The new Madden NFL 25 release date has already been announced, and it will be officially released on August 16. The game also improves the sprint mechanism commensurate with the superstar. However, EA Sports revealed 25 new features of the football game on Friday.
1. Boom Tech
One of the biggest new additions is Boom Tech, which is Madden 25’s overhauled physics and collision system – basically a system that focuses more on momentum, size and skill, which solves the ever-present problem in football: What happens when this guy hits that guy? Play by play, Boom Tech aims to bring more realistic, more diverse and more unpredictable tackle animations.
2. Hit Stick Update
The redesigned hit stick will be more skill-based. For example, when someone runs past you, it will be lighter to hit their shoulder than to hit their abdomen when they are moving vertically along the field. In addition, players who deserve killer skill moves will have more directional control, including actions performed at 90, 135 or 180 degrees. New hesitation moves will also be launched. All of these new trick moves can be chained together to create a higher skill ceiling for the best Madden players.
3. Enhanced Sprint Attacks
In addition to enhanced blocking mechanics, there’s also a greater focus on the running game. Running backs will now have greater situational awareness. Fakes have been recalibrated so that not everyone can execute them well. In addition, players who deserve killer skill moves will have more directional control, including moves that are executed at 90, 135, or 180 degrees. New hesitation moves are also coming. And thanks to the Boom Tech buffs for defenders, all of these new on-ball moves are designed to counterattack. Now, using moves like this will help you throw defenders out of position, cause more missed tackles, or at least fall forward when the Boom Tech calculations work in your favor.
4. Branch Catches
Madden 25 will introduce a fourth catch type: Spectacular. Yes, the “Special Catch,” as developers and fans often call it, is already in the game, but it’s no longer tied to an Active Catch, as previously an Active Catch may or may not have led to a Special Catch. Now, if you want to try a special catch, even if it’s just to show off, you can, and when you want to use an aggressive catch, you can do so while trusting that the animations you get won’t get in the way.
5. Signature Player Movements
Every player moves differently, and there are always some who move differently. Madden 25 will also express some of these, although it’s not clear to what extent. For example, cover star Christian McCaffrey’s signature walk and Isiah Pacheco’s stomping run have been eye-catching since he started playing with the Chiefs. Hopefully, this year and in the future, we’ll see more players with specific movement styles express themselves more realistically in Madden.
6. New NFL Kickoff Rules
Many were surprised when the NFL announced that it would adopt new kickoff rules designed to reduce the number of touchdowns starting this fall. Basically, the league wants to make kickoff returns more frequent without sacrificing the player safety measures that have been seen recently. After the team worked frantically to get these new snap rules into the game quickly, the Madden team promised that these new snap rules will be in the game at launch.
7. Deeper Pass Protection Adjustments
For the first time in Madden 25, you’ll be able to call semi-sliding line adjustments, meaning only the left or right side of the line can be instructed to change their protection, rather than asking the entire OL to move as a unit. New on-field icons, “hot indicators,” identify players who are showing blitzes, allowing players to try to account for pressure that may occur on the snap. Of course, defenses can disguise these things by showing blitzes but ultimately backing off, or by showing blitzes with one player but having another player apply pressure.
8. New pass-catching Enhancements
In addition, you can now change the catch animation before the ball arrives. For example, if you initiate a safety catch but find space to turn the ball upfield, you can switch to catching the ball on the run before the ball arrives. New custom route backbones also benefit the passing game. Building on the “Smart Routes” option, which tells receivers to execute route breaks on the first-down marker, you can now adjust the depth with more options, such as running out 5, 10, or 15 yards down the field. This should give some players more ability to dissect defenses.
9. Multiple Commentary Teams
Play-by-play has never been better with two additional commentary teams — Mike Tirico and Greg Olsen, and Kate Scott and Brock Huard — plus fresh pregame montages, camera angles, environments, Super Bowl celebrations, and immersive audio that looks, feels, and sounds different at every level.
10. Improved Draft Prospect Scouting
New sorting and player comparison tools will also limit the number of times you have to press buttons and scan screens to browse players by certain metrics (such as 40-yard dash times), and the game will finally let you compare draft prospects side by side.
11. Randy Moss in the Lombardi Speech
Another new character in the Super Bowl championship cutscene is Randy Moss, who is no ordinary player, but walks through the crowd and onto the stage holding the Lombardi Trophy. In real life, this responsibility falls on the legendary players, and the EA team wanted to make this small moment more realistic in the game.
