build and manage crucial relationships with coaches, teammates, and agents through the immersive Sphere of Influence system, because who you know off the field can be just as important as what you do on it. Keep your body in peak shape by balancing Wear & Tear, push your limits in intense Superstar Live Events, and sharpen your skills to climb all the way to a 99 Overall rating. For players who love Superstar Showdown, expect bigger and better Live Events throughout the year. P.S. This includes the return of Online Head-to-Head Minigames, more on that in the Superstar Deep Dive! Ultimate Team Madden NFL 26 Ultimate Team is evolving with more ways to play, deeper team-building challenges, and a reimagined player experience for online competitors, solo players, and everyone in between. Madden NFL 26 is raising the content bar set last year with more programs, events, and football to experience. We heard the feedback from our solo player and we’re excited to share that Madden NFL 26 Ultimate Team is giving solo play the overhaul it deserves. We’ve rebuilt our Solo reward structure from the ground up with a focus on progression, pacing, and rewards. We’re also introducing Solo Champions, a new, choose-your-difficulty mode to showcase your solo prowess. We are bringing all-new Live Events to the table this year for a new way to play in Ultimate Team. Expect to see events that look to celebrate our theme teamers out there, other events will set constraints that encourage creative team-building. We’re also introducing Leaderboard Campaigns for both online and solo players. These are smaller-leaderboard, limited-time, focused competitions with reworked placement design where every game matters. To make the mode simpler, the new Pack Helper brings critical decision-making info directly to your pack openings. You’ll be able to see if a new player is better than your current starter, see Auction House information, know if they help you complete a set, and see Chemistry tier impacts all without leaving the pack opening screen. Every insight is optional, and if you want to act on it, a single button press gets it done. That’s not all! We have even more to share as we head towards our Ultimate Team Deep Dive later this summer. ---------------- MVP Bundle Pre-order* the MVP Bundle by August 14 and receive: Madden NFL 26 Deluxe Edition Madden NFL 26 3 Day Early Access 4600 MUT points Bundle Exclusive MUT Item Early Access Solo Challenges MUT Season 1 Elite Player Item (choice of 1 player item from select list of player items) MUT Cover Athlete Elite Player Item Franchise Coach Ability Points Super Star Legendary XP Boost Player Card Exclusive Item College Football 26 Deluxe Edition EA Sports College Football 26 3 Day Early Access 4600 CUT points Bundle Exclusive CUT Item Early Access Solo Challenges CUT Top Prospect Pack (choice of 1 player item from select list of player items) CUT All Hands Pack (choice of 1 out of 2 items) Dynasty Coach Points Road to Glory Skill Points Deluxe Edition Pre-Order Pre-order* the EA SPORTS™ Madden NFL 26 Deluxe Edition by July 24 and receive: 3 Day Early Access 4600 MUT points Early Access Solo Challenges Limited Time: Season 1 Elite Player Item (choice of 1 player item from select list of player items). Pre Order by July 24th. MUT Cover Athlete Elite Player Item Franchise Coach Ability Points Super Star Legendary XP Boost Player Card Exclusive Item Standard Edition Pre-Order Pre-order* EA SPORTS™ Madden NFL 26 today and receive: MUT Cover Athlete Elite Player Item Franchise Coach Ability Points Super Star Legendary XP Boost Thanks for checking in for Madden NFL 26’s first Gridiron Notes of the season! There’s much more information, news and notes straight from the developers coming up very soon, so stay tuned. We couldn’t be more excited to show you what we have in store this season. The Madden NFL 26 Team [Source]Madden NFL 26 & College Football 26 MVP Bundle Now Available for Pre-Order
Happy Draft day, football fans! We're thrilled to share the reveal trailer for the EA SPORTS Madden NFL 26 & College Football 26 MVP Bundle with you here! Check out the full trailer below, and hop on board the hype train with us. Live the entire football journey, from high school recruit to NFL legend with EA SPORTS Madden NFL 26 and College Football 26. Click here for more info on how to pre-order the MVP Bundle now! Stay tuned for more exciting details on both Madden NFL 26 and College Football 26. We can't wait to show you what we've been cooking up.Madden NFL 26 Title Update - September 17, 2025
