Madden 25 update almost makes it a new game with over 800 playbook changes
By Brian Allen
I give EA and Madden NFL a lot of grief, and they earn it annually. But credit where it's due, its Jan. 8 update is just incredible. People would have sung the update's praise just for the bug fixes, including one that prevents ballcarriers from doing Superman dive animations when on conservative.
But no, there was so much more. There are 800 updates to the game's playbooks, including many new formations and some of the plays that defined this season for our favorite teams. For example, the Washington Commanders playbook received the new formation Pistol Doubles Hip. It contains Z Shake Crosser, the play "Scary" Terry McLaurin scored on to fuel a 42-14 Week 4 blowout of the Arizona Cardinals.
Madden has delivered new plays during the season for the past couple of years, but never this many all at once. By the way, the Madden Championship Series is still going on. I'm betting at least a few plays change up the meta.
EA Sports had all of our money. The game will be free on subscription services in a month. EA did not have to cook this hard, but they did. Today, EA Sports, no venom from me.
Here's the full list of changes:
Gameplay
Increased the amount of force necessary to cause a physics-based knockout on interception attempts, reducing the amount of dropped interceptions.
DEV NOTE: We’ve noted lots of feedback regarding too many dropped interceptions. We found that many of the drops were a result of physics-based catch knockouts. In this Title Update, we have increased the amount of force necessary to cause a catch knockout on interceptions, which will result in fewer interception drops. This gameplay adjustment will apply when playing on Competitive Game Style.
General Tuning to lower the ratings threshold necessary for a player to have a guaranteed catch chance on an interception attempt on Competitive Gamestyle. This gameplay adjustment will apply when playing on Competitive Game Style.
Updated the ‘Throwing Dots’ achievement description to appropriately detail what is necessary to unlock the achievement.
Reduced the accuracy of High Throw mechanic passes on Competitive Gamestyle.
DEV NOTE: We are reducing the pass accuracy of high throws to bring more gameplay balance between offense and defense, based on player feedback. The mechanic will still be effective but players will not be able to successfully use it with such high frequency. This gameplay adjustment will apply when playing on Competitive Game Style.
User-controlled ball carriers are no longer able to dive when they have their Ball Carrier Coaching Adjustment set to Conservative.
DEV NOTE: Users will still be able to slide and give up when their Ball-Carrier Coach Adjustment is set to Conservative but they will no longer be able to use the high leaping dive animation. Regardless of whether the user taps or holds X/Square, they will only be able to Slide or Give up.
Increased the chance of catch knockouts when a receiver is hit immediately after the catch point.
DEV NOTE: After receiving feedback from players about wide receivers, running backs, and tight ends holding onto too many catches when being hit hard immediately after the catch point. Our goal here is for the skilled Catch-In-Traffic receivers to still hold onto catches when being hit while trying to secure the catch but lesser skilled Catch-In-Traffic receivers will get the ball knocked out on those bang-bang plays.
This gameplay adjustment will apply when playing on Competitive Game Style.
Fixed physics-based tackling issue that would cause the ball carrier to spin on the ground after a hit stick
Addressed an issue where the outside receiver on the Gun Trips Slot Close: Blast play had the wrong assignment and would not block appropriately on the play
Playbooks
Huddle up!
Before we break into our regular Gridiron Notes Formation… let’s talk about the more than 800 updates spanning all 32 NFL Team playbooks, all stemming from real-life utilization and play-calling.
In today’s Title Update, offensive ingenuity is front and center. More than 800 updates have been made to offensive playbooks alone, including the addition of some plays that are brand new to Madden after they’ve made a splash in the 2024-2025 NFL season.
Let’s take Justin Jefferson’s 97-yard Week Two touchdown, for example. That’s now in Minnesota’s offensive playbook as PA Shot Post. You can even custom stem the Shot Post route that led to Jefferson’s house call!
