Madden 25
I had an opportunity to preview Madden 25 and wrote a lengthy and detailed article about my impressions of the gameplay and graphics.
While I loved the game and its visuals, one of the highlights of my preview was learning that Madden was upgrading its customization and franchise mode with the addition of Team Builder support.
The Team Builder website will be available for team creation in College Football 25 and Madden 25. This same concept was one of several fantastic features the old NCAA Football games offered.
It's like a dream come true for it to make its way to Madden, where customization has been sorely lacking for more than a decade.
EA didn't give me all the details on Team Builder functionality, but we learned we could use the feature to re-create teams for the entire league and new players.
Even better, the rosters and teams you create will be shareable.
Team Builder is a potential game-changer for franchise mode, as it will allow users to quickly reshape their leagues.
Creating rosters on a website rather than in-game is much quicker. Hopefully, other sports games will follow suit and provide this functionality for more titles.
There will be some limitations, and I'm still trying to get all of the answers. I have followed up with EA to find out the answers to a few pertinent questions.
Here is an example of the franchise mode and Team-Builder-related questions I'm waiting for EA to answer.
- Will realignment be available in franchise mode?
- Can you customize schedules in franchise mode?
- How many Team Builder-made teams can be active in a single franchise mode?
- Will legends be unlocked outside of Ultimate Team?
- Are there any plans for a draft class builder that functions like Team Builder?
The hope is that the answer to all five questions is yes. If so, the ultimate Madden franchise mode is getting closer each year.
If not all five, hopefully, we can come away with three affirmatives.
In addition to Team Builder, EA promised a bevy of other features to enhance the franchise mode immersion. One of the highlights of the presentation was seeing Josh Looman return to EA after leaving the company, specifically to work on franchise mode.
No one in sports gaming loves franchise mode concepts more than Looman, and you can feel his passion for the mode when he discusses the details.
Here is a brief breakdown of some of the things that were discussed for franchise mode.
- Dynamic Storylines: We should see an increase in the storylines (told through the franchise mode central panels) in Madden 25. Many of the storylines span multiple seasons and have a few more hooks than before. There are more than 70 stories in place. The storylines are embedded in trade demands, off-season workouts, contract negotiations, and conundrums related to whether to rest your starters for late-season matchups and managing your rookie QB.
- Promise System: There are more tags on players for personalities, which play a role in securing free agents and team management. Much of this is steered by the Promise system. Through your franchise mode, you will be faced with making promises to players about different things. Players will remember your promises and hold you accountable when you can't keep your word.
- Revamped NFL Draft: We didn't see much beyond a screenshot of Roger Goodell, but we were told Goodell would be on stage to announce (through text) and shake hands with first-rounders. I don't put much value in having Goodell there, especially considering it's not using his actual voice, but it may add a nice touch. The draft environment has been revamped with a new prospect board, and users will receive an immediate grade for every pick. There are also new draft generators for more diverse and realistic draft classes. Unfortunately, we cannot import draft classes from College Football 25, so we're still on our own. That's part of why adding a web-based Draft Class builder would be excellent.
- Team and Rookie Records: Madden will finally keep up with team and rookie records during your franchise mode, a level of stat-tracking many fans have wanted for years.
There was more info and even more that we needed to be shown.
Stay tuned for more information on Madden 25 franchise mode as it becomes available—Madden 25 release on August 16.
