EA Kicked It Off to Make Week 1 Roster Updates Available in Madden 26. All 32 Teams Have Been Updated; Football Is Back In Session, So You Might Want To Present Your Finest Performances Free Of Cost Any Time This Weekend. The Vibe Is So Good, Isn’t It?? But just scroll through the comments…oh, boy. That is loads of salt.
Official declaration: Roster update; free-play weekend. One of the community responders is an ocean of rage with bitterness about bugs and many unanswered questions. It is like EA turned on the new rosters but forgot that the game itself is still somewhat broken for some people.
Then, in all seriousness, dyllan (@dyllodelmondo) asks the real questions: “Can y’all explain to me why Madden franchise crashes mid game every time I play it? Never in the menus, always during a game. I seem to be the only one experiencing this. Didn’t happen until after the title update.” That’s a big issue. Imagine getting into a game and then-bam-it just dies. And he feels he’s alone on this one, which may increase his frustration: how does one even report a bug that maybe only they have??
Soon, Tampon Tim (@TamponTimmyW) cries out the typical Madden franchise mode complaint: “I wonder if multiple players break the sack record like they do every year in franchise mode. Sim engine is so bad. Matches the rest of the game.” This is the same every year. The simulation engine makes no sense; it produces stats that look a hundred percent fake. For a player trying to engage in serious franchise mode, it blows the immersion.
And on the visuals, oh dear. Customization and equipment level details have been declared a mess by a great many players. DripSports_KB (@DripsportsK) and DragonStorm678 (@DragonStorm089) share perspectives on how bad the uniforms are. “They can’t make white t shirts with the white sleeves. Terrible,” were DripSport’s words. “The customization is bad,” he adds. These are the issues that matter to hardcore players; and when they’re wrong, it just feels…lazy.
PAC-MAN (@CatholicPacman) went ahead and did a comparison showing the wings on the helmets still aren’t right and another comment pointing out the player models have “tiny heads and big shoulders,” which just looks weird. Like, how does that even get through testing??
Then we still have inaccuracies on the rosters present even after this so-called “update.” lewa1110 points out that “Zach tom got resigned about 4 weeks ago, still says he’s in the last year of his deal.” So the rosters aren’t even fully correct?? That’s the whole point of the update!
Jackson (@Jackson98745) is mad about the Cowboys’ draft picks not being in yet: “You forgot the cowboys picks iam not doing a cowboys chise till you do the picks.” Glasgow_fit (@G1J0E23) says that the rosters still aren’t updated and that the progressive fatigue system is broken and needs a fix ASAP.
And I forgot the ones asking about linking their College Football 25 players to Madden, which still isn’t a thing, apparently. Kota (@AllEliteKota) just asks plainly: “But like can I transfer my CFB 26 player yet.” Nope. Not yet.
Some positivity! Ozzie (@Ozzie_Rogers) said simply, “Great news 🏈👏.” Otherwise, the near consensus is moreso that the update fits more as a band-aid on a bigger problem. Crashes, bad sim, visual details, and roster accuracy – down on concrete levels, this game’s got issues; a roster update don’t begin to fix that.
One user @gunk112 even calls EA a “Billion dollar company puts out dollar store game,” which, rude, but exactly the sentiment for which the Madden community’s become infamous. There’s a far-reaching feeling that EA is sitting comfortably on its laurels since it has the exclusive NFL license; there’s basically no competition to force them into bettering their product.
Week 1 roster updates do sound good, and they’re definitely what everybody expects to follow the preseason. But are any updates worth much if the game itself is crawled with bugs and inaccuracies? You can get the right players on the right teams, but if your franchise mode keeps crashing or your stats make no sense, the experience is broken.
The community basically wants a complete and working game. They want correct rosters; they want a sim engine that makes sense; they want uniforms that look right; and they want a game that don’t crash. Is that too much for a yearly full-price release? Based on the replies, EA has a long road ahead if they ever want to regain the trust of its player base. Free Play Weekend is a good opportunity for people to check out these new rosters, but I guess they will also have to face these problems all over again. So let’s hope they finally get a title update that addresses this stuff, ASAP.
