Improvements Being Made To Madden 23 From The Beta

During the closed beta for Madden 23, EA had a feedback forum up where fans were able to share their thoughts on what they’d like to see in this year’s game.

EA developers have addressed some of that feedback. We’ve got their responses below!

Don’t Change The Game Too Much From The Beta

Dev Response: The number one feedback topic we received! Rest assured Madden community, our vision of game balance is consistent with yours and the gameplay you experienced in the Closed Beta is what you’ll be playing on launch day.

There has been polish added and bugs fixed from players’ feedback to make it even better, but the overall experience will be as you played in the Closed Beta.

Add Referees Back On The Field

Dev Response: While referees returning to the field during live gameplay is not something we will be able to deliver in Madden 23, it is something that we want to get as badly as our players.

We want to make sure that when refs do return, they return in a state where visual quality is on par with the rest of the characters on the field; refs is very high on our future roadmap.

Play Awareness – Too Easy To Run The Same Plays

• Logic added so that when defensive backs are playing in linebacker positions, they will have slower reaction time to the running game.
• Removed the ability to hot route TE’s to a pass block assignment when in a 2-point WR stance
• Adjusted the Corner Route in Bunch formations and the corner hot-route in the Hot Route Master and Slot Apprentice abilities to align with the other corner routes throughout the playbooks.
• Made improvements to man coverage pre-snap alignment vs. bunch formations

Pulling Linemen Are Too Slow

Dev Response: Tuning and AI changes were made to make pulling linemen be more explosive through the line of scrimmage.

On top of the foundational improvements, you’ll have to keep an eye on the Speed (SPD) rating of the pulling lineman, as slower OL’s could force you to lay off the acceleration mechanic while he navigates and faster OL’s will get through quicker allowing you to accelerate sooner on the play. 

Pass Blocking: Too Many Insta-Sheds

Dev Response:  There was a bug causing super-wins to trigger too frequently early in the Closed Beta which was a primary contributor to the overpowered feeling.

Looking at overall defensive gameplay, having a powerful pass rush is critical to the balance of the game, and the pass rush at launch is still going to be more powerful than it was in Madden NFL 22.

User Interceptions Aren’t Always Responsive

• Tuning to catch animations to increase range for jumping INT’s
• Tuning to significantly decrease situations where the player is requesting ‘Play Ball’ without seeing the corresponding animation response.

Improve Man Coverage

• Tuning to significantly reduce the frequency of fakeouts by man coverage defenders
• Added new logic so the fakeouts could be used in super-win situations where the ratings delta is heavily in favor of the WR

Too Many Fumbles

• Tuning to significantly reduce fumble chance on QB hits inside the pocket
• Tuning to significantly reduce fumble chance on QB hits while in the early portion of the throw
• Tuning to reduce fumbles by non-QB ball carriers on hit-sticks and strip-ball attempts
• Significant reduction to ‘punch-out’ fumbles by AI-controlled defenders during stand-up tackles on Competitive game style

Receivers Should Win More Contested Catches

• Tuning to increase catch success for WR’s in contested-catch situations when in a mismatch.
• Logic added to include WR physical attributes such as height to play a more significant role in the success of contested catches.

What other improvements would you like to see made in Madden 23? Let us know in the comments!