Electronic Arts (EA) recently invited Digital Trends to their Orlando studio to provide a hands-on preview of Madden NFL 25, the latest entry in the long-running football video game franchise. Clint Oldenburg, American Football Production Director at EA Sports, discussed the studio’s approach to balancing innovation with stability in the face of an eager and demanding fan base.
Oldenburg highlighted several key gameplay updates in Madden NFL 25, including a focus on physics-based tackling, revamped running mechanics, and new coverage shells. The physics-based tackling system, known as “boom tech,” aims to create more realistic and varied tackling animations based on player strength, momentum, and angle of contact. This, combined with a new timing-based hit stick, emphasizes the importance of good tackling technique.
The running game has also been significantly overhauled, with revamped jukes, spins, and hesitation moves. These moves can now be chained together to create more fluid and athletic-looking sequences. Oldenburg emphasized the importance of giving players more control over ball carriers, particularly in open-field situations.
Another major gameplay update is the introduction of coverage shells, which allow players to position their defensive backs in various pass coverage alignments, regardless of the actual defensive play call. This gives defenses more flexibility and unpredictability, but also introduces the risk of putting players out of position.
Off the field, Madden NFL 25 features a number of updates to Franchise mode, including an online team builder, new scenarios, and a revamped draft process. The online team builder allows players to design their own logos and share them with others. The new scenarios aim to incorporate more realistic and varied interactions with players, such as intense contract negotiations and rookie quarterback development. The draft process has been updated with a new draft board that makes it easier to compare prospects and an overhauled draft day experience.
In addition to the gameplay and Franchise mode updates, Madden NFL 25 also features two new announcing teams: Mike Tirico and Greg Olson, and Kate Scott and Brock Huard. Each team has thousands of new lines of dialogue, which EA Sports hopes will reduce the repetition that can occur in previous Madden games.
Madden NFL 25 is set to release on August 16 for PlayStation 4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. Based on the hands-on preview, the game promises to be a significant update with a number of new features and improvements that should appeal to both casual and hardcore football fans alike.