Sample New Formations:
49ers
Gun Bunch Spread Nasty
Chiefs
Gun Bunch Spread Nasty
Commanders
Pistol Doubles Hip
DEV NOTE: New play added: Z Shake Crosser - Terry McLaurin’s Week Four Touchdown against Arizona.
Chargers
Gun Bunch Spread
Falcons
Gun Bunch Spread
Pistol Doubles Hip
Jaguars
Gun Bunch Spread Nasty
Packers
Gun Bunch Spread
Rams
Gun Bunch Spread
Seahawks
Gun Bunch Spread Nasty
Vikings
Gun Bunch Spread Nasty
Notable New Plays:
Bears
Gun Doubles HB Wk - Boomerang Y Delay (Cole Kmet TD)
Bengals
Gun Trey Y-Flex - PA Deep Over. (Ja’Marr Chase TD)
Bills
Gun Bunch TE - Boomerang Mesh Traffic (James Cook TD)
Broncos
Gun Bunch Wide Nasty - Mesh Drive (Courtland Sutton TD)
Browns
Gun Doubles Flex Wk Swap - Mtn Slot Post (Cedric Tillman TD)
Bucs
Gun Bunch TE - Mtn Snag Under (Mike Evans TD)
Cardinals
Gun Ace - Flood Post (Marvin Harrison Jr. TD)
Commanders
Pistol Doubles Hip - Z Shake Crosser (Terry McLaurin TD)
Chargers
Split T Tight - HB Lead (Goalline TD Run)
Colts
Gun Bunch TE - Mtn Mesh (Mo Alie-Cox TD)
Falcons
Gun Bunch Spread - Mtn Slot Out (Drake London TD)
Jaguars
Gun Trey Y-Flex - Stick Nod H-Angle (Travis Etienne TD)
Jets
Gun Trips X Nasty - Mtn Triple Slants (Garrett Wilson reception)
Lions
Gun Spread DBL Flex Wk - Mtn Out N Up Seam (Amon-Ra St. Brown TD)
Lions
Singleback Bunch X Nasty - Mtn PA Deep X Over (Jameson Williams TD)
Patriots
Singleback Wing Close - PA Cross Y Delay (Hunter Henry TD)
Ravens
Gun Wing Slot Wk - Mtn Stutter Wheel (Justice Hill TD)
Saints
Gun Doubles Flex Y Off Close - Mtn Slot Post (Rashid Shaheed TD)
Seahawks
Gun Bunch Spread Nasty - Z Swirl Choice (Tyler Lockett TD)
Vikings
Singleback Wing Flex Close - PA Shot Post (Justin Jefferson 97 Yard TD)
Franchise Mode
Updated NFL Head Coach Likeness for New Orleans Saints and Chicago Bears
NFL Authenticity
Added Jordan 1 Vapor Edge Cleats
Added Jordan 3 Cement Cleats
Added Light Robot Jagged Facemask
Added Robot 808 Jagged Facemask
Added the following Face Scans
Jaylen Warren - RB - Steelers
Ryan Kelly - C - Colts
Donovan Wilson - SS - Cowboys
Wyatt Teller - G - Browns
Skylar Thompson - QB - Dolphins
Aidan O’Connell - QB - Raiders
Jake Haener - QB - Saints
Luke Musgrave - TE - Packers
Madden PlayerCard & NFL Team Pass
This update introduces the Madden PlayerCard & NFL Team Pass.
The Madden PlayerCard is a new customization feature that allows players to design their own unique PlayerCard featuring content of your favorite NFL Team! Set your Background, Profile Picture, Border and Badges to represent your favorite franchise. Your PlayerCard will be displayed in online games to other Madden Players. NFL Team Pass content requires in-game purchase and gameplay to unlock.
NFL Team Pass is a new objectives system that allows players to unlock awesome themed content for the Madden PlayerCard. Select your favorite team and complete objectives across multiple game modes to unlock the coolest NFL Team Pass Content.