Madden 22 Trial Countdown: Release Time on EA Play

The Madden 22 trial has been providing an early look at the game for some, but it hasn't been without issue.

We've got all the latest details here on the Madden 22 trial, including an extensions as a result of the Xbox timer issues that many faced.

Latest - Trial extended on Xbox

After a series of reports flooded in that players were having issues with their 10-hour EA Play Trial timer was decreasing even when they weren't playing, a compromise has been reached.

It's been announced that Xbox players who are existing EA Play or Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members will have their Madden 22 trial extended!

If you've already chosen to pre order Madden 22, that will keep your trial going until Early Access begins at Midnight ET on August 17, 2021 (11pm CT on August 16, 2021).

We've got more details here on the trial extension for Madden 22 on Xbox.

Madden 22 trial goes live

Just a few minutes before the projected 11am ET release time for the Madden 22 trial, the following was tweeted by the official EA Madden NFL account:

We can confirm that the Madden 22 EA Play Trial is now live on Xbox and able to be played, but finding it may be difficult.

Several players have had issues locating the trial, but you'll need to go to the Microsoft Store and spot the two on the bottom right here when searching "Madden 22" that don't have a listed price.

We already had it installing via the Xbox app pre-load option, and selecting the trial option here affirmed that.

Only a minimal version of the game with a single Play Now game available can be played prior to the full game finishing the download and install, but we can confirm launching works and the trial is active based on the prompts we received.

We were initially seeing multiple reports of players having issues locating the game on PS4 or PS5, but the issue seems to have finally been resolved.

We've got more details on how to find and download the trial on PlayStation here.

When does Madden 22 come out?

While the official release date for Madden 22 is scheduled as August 20, 2021, there are plenty of ways to start playing before that.

Early Access will get players in as soon as August 17, but only if they pre order the Dynasty Edition or MVP Edition of Madden 22.

Finally, there's the EA Play Trial, and this limited preview of Madden 22 is going to be the first chance that most players get to experience this year's release.

EA Play Trial Release Time & Date Countdown

The Madden 22 trial will be released on August 12, 2021 via EA Play on all platforms except PC, which is handling things a bit differently.

As of now, the release time for the game has not been confirmed, but we have a few indications of when it can be expected.

The official release time set for August 20 is midnight ET (August 19 at 11pm CT / 9pm PT), and we could see similar timing with the trial.

If that same window is used, the Madden 22 trial should be live by Midnight ET on August 12 (August 11 at 11pm CT / 9pm PT).

It's also possible that they'll use the same launch window EA utilized for the FIFA 21 and Madden 21 trial last year, which would make it available at 11am ET (10am CT / 8am PT) on August 12.

All you have to do in order to unlock the Madden 22 trial is be an EA Play subscriber (or be subscribed through Xbox Game Pass), at which point you should be able to download once live via the EA Play app, Xbox Game Pass app, or through the games store on your platform.

While the full game is expected to be playable with the EA Play Trial, it will be time limited at 10 hours of gameplay and force you to purchase the title to keep playing when that time expires.

Download Size

Gamers are no strangers to massive games testing hard drive limits, and while Madden 22 probably won't be the biggest game you have installed, it'll still leave a dent.

Madden 21 was 45 GB on all platforms, and with one report claiming a 57 GB Madden 22 file size on PS5, we expect the game will stick around this number.

This size reportedly includes the Madden 22 day one update, which will add roughly 6 GB to the game.

While nothing's confirmed just yet, make sure your platform of choice has enough space come the Madden 22 EA Play trial start time if you want to get in without a headache.

How to get the most out of your 10-hour Trial

The most important thing to do when you first jump into the game is to get a feel for the gameplay on your platform.

You can do this by hopping into an exhibition "Play Now" game.

Once you've had a taste of the gameplay itself, you should try out the new single-player mode, Face of the Franchise, although this may take up a large portion of your 10-hour trial, so don't get too carried away!

You can also start your Madden 22 Franchise immediately, or get ahead of the competition and kickstart your Ultimate Team.

Plus, if you're on a Next Gen console, you need to check out the Dynamic Gameday!

Early Access on PC with EA Play Pro & Dynasty Edition Pre Order

Unfortunately, the EA Play trial will not be available to PC users, but there is a fair tradeoff for that loss in that the full Dynasty Edition will become available earlier on PC than other platforms.

Likely due to the fact that restricting play with a 10-hour time limit is more difficult to enforce on PC, EA has instead opted to allow PC users to get the full Dynasty Edition in action if they're EA Play Pro subscribers.

That means you'll need to both make sure your subscription is active and that you pre order the Dynasty Edition on PC, but once doing both things you'll get the full non-time-locked version on August 12, 2021.