EA has given a glimpse of Madden 26 through a very minor teaser and one of the mentioned features was the snow weather effect among others. They showed their greatest worry regarding this matter when stated that ‘Change of Direction’ is the attribute that terrorizes the whole snowy and slippery pitch situation. Isn’t it sounding pretty cool? Literally. They accompanied their announcement with a beautiful picture showing a couple of the strongest players in the Change of Direction category. But the only issue is, have the Madden community? Their response was very weak for such a big feature. Complaints about a still-existing bug have filled the reply sections to that post.
Looks like an EA Sports game again. Show a little something nice and new while the old one is still broken. The post from the official Madden page was about football weather and claiming to be the kings of snow. But what about the gamers in the comments? They were discussing a very different kind of storm. A glitch storm.
One of the most common criticisms is the one that will not go away and that is the roster update glitch in Head-to-Head. Players are saying that they have to download the latest roster before each match and their modifications on their depth charts are just not being stored. It is making people mad. One user, werdo, got straight to the point: ‘This specific glitch has been happening every year since like madden 20 and there is NO REASON it should still occur, the game is $70.’ Ouch. That hits very precisely. Another user, eyesaidittho, told EA simply to ‘Fix the H2H glitch’ instead of worrying about snow.
And it is not a single person who is voicing the complaint. _Richie_porter was asking why the roster update glitch is still there even after a week has passed. StoryofaChamp joined in saying that the Week 16 roster update they are waiting for is just around the corner and will finally break the developers’ ‘loop’ that they felt ignored all week. So it is a steady stream of complaints about the same issue which makes one wonder what the priority is at the Madden studio. New snow physics or a working online mode?
Then there are the roster complaints which have almost become a tradition every year. KBakesy made a little rant about how the dev team ‘hates the Panthers,’ implying it is because Carolina was involved in the ending of Jon Gruden’s career. He complains the ratings are horrible in regular rosters and the upgrades in Madden Ultimate Team are very little. DarianMartin3695 just hopelessly accepted that a certain player likely won’t ever be added. Others were demanding specific ratings increases – calebwilliamswilbeagoat wants an 85 overall rating for Caleb Williams, DCSymbiote says that Jacory Croskey-Merritt’s speed needs to be upped after a fast touchdown run.
Some even criticized the very list that EA published. BillyYouCrazy declared it ‘criminal’ that Dolphins quick-footed De’von Achane is not among the top 10 for Change of Direction. jdnnnfi828 shared a GIF of Achane expressing that same disbelief. ClemsonBetter questioned how Trevor Lawrence cannot be among the top 10 in toughness for nursing injuries. And greyfivenineptf was confused as to why Zach Charbonnet made the list but his team mate Kenneth Walker III did not. So even the content they did release is being nit-picked.
Oh, and then there is the never-ending ‘my stuff vanished’ panic. User sohals_ accused that all of his presents have disappeared from his Madden Ultimate Team binder and he was claiming that he put ‘millions of coins into them.’ Another user, Zakari, simply replied, ‘Prolly lying,’ which… ya, that is the internet for you. But it points out that players still have a layer of constant anxiety regarding the game’s economy and stability.
It’s like a sad case but at the same time, there’s some humor in it. EA has made an attempt to discuss immersive weather systems that actually affect gameplay, a feature that is cool for simulation heads but the player community has been so beaten down by bugs that they cannot even get excited. The most frequent comments are not about snow tactics or which running back will be a beast in a blizzard. They are like cries for the most basic of functions to be resumed. A roster update that works. A depth chart that saves. It is like showing a beautiful new paint job on a car that has a flat tire and the engine smoking.
Braxury raised a funny, if cynical, point about the future of the NFL: ‘By 2065, every NFL team will have their stadium in a dome. Thus, snow or rain won’t be a problem to the players’ direction #NoFunLeague.’ Who knows, maybe by Madden 65, they would have finally resolved the H2H roster glitch.
So, while discussing game features, it’s worth noting the broader gaming landscape, including platforms like PlayStation and Xbox.
