Madden 22 will no doubt have already started development on the next update to their storied NFL franchise.
Despite the rocky start for fans, over the course of the year, we did some important updates to the Madden 21 title that have been well received.
These are the things we want the developers to focus on for Madden 22.
1. Maintain Updates from Madden 21
Sounds like a really low expectation, but there's lots of functionality that has been in previous Madden games that have then been removed.
Whether it's the addition of play call limits or the player's historic stats, the additions made throughout the year have been welcomed.
They have made various scales of improvement but barring bugs, they have all made the game better.
Let's keep them.
2. Franchise Mode Depth
This is what has driven the #FixMaddenFranchise movement all year.
Fans of Franchise mode feel shortchanged, and when they look at other sports games adding more and more depth to their career modes - it jars.
The list of potential options for depth is a long one;
- Add a coaching staff with implications on budget and quality of training
- Add depth to scouting system, have scouting staff with budgets
- Add comp picks to draft
- Add 50x more scenarios for player and team development
- Add pre-season camps, rookie workouts, etc
- Make contract structures adjustable
- Add the ability to have restricted FA like the NFL
These additions aren't going to be insanely difficult, but they do require investment. And that's an investment to a game mode that doesn't generate income beyond a game purchase.
But with Madden losing fans, that might be enough to make them invest in these elements.
3. More animations during Gameplay
Lots of improvements were on display for the next-gen version of Madden 21 but it would be good to see at least some of this standardized (CPU power willing).
New animations this year, particularly around the goal line were great. Seeing your player duck down the side of the defender to dive was a nice hint of realism.
Exploding the number of animations will drastically improve the experience for those that play a lot.
4. Add more presentation production
This is something from the list titled "it was on previous games so why did they take it away?".
To help fund some of the development above, EA could do a deal with ESPN or any of the big networks to add some production value to the games.
We miss the pre-match build-ups and halftime assessments. Bring in some live stats and any game mode is boosted.
Show your opponents' tendencies and most common plays, highlight dangerous players, and generally get us pumped to play!
5. Add pre-game planning and schemes to all game modes
This could also improve any game mode.
Imagine being able to set some schemes to give you players rating boosts on certain areas or certain plays.
This could be a trade-off against injury and fatigue ratings. Worked really hard this week to prepare? Well, the player is more dangerous...but more fragile.