Madden NFL 24 Franchise Mode deep dive shows off mini games and more

Check out the brand-new and returning features in Franchise Mode

Many Madden NFL players still see the series’ Franchise Mode as its crown jewel and play this game mode exclusively – and that likely won’t change with Madden NFL 24. Unfortunately, this mode is also where EA Sports seemed to be a bit lackluster in the last couple of years, doing very little in terms of innovation and improvements from the perspective of many players.

Naturally, the studio wants to prove that narrative wrong and has put out another hefty blog with a large amount of changes players can expect in the game’s most popular single-player mode.

Training Camps are at the beginning of a season, giving players the opportunity to put their new recruits and veterans through a bootcamp, which nets them some early upgrades and improves their stats – a handy tool to get a successful start into the new season. To get as much use out of the Training Camps as possible, you’ll need to succeed in a bunch of different mini games, which all train up athletes on different positions:

• Target Passing (Quarterbacks)
• Pass Skeleton – Outmanned (Quarterbacks)
• Rushing Attack (Halfbacks and Fullbacks)
• WR Battle (Wide Receivers and Tight Ends)
• WR Battle – Red Zone Attack (Wide Receivers and Tight Ends)
• Trench Battle – The Long Hall (Defensive Line and Linebackers)
• Chase and Tackle (Linebackers)
• DB Battle (Defensive Backs)
• DB Battle – Red Zone Defense (Defensive Backs)
• Field Goal Accuracy (Kickers)
• Coffin Corner (Punters)

You’ll get skill points to upgrade your athletes based on how well you do in these games, earning bronze, silver, or gold medals. In case you don’t want to play a particular – or any – mini game, you can simply leave it to chance and get random medals by simulating this phase.

However, mini games are not available before the season: You can play them weekly with your focus players after deciding on your offensive and defensive gameplans.

Trading has been overhauled to better reflect what’s happening in real life. “Quite simply, our previous system just flat out couldn’t replicate the trades NFL teams were making,” the devs admitted on their blog. You now get extra trade slots and draft picks, and the system of how athletes are valued has been made more consistent.

Both the single-player and multiplayer Franchise Mode got additional customization options, allowing players to finetune their experience and ruleset much more. These include:

• Depth Chart Reordering
• Draft Class Strength
• Offensive and Defensive Playcall Settings
• Fantasy Draft Order
• Free Agent Motivations Impact
• Trade Difficulty
• Home Field Advantage Toggle
• Progression and Regression Sliders
• Free Agency Negotiations Per Stage
• Draft Timer

In addition to all of that, the draft generation system has been improved to offer more variety in the draft prospects it creates. Players will find more potential recruits with a wide range of skills as well as the potential to join the 99 Club. Scouting will be more important than ever before, because some of these potential legends have very low injury ratings and could spend more time recovering than on the field.

The relocation of a franchise has been simplified a bit, so you can now do it as a coach as well and don’t have to be an owner. In that context, uniforms have gotten a visual refresh and you’re allowed to take your franchise to 15 new cities:

• Albuquerque, New Mexico
• Anchorage, Alaska
• Buenos Aires, Argentina
• Canton, Ohio
• Honolulu, Hawaii
• Louisville, Kentucky
• Melbourne, Australia
• Montreal, Canada
• Omaha, Nebraska
• Paris, France
• Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• San Juan, Puerto Rico
• Tokyo, Japan
• Vancouver, Canada
• Virginia Beach, Virginia

That brings the total up to 34. For even more changes, check out of the official gridiron notes.

Check the Madden NFL 24 gameplay deep dive as well, if you want to learn more.