Hey Madden fans, welcome back to Gridiron Notes! Our next Title Update for Madden NFL 26 is arriving tomorrow, and it’s packed with gameplay fixes, tuning, and updates across every mode. From new Coaching Adjustments that give you more control over pass protection and coverage depth, to key improvements in various modes, including new likenesses, gear, and equipment options. Let’s dive in! Gameplay Pass Blocking Added a new Coaching Adjustment option allowing you to set your default pass protection scheme—choose from Base, Empty, Half Left, Full Left, Half Right, Full Right or Default. Dev Note: For players who don’t want built-in pass protections on passing plays, we have included a new Coaching Adjustment to allow players to choose the default protection for all dropback passing plays. When toggling this option in, players will still have the ability to change their protection before the play via the Pass Protection adjustments menu. Fixed an issue sometimes causing the pass protection adjustment menu to get stuck in an open state after selecting a protection adjustment. Made improvements to blocking logic for better targeting and improved protection on Shotgun Play Action plays Tuning done to shorten the wait time after failed pass rush moves to improve pocket degradation over time. Enhanced QB Contain logic to ensure defenders contain more effectively Dev Note: This was a two-part fix where we fixed disengages from blocks and pursuit of quarterbacks scrambling outside the pocket. For the second part, we resolved an issue where defenders would incorrectly abandon their Contain assignments in favor of executing pass rush moves. Addressed an issue with pass rush move selection logic to reduce excessive use of Rip moves and ensure more realistic, ratings-driven defender behavior. Run Game Fixed an issue allowing a short, artificial speed boost to the ball carrier when using Truck in open space (Air Truck). Dev Note: The truck animations and transitions from truck to locomotion have been modified to more accurately reflect the movement speed of the ball carrier as the truck ends, and the transition has been tuned to keep the speed more consistent. Fixed an issue causing Duo run plays to be mislabeled as Inside Zone plays. Decreased the frequency of power non-engaged sheds on run plays. Added shed timers for defenders who lost their previous defensive move on passing plays. Edge defenders now steer towards their outside gap for longer to help set the edge on run plays Passing Game Increased the minimum for ‘stemmed down’ routes from 1 yard to 3 yards. Dev Note: When using the route-stemming feature, certain stemmed-down routes, particularly Corner Routes, became too powerful and difficult to fairly and/or realistically defend. As a result, the minimum stem-depth allowed now is 3 yards. The intent of this change is to preserve the structure and timing of the route, while enabling more realistic and balanced defensive reactions. Resolved an issue where auto-motion receivers would continue their motion during the Quiet the Crowd animation, users can no longer Quiet the crowd during auto-motion. Fixed an issue preventing behind-the-line special moves from working when using Gadget players in the QB spot in Wildcat formations. Fixed an issue causing WR’s to sometimes use fake-out footwork off the snap with no defender nearby. Fixed an issue preventing the appropriate frequency of catch-knockouts when throwing to a receiver covered by multiple defenders. Dev Note: This was the main issue leading to receivers holding onto aggressive catches too much in crowds when the ball should have been knocked out. With this update, outcomes on aggressive catch attempts now more accurately reflect the ratings and physical matchups of the players involved when there is collision at the catch point. Fixed an issue causing illegal man-downfield penalties to trigger incorrectly on certain play-action boot plays. Fixed an issue causing no-look passing animations to sometimes trigger on quick throws, like bubble screens. Pass Coverage Added a new Coaching Adjustment setting to set the safeties depth at 16 yards. Updated hook-defender depth with underneath coverage adjustment to play at 5 yards of depth to be in better position to play short routes like drag routes. Updated hook-defender depth with over-the-top coverage adjustment to play at 12-18 yards of depth to put defenders in better position to take away deeper intermediate routes like deep Digs and Over routes. Updated vertical-hook zone logic so that it will not match when using coaching adjustments or custom-stem zones. Updated press-animation logic to ensure defenders trigger press animations requested by the user at the line of scrimmage. Fixed an issue in Goal Line defense causing the receiver in heavy-personnel formations to be completely uncovered. Pre-Play Controls Updated logic so the offense cannot instantly flip the play or audible to a new formation when walking to the line from the huddle