12. Female Head Coaches
Women have only recently been given the opportunity to enter the NFL coaching room, but EA has been at the forefront, allowing you to create a female head coach for the first time in the history of the game series.
13. Team Builder
College football is back this year, but thankfully, the team creation website is not exclusive to student-athlete simulation games. Madden players can also create their own team logos and uniforms from scratch, share them with the community, import them into H2H or Franchise, or – if they prefer – skip all the work and just download some custom teams from the community download kit and enjoy the fruits of others’ labor.
14. More superstar appearance customization options
Madden Superstar’s customization options have long been poor. Thankfully, this year’s game addresses this somewhat, with more cosmetic options for your character’s face and body, including the return of tattoos, better hair rendering for beards, and new (twice as many as before) starting templates to choose from.
15. Better Player Ratings in Superstar
The real-time player rating system has also been tweaked to better account for other factors, such as whether a rusher hits the right hole on a play, or whether a receiver runs a good route. Before, finishing the play was the most important thing, but now you need to do a better job of executing the actual required play, although free trips to the end zone are still good for your rating.
16. More Storylines and Team Interactions in Superstar
Superstar mode also adds missions – essentially long-term goals you’re going after, such as brand deals, team and league records, and competitions with other players. Teammate interactions, which were completely absent before, will now be more of a focus, and your performance on the field can inspire those around you.
17. College Football 25 Road to Glory Compatibility
Of course, the biggest change to Superstar this year is its integration with College Football 25. Since your custom players are not subject to NIL trades, which prevent wholesale rosters from being imported into Madden from CFB, your Road To Glory players can be easily transferred to Madden, giving your players more depth and history as you play through their college careers and subsequent careers as pros.
18. 70+ Series Story Scenarios
In Madden 25, there will be over 70 scenarios, many of which emphasize season-long plots rather than one-off narrative beats. You’ll also have to worry about player personality attributes, which seem to have been in the game for ages without any purpose. Players with lower personality attributes may now be higher maintenance and voice their displeasure with you as a coach, asking you to appease them, ignore them, or ship them off to another team.
19. Roger Goodell
It wouldn’t be a draft without Roger Goodell on stage announcing the results. The commissioner, making his first appearance in the series, will also present the Lombardi Trophy to the champion at the end of each season. Sadly, despite Madden’s emphasis on authenticity, the commissioner won’t be booed like he would in real life.
20. Better Draft Presentation
For franchise players, the NFL draft presentation is getting a visual overhaul, along with some mechanical improvements. First, you’ll now see high-draft players walk on stage in suits -no more weird draft jerseys. Later draft players will get a call from their general manager at home. Meanwhile, the “big board” will show all the draft players so far in that round, just like you saw in the web event presentation.
21. Six-on-Six MUT Mode
Speaking of changes to Madden Ultimate Team’s modes, the biggest change is the new 6v6 mode, which feels more like a backyard football game. It’s not as flashy as Superstar Showdown, but is designed to give MUT players another way to compete with their teams, including a 6v6 lineup option.
22. New NFL Combine Experience in Superstar
For players in the game’s career mode, the NFL Combine will take on a more prominent role in your career, helping you climb the draft rankings and even improve your character’s attributes through impressive training. New training will also be position-specific, although some training, such as the bench press and 40-yard dash, will remain universal. A total of 26 new mini-games have been added to the game, although these trainings are also available outside of Superstar mode.
23. More Superstar Appearance Customization Options
Madden Superstar’s customization options have long been poor. Thankfully, this year’s game addresses this somewhat, offering more cosmetic options for your character’s face and body, including the return of tattoos, better hair rendering for beards, and new (twice as many as before) starting templates to choose from.
24. New Seasonal Rewards for Superstar Showdown
For players who enjoy bringing their custom athletes into the show-off Superstar Showdown mode, a deeper seasonal reward tree will give you more things to do. Just as MUT adds new rewards each season, Superstar Showdown will add new limited-time modes and rewards for you to chase as you rank up through the game’s new leaderboard system.
25. Return of Classic Madden Songs
Fans of classic NFL Films hits won’t be treated to the return of those titles, but the EA team has commissioned their own new theme that players will hear as soon as they turn on the game. It’s reminiscent of classic games from NFL Films past. In addition, classic Madden tracks from bygone eras will also return and play in stadiums across the league.
The Ending
Madden NFL 25 will be released on PS/Xbox/PC platforms on August 16, but players with an EA Play subscription or who purchase the Deluxe Edition or MVP Bundle that includes College Football 25 can play the game as early as August 13.