Y'all, where did 2025 go? I remember sitting here at this same desk, telling everybody how I couldn't wait to get Grand Theft Auto 6 in my hands. That's just one indicator of how the year often unfolds way differently than we planned. In December, App Trigger is taking a look back at the stories that defined the year in gaming. Longtime readers will probably remember some of these, while others are hearing about them for the first time. Either way, join us as we walk down memory lane, won't you?
Sometimes, I'd rather be wrong about things. I would have loved it if the NFL opened its license up to competition, but it doesn't look like that's ever happening again. We kept hearing rumors about a "make or break" moment in which the league needed to see some improvement from Madden. But the only thing improving are the piles of money EA is rolling around in.
Madden 26 and FC Sports 26, for that matter, are in the midst of banning innocent people's accounts because who or whatever is in charge of its Ultimate Team marketplaces doesn't understand the game's own economies.
But there was never a realistic alternative. Waiting for 2K to swoop in and save you from microtransactions is like waiting for Jerry Jones to save the Cowboys from mediocrity. Ultimate Team has forever poisoned the creative wellspring that gave us classic football games.
Games aren't born perfect in any genre. Since nobody else has been allowed to make a licensed NFL game in two decades, nobody in the business would be able to hit the ground running. If you want to see how patient the NFL is these days, note reports that say the dismal failure of NFL 2K Playmakers is one of the reasons the NFL and Madden stayed exclusive. In fairness, if all I knew about 2K was that they made Playmakers, I wouldn't trust them with my license either.
Nothing really interesting will be allowed to happen in this space for another five years.