Standardized the hot route timer for all QB’s when breaking the huddle. Dev Note: This new timer also applies to how long users need to wait after flipping a play or audibling to a new formation. Stemming a route also counts as a hot route when breaking the huddle. Signature animations for players like Mahomes now have consistent responsiveness resulting in all quarterbacks having the same hot route timing cadence. Fixed an issue preventing under-center QBs from queuing more than two hot routes at a time. Fixed an issue causing the TE to motion awkwardly on a series of plays within Gun Y Off Trips Wk (Mtn Y Corner, RPO Alert Mtn Dive, Mtn Shock H Opt) Fixed an issue preventing the hot-route stem controls from appearing when using mouse & keyboard controls on PC. Fixed hot route stem control not appearing when using keyboard and mouse. Tuning to improve avoidance by WR’s in motion at the snap. AI & Game Logic Tuning to the Bills Homefield Advantage to reduce excessive kick-meter wobble. Tuning to improve AI-controlled teams’ clock management, preventing it from calling timeouts right before punting when losing by a large margin. Fixed an issue sometimes causing a crash when setting QB Throw Style. Fixed an issue in Goal Line defense causing the receiver in heavy-personnel formations to be completely uncovered. Fixed a rare issue causing some players in online rosters to appear with generic player models and wearing the incorrect uniform numbers, such as multiple players wearing #11 or #22. Animation & Visuals Adjusted Small Agile Back hit stick animations to look more realistic and grounded. Fixed an issue sometimes causing defenders to warp back to their feet when mid-lunge in tackling. Fixed an issue allowing late hurdle attempts to cause missed tackles. Fixed an issue causing Josh Allen to use the incorrect ball-carry style (bread loaf) on read option plays. Playbooks Fixed an issue causing the ball to warp on specific Pistol formation handoffs. Fixed an issue causing the ball to warp when cancelling the handoff on PA Sprint HB Flat plays. Fixed an issue causing a fumble when snapping the ball in Gun Bunch TE Str MTN RPO Peak Flats. Fixed a rare issue causing the ball to be snapped well behind the QB on various Pistol and Gun Jet Sweep plays. Fixed an issue allowing an unnatural speed boost on the In-Corner route within Gun Bunch Offset Close Mesh Rebound, which made it unbalanced. Presentation Broadcast Packages Fixed issue with missing stats in the Last Week Stats banner after a bye week. Fixed issue with Stat Leaders banner for pass yards disappearing too quickly. Fixed issue preventing Draft Class banner from appearing during a Sunday Night Primetime game. NFL Traditions Fixed a camera issue for the Cardinals’ Big Red Siren tradition. Halftime Show Fixed issue with missing highlights after using the Resume Game option. Fixed an inconsistency with a score shown during a highlight from a game in progress and the subsequent Around the League banner. Halftime Show / Weekly Recap Fixed lighting pop that would sometimes occur at the end of a highlight. Tuned logic for highlight selection from a game in progress to reduce the chances of seeing the losing team. Tuned logic to prevent non-scrambling QBs from being shown performing long runs. Fixed CPU highlight showing right-handed QB throwing left-handed touchdown. Weekly Recap Fixed issue preventing Weekly Recap from being available during the playoffs when a user’s team did not make the playoffs. Pregame Fixed issue with an out-of-focus camera for the Falcon statue at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Fixed issue with fog sometimes obstructing mascots during runouts. Fixed various camera obstructions and clipping issues with sideline characters. Drive Starter Fixed a broken camera when showing the Stat Leaders banner for a wide receiver. Fixed issue with Drive Starter sometimes appearing before Drive Summary when a turnover occurs in Superstar: The League. Post Play Fixed an issue sometimes causing players to appear on the wrong sideline. Fixed an issue causing the camera to linger too long after completing a MUT Challenge in one play. Franchise Fixed an issue where certain Players would be playing out of position. Dev Note: This issue was tied to the Progressive Fatigue setting, we have removed the setting as we’ve introduced Wear and Tear Management. We are also addressing an issue where Wear and Tear sliders are not in Franchise and looking to implement them in a future title update Fixed an issue with the Nose Tackle archetype's OVR formula that was causing it to appear different from the front end. Dev Note: For new leagues this change will apply immediately. For existing leagues, the formula will apply immediately and for players that had Nose Tackle