Madden 23 hasn’t had an easy go. Nearly two months after the football title launched, fans and NFL pros have continued to complain about its surprising lack of polish, outdated in-game references, broken modes, lost progress, and countless bugs. The release of Title Update 3 today, October 13, hopes to turn some things around. The biggest patch added to the game so far, the update will include amble bug fixes, on-field changes to rushing and blocking, cosmetic updates, and much more. Most surprisingly, Madden Franchise mode might have finally been fixed.
Along with plenty of quality-of-life fixes, the patch also marks the beginning of Madden 23‘s second season, bringing with it the Ultimate Team mode. A new Field Pass, including Deion Sanders, has also been added, along with the annual Most Feared player cards added each October for Halloween.
Over the past few weeks, players have taken to the EA forum and social media to share their displeasure with the broken Madden Franchise mode. The newest installment to the franchise has been failing to save final scores and process trades, and the bugs don’t stop there. It’s unclear whether this new patch will fix everything, but football fans are hopeful that their issues are almost at an end.
Check out the patch notes below.
Madden 23 Gameplay Updates:
Blocking
- Fixed an issue with pass block targeting resulting in an interior pass rusher being left unblocked when the defense would use a specific pre-snap set-up in the 4-3 Even 61 formations.
- Fixed an issue with pass block targeting that would allow edge rushers to be unblocked when pinching the defensive line and bringing down the safety on Nickel Over Storm Brave vs. a pass-blocked running back.
- Improved Block and Release logic for tight ends so they don’t release so quickly in scenarios where there is a rusher for him to block; also improved blocking animations so they are better at engaging or impact blocking rushers on collision.
- Fixed an issue with pass block targeting allowing an unblocked rusher when the defense would pinch their linebackers and sit a linebacker in a gap in the Dollar 3-2 Spinner play.
- Changed QB Contain assignment logic so second level defenders, stack linebackers and defenders lined up in those positions will not be able to be assigned QB Contain.
- Fixed an issue with pass block targeting allowing a defensive end to be unblocked out of Nickel Over Blitz.
Catching
- Fixed an issue causing multiple mid-air interaction animations to trigger before the ball arrived, causing the receiver to miss the ball.
- Tuning to catching for Wide Receivers to catch less tipped balls.
- Fixed an issue preventing the Interception Gameplay Slider from significantly impacting the catch frequency for defenders.
- Fixed a catching animation issue causing running backs to turn the wrong way on a catch coming out of the backfield.
- Fixed a catching animation preventing receivers from attempting a catch asking for a RAC catch on a smoke screen.
- Fixed a catching animation issue causing the receiver to use an effort catch on a catchable pass.
- Fixed a catching animation issue causing the receiver to sometimes use a possession catch when requesting a RAC catch.
- Fixed an issue preventing defenders from playing a knockout in some situations where one was being requested.
Ball Carrier & Tackling
- Fixed an issue sometimes causing ball carriers to juke in the incorrect direction when holding the ball in their left hand.
- Fixed an issue allowing ball carriers with no stamina remaining to engage in Stand Up Tackles.
- Updated Stand Up Tackle indicators to provide feedback in more appropriate locations based on the mode and camera view being used; also updated Stand Up tackle indicators in Skills Trainer.
- Tuning to the Juke-Hurdle combo animations to ensure the height and speed of the animations is appropriate.
- Tuning to pursuit when using the Strip-Ball mechanic to reduce over-steering the defender away from the ball carrier.
Pre & Post Play
- Fixed an issue sometimes causing the ball carrier to point in the wrong direction during some first down celebrations.
- Fixed a rare issue causing a player to sometimes be frozen after the play.
- Fixed an issue causing players to improperly switch positions before the play in Online SSKO games when using audibles or play-flipping.
- Fixed an issue allowing the offense unlimited hot routes without the QB playing the corresponding animations while sending a receiver in motion.
- Fixed a stadium issue causing media members on the sidelines to clip through the stadium walls in specific stadiums.