as their highest rated archetype previously, will appear with their new Nose Tackle OVR until the week is advanced where their highest OVR will be correct. Fixed an issue where some draft generators were using wrong body types. Dev Note: The change will not apply to existing leagues until the next draft class is generated. Addressed an issue with Importing and Exporting Draft Classes were incorrectly changing Player Body Types Dev Note: This update will not address existing Draft classes already in a league. Addressed an issue where Tight Ends were able to acquire the Universal Coverage Zone Ability Addressed an issue where Players sustaining a Low Back Strain Injury was treated as a Career Ending Injury Fixed an issue where coaches and trainers were unlocking abilities in the wrong order Addressed an issue where the WILL position was prioritized over the SAM position in the Depth Chart when using the reorder feature Dev Note: We are aware of an existing case when a Head Coach leaves a league, the CPU automatically promotes the teams’ existing Offensive or Defensive coordinator without hiring a backfill. We are investigating the issue to be addressed in a future title update. Superstar Mode Fixed an issue where Season stats were not accessible Adjusted QB Combine drills Resolved an issue where selected Gear would appear on the wrong uniform Ultimate Team Field Pass, Progression & Rewards Fixed an issue that prevented certain objectives from appearing in the Field Pass and Team Pass tabs. Resolved multiple soft lock scenarios when purchasing the Premium Field Pass or entering rewards screens. Corrected a visual bug where Season 1 Field Pass art would replace Season 2 while active. Reward icons and token/coin rewards now display consistently across New Items Flow and Rewards Flow. Lineups & Team Management Corrected an issue where punters and kickers displayed inflated OVR values when placed at QB. Fixed chemistry and strategy boosts not displaying correctly, ensuring lineup synergies are accurate. Improved substitution logic and lineup refresh behavior to prevent errors when managing rosters. Store & Packs Restored the “Open Next Pack” callout in reward flows, improving pack-opening speed. Fixed an issue where packs included inside other rewards were not visible. Pack Helper tuned to prioritize lineup improvements correctly, avoiding cases where it would recommend removing useful players. Challenges, Events & H2H Addressed blockers in Gauntlet events that prevented progress from tracking correctly. Fixed a bug in H2H Seasons where winning the Super Bowl did not end the season as intended. Leaderboards now display correctly, fixing issues with empty or undefined rank values. Corrected star reward tracking in Legendary Challenge packs to ensure proper rewards. Stability & Disconnects Fixed multiple soft locks in NUX scenarios, Field Pass purchases, and Preseason Events. Addressed crashes when loading into Squads crossplay sessions with multiple PC players. Corrected disconnects during ready-up transitions in H2H and Squads lobbies. Resolved desyncs in 6v6 and Sick Six modes. Audio New music added: Limp Bizkit - “Morgan Wallen” Fixes for various issues: in-game commentary firing improperly, stadium music adjustments, SFX volume adjustments, mix adjustments for the Halftime Show, & a fix for unintended audio dropouts when adjusting unrelated volume sliders. UI Fixed crash when entering Custom Playbooks Fixed issue with avatar portraits not showing in the Halftime Report Fixed issues with some in-game banners not showing data or showing incorrect data and other various polish Dev Note: This will also include occasionally seeing ‘Eagles vs Chiefs’ in the scorebug during certain moments. Fixed double score HUD showing after calling a timeout after a play Korean currency now supported on Switch 2 Fixed issues with Download/Preview/Report function in Download Center Added and updated various player, coach and avatar portraits Art Added additional NFL Player & Coach Likeness Heads: 49ers DL Mykel Williams Bears WR Luther Burden III Bengals LB Demetrius Knight Bengals EDGE Shemar Stewart Bills CB Maxwell Hairston Broncos CB Jahdae Barron Browns RB Quinshon Judkins Buccaneers WR Emeka Egbuka Cardinals CB Will Johnson Chargers RB Omarion Hampton Chiefs OT Josh Simmons Dolphins DT Kenneth Grant Dolphins TE Jonnu Smith Eagles LB Jihaad Campbell Giants QB Jaxson Dart Jets OT Armand Membou Jets TE Mason Taylor Lions OT Taylor Decker Lions DT Tyleik Williams Packers WR Matthew Golden Patriots RB TreVeyon Henderson Rams TE Terrance Ferguson Ravens S Malaki Starks Saints QB Tyler Shough Seahawks TE Elijah Arroyo Seahawks S Nick Emmanwori Seahawks G Grey Zabel Steelers DT Derrick Harmon Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin Texans WR Jayden Higgins Added New Cleats Nike Vapor Edge Speed 360 2 Added New Facemasks Axiom Robot Jagged 2 Axion Grid Axiom Robot 808 Axiom Robot RB Jagged 2 Axiom 3 Bar RB Axiom Robot RB Straight Added 2 New Coach Wristbands Added New Undershirt w/4 Color Options That wraps up this edition of Gridiron Notes for Madden NFL 26. We’re excited to get these changes into your hands and can’t wait to hear your feedback as you dive in! Keep sharing your feedback with us as we head through the NFL season and be on the lookout for more Gridiron Notes in the future. The Madden Team __ Stay in the conversation by following us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and the EA Forums. [Source]Madden NFL 26 Ultimate Team Deep Dive
Hey Madden Fans! Welcome back to Gridiron Notes, your home for Madden NFL 26 News and Updates straight from the developers. Today, we’re deep diving into Madden Ultimate Team. We are delivering a deeper, more rewarding experience, built around your feedback. Whether your focus is head-to-head or solo play, everything this year is built to reward your football IQ and creativity while keeping the experience smooth, fresh, and rewarding week after week. There are new ways to play and more reasons to build, so let’s dive in! More Programs. More Events. More Football. Our goal heading into Madden NFL 26 was simple: Deliver more and deliver better. We’re expanding both the volume of programs and the variety. Each major content drop will bring a new wave of Live Events, designed to push your strategic depth, stretch your lineup, and offer rewarding gameplay in both Solo and H2H formats. Every single major content drop will feature both a CPU and a H2H event, allowing you to choose your preferred path to play. Rewards are tailored to reinforce your team-building experience and tied to each event. With events delivered on a consistent cadence, something fresh is always available. KICKING OFF THE YEAR In Season 1, we’ll be kicking things off with a pair of events for our Preseason Standouts program: Long Drive. You will take on opponents in either H2H or CPU under special house rules. Following this up will be Campus Heroes with College OT for H2H players. Solo players can look forward to Campus Chaos, a unique twist on a Solo Season where you will play through four years of college (Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, Senior), each represented by 2 games serving as the semester. This culminates in a Graduation showdown against the Campus Heroes themselves. Our final program of Season 1, Game Time, will launch our first team building event of the year. For H2H players, you’ll take on an abbreviated 5 game H2H Season with the most lucrative rewards for those that can manage to string together multiple Super Bowl wins. For Solo gamers, you’ll take on a Game Time twist on our new Solo Champions mode, including a slugfest against the Game Time Champions. As the year goes on, we’ll be delivering a wide variety of events, some of which are making their very first appearance in Ultimate Team. For example, while the Trick-or-Treat CPU event will be returning for Most Feared, it will be coming with a new twist: randomized House progression, each with its own house rules and attribute modifiers. Zero Chill will be bringing the heat with a new MUT team building event, where your event rewards will directly feed into your progression in the event as you bolster an event-specific lineup. You can also expect throughout the year some unique squads opportunities, a new type of battlescore-driven CPU event, as well as the return of some events that have been missing for a while now, such as the “Race” house rules event. SEASONAL EVENT PASS To capture all of the event goodness coming out this year, we’re introducing the Seasonal Event Pass. Building on the Showtime Showdown event from last year, Events in Madden Ultimate Team 26 will contribute to their own dedicated field pass. This will provide more flexibility in rewards and a more cohesive event experience across the entire Season. For Solo Players, you’ll be excited to hear that the Event Pass has room for you too, with our lineup of Solo Events this year also contributing to the Seasonal Event pass. WEEKLY SPOTLIGHT PASS In addition to the Seasonal Event Pass, another new pass will also be joining the mix – the Weekly Spotlight pass. The Weekly Spotlight pass will showcase specific programming throughout the year in a shared field pass experience to provide more freedom for rewards and progression. As part of this, all weekly programs will now share a single token, providing greater flexibility and giving you more control over your rewards. We’ll be debuting the Weekly Spotlight Pass with Legends. For its first iteration it’ll feature Legends, Team of the Week, and Collector’s Series. Collector’s Series Collector’s Series is a new weekly program that will have a new theme (Series) each Season, each with its own distinct style. Additionally, each Series will have a unique Collection Champion: if you can manage to get your hands on all of the Champions for that series, you’ll be able to earn a special, more powerful, version of a Champion from that series. Collector’s Series will be debuting with the Signature Series for Season 1. Solo Play Overhaul We heard your feedback about solo play in Ultimate Team and we made it a priority to design a deeper and more rewarding experience for our solo players. This year, solo play gets the overhaul it deserves. We’ve completely redesigned our Solo reward structure to better support progression, pacing, and meaningful rewards. Solo players can enjoy the full Ultimate Team experience - team building, progression, and challenges - without needing to play H2H against others. SOLO CHAMPIONS This year we're introducing Solo Champions: a 12-game weekly gauntlet of escalating difficulty. It will serve as the pinnacle experience for Solo Players, measuring where your current skills are at. To enter, you’ll be given an entry token every week, and can earn more by completing weekly objectives. Then, you’ll choose your difficulty and rack up battlescore to earn rewards. Build up your Ultimate Team, hone your skills, and work your way up to tackling the highest difficulty levels of Solo Champions. SOLO SEASONS This year, we’re introducing The League. It’s a more casual Solo Seasons experience set up to better emulate the NFL Season. You’ll take on a regular season comprising half games. If you can manage 10 wins, you’ll enter the Playoffs and ultimately the Super Bowl, which are full game experiences. We also heard the feedback surrounding Ultimate Solo Seasons. We still want to make sure we’re providing the option for a more challenging, repeatable experience, so we’re replacing Ultimate Solo Seasons with The Run. The Run has four levels. Each level is five, two-quarter games. As you progress through the levels both your opponents and starting conditions get tougher. If you can manage to overcome the odds, you’ll find yourself rewarded. Solo Seasons will also have specific weekly objectives with high-powered rewards! Complete enough weekly objectives to redeem a free BND champion! CHALLENGES Challenges are also getting several updates. Star ratings are being adjusted to better reflect the difficulty level of a challenge. A one-star challenge will be easier in difficulty, while beating a five-star challenge will be a true testament to your skills. While some challenges will still feature selectable difficulty, we want to make sure that for those seeking a tougher experience, the option is still there for you. These aren’t all of the changes we have in store for our solo players this year! We’re expecting a more regular update cadence for solo modes with and a robust suite of solo friendly events, all landing with each new major content release. MUT26 rings in a new era for solo players! GAUNTLET Gauntlet is seeing a qualification update. Instead of needing to get a certain number of MUT Champs wins to qualify for the Gauntlet, you’ll now earn an entry token from a weekly objective to get Ranked wins. No need to put a win streak together. SICK SIX Sick Six is losing its limited availability, gather your squad and tackle your three runs per week whenever you want! Team Building Events Ultimate Team is and always has been a celebration of building your perfect squad. In MUT26, lineup construction was at the forefront of our upgrades. Team Building Events introduce new ways to test your roster-building skills. Some events will require a theme team to enter, while others might require your team to be within a specific OVR; others still might require a specific player in your lineup. To support these experiences, we’re giving you powerful lineup tools to make building easier than ever. You’ll have the ability to view any eligible event and its requirements, auto-generate a baseline lineup to meet those requirements and edit your lineup for optimization all from the lineup screen with real-time lineup compliance alerts. Tighter requirements will equate to better rewards. We want to make sure we’re giving you the tools you need to be able to participate in team building events with little friction. Our goal with team building is to reward creative, thoughtful team building, not punish your binder size. Our philosophy around team building events is to make them reward your football strategy IQ and creatively solving the team building requirements in front of you. Team building events are about providing you opportunities for unique challenges and roster building opportunities. Competitive Campaigns This year we’re introducing Leaderboard Campaigns. They’re smaller, limited-time, focused competitions designed to make every game matter. Each campaign puts you on a leaderboard with a small subset of players. Whether you're a H2H or Solo Player, your performance on key objectives (points scored, wins, etc.) determines your placement. Every tier unlocks bonus rewards and every player has a real chance to finish at the top. LTDs, Sets & Rewards With the massive amounts of content coming in Ultimate Team, we wanted to make sure it all feels worth playing and have made adjustments to rewards. In addition to the flexibility offered by the new Event Pass and Weekly Spotlight Pass, we’ve also re-evaluated our overall rewards. Welcome Pack players are seeing an improvement across the board: you’ll generally see them able to be upgraded all the way to Champion-level OVR. Non-fantasy reward packs will now have a chance to include an LTD. LTDs are now also available for a full week instead of just three days. For Sets, we have a couple of quality-of-life changes we’re launching aimed at giving you more choice when it comes to rewards. Firstly, program champions will no longer have bespoke sets for each Champion. Instead, it will be a single fantasy pack giving you a choice of program champion. Secondly, we’re tackling the frustration around our filter organization: they will be sorted alphabetically this year. We also have heard the feedback around alternate uniforms and have planned opportunities to earn alternate uniforms throughout the year. You’ll see them start to roll in with the Season 2 Field Pass. You’ll also earn progress on your NFL Team Pass throughout Ultimate Team, unlocking rewards that celebrate your achievements with your favorite squad. Pack Helper We know it can be tedious flipping between your binder, auction house, or lineup when opening packs to determine the best decisions for your squad. This year, we’re introducing a new feature called Pack Helper. With Pack Helper, you’ll instantly see if a new player is better than your current starter, whether they help complete a set, how they’re trending on the Auction House, or if they boost your Chemistry tiers, all directly from the pack opening screen. All these actions can be done with just two clicks. Every insight is optional, and if you want to take action, it’s quick and seamless. The Evolution of the Item We’ve redesigned the core of Ultimate Team: the player item itself. Key info like OVR, position, and name now stays locked in a standard location. Everything else can change based on the program. Our player items will reflect the identity of each drop, giving an even more distinctive visual feel to items throughout the year. We’re also bringing back player item flipping, with multiple back pages that allow you to explore key attributes, X-Factors, abilities and chemistries. You’ll be able to directly compare players on the same screen without needing to leave your lineup, making decision-making clearer than ever. Quality of Life Upgrades Every aspect of MUT should be intuitive and frictionless. We’ve made key upgrades to ensure that playing and progressing never gets in your way. CHALLENGE OBJECTIVES Challenge Objective Tracking is now available directly from the play call and presnap screens, no need to pause to check your progress or remind yourself of the goal! EVENTS UI House Rules visibility has been improved with a complete list of modifiers available on the event select screen itself, allowing you to easily preview how your gameplay will be impacted. Additionally, they’ve also been integrated right into your play experience, so you’re never surprised by a modifier. To help keep players in the flow of events, we’re making UI improvements to the event screens. All of your rewards will now be viewable from the event screen, even when an event features multiple levels. No more needing to be in the Playoffs to see the Playoffs rewards! House Rules also now have their own dedicated display space both on the event screen and in-game, no pause required. For those events that feature special end conditions for the game, those too are now available in-game. Always Fresh. Always Football. From all of us on the Madden Ultimate Team dev team, thank you! We’ve worked this offseason to build on your feedback and elevate every part of the Ultimate Team experience with more content, smarter tools, and deeper ways to play. We know we have the most passionate fans and are excited to see you at launch! For a reveal of the first season of Madden NFL 26 and Madden Ultimate Team, tune into our first Good Morning Madden stream of the year on August 6th at 10:30 A.M. Eastern, on twitch.tv/EAmaddennfl! [Source]