General Fixes
- Fixed an issue causing the “Roar of the Crowd” Dynamic Gameday modifier to force a route to go backwards.
- Fixed an issue sometimes allowing the offense to see the defensive zone art during the play in Online Head-to-Head games.
- Fixed a rare issue causing the offensive coach-cam art to persist on the field during the play.
- Fixed an issue sometimes causing fade routes to break after a long press animation by the defender.
- Fixed an issue causing the safety in a Curl-Flat assignment to motion out wide with a halfback motioned to an outside receiver position instead of the Outside-Deep Third cornerback.
- Fixed an issue causing the rushing averages shown in the Next Gen Stat presentation to be incorrect.
- Fixed an issue preventing sacks from being counted correctly in the Medium NFL Blitz Drill in the Gauntlet.
- Fixed an issue preventing pass conditions from tracking correctly in the Skills Trainer Gauntlet Pass Leading challenges.
Franchise Updates:
- Fixed a disconnect issue that was impacting a high volume of users in Franchise and Face of the Franchise.
- Dev Note: This was leading to issues with losing progress due to being disconnected, and users unable to progress in face of the franchise at contract negotiation points.
- Fixed an issue where CPU teams would immediately end negotiations with a player if they don’t have the cap space to negotiate with them.
- Dev Note: If the CPU team does not have enough Cap Space to make an offer on a player during in-season re-signing, they will now wait to make a final decision until the offseason Re-Sign period. This waiting period will allow for additional opportunities in Cap movement to occur that may result in a team gaining enough Cap Space to make an offer at a later date.
- Fixed an issue where CPU teams weren’t targeting players during re-sign as expected
- Dev Note: A new set of player targeting logic was developed for CPU controlled teams to improve decision making when determining who they should attempt to re-sign each year. The logic better differentiates between elite, developing and depth players resulting in the CPU making more of an effort to first secure their starters and developing young players before looking to fill any depth or hold on to aging veterans.
- Fixed an issue where using a skill point on the Playmaker archetype was not increasing the correct attributes
- Dev Note: Using a skill point on this archetype will now give your player the greatest likelihood of increasing their Juke Move, Break Tackle and Ball Carrier Vision. Other top attributes that can potentially improve include but are not limited to Awareness, Catching, Catch in Traffic, Medium Route Running and Short Route Running.
- Fixed an issue where the Top Threat was sometimes a player that didn’t make sense
- Fixed an issue where a player’s name and position would appear as a macro in the goals hub after completing a scenario goal
- Fixed an issue where goals were sometimes incorrectly showing as completed in the end of game flow
- Fixed an issue where some players abilities did not match what they had on the front end
- Fixed an issue where the Rams NFC and Super Bowl Championships were doubled
- Fixed a crash that would occur when loading into Formation Subs without a head coach
- Fixed an issue where players on IR were able to be used to get trade offers
- Fixed an issue causing the wrong name to be shown on the player jersey in some Franchise scenario scenes
- Fixed an issue causing all team gear in scenarios to appear as the Buccaneers after relocating a team, retiring and then taking control of the same team
Face of the Franchise Updates:
- Fixed an issue preventing calfs from updating when using the morph sliders in player customization
- Fixed an issue causing the Avatar Level and OVR rating UI containers to overlap
- Added pip indicator to the Upgrade Player menu item when upgrade points are available
- Fixed an issue preventing Pro Bowl uniforms from appearing correctly in the post-game locker room
- Fixed an issue sometimes preventing passing and pass coverage ability perks from triggering appropriately
- Various UI improvements made to the Side Activities screen
- General Stability improvements and fixes
Madden Ultimate Team Updates:
- Fixed issue causing a crash on Field Pass Reward
- Improved Field Pass XP total and level display
- Consolidated Rewards Flow display
- Various Player Images updated
- Fixed issue causing disconnect within Field Pass
- Fixed issue causing soft lock in Squads
- Removed scaling issues throughout screens
- General stability improvements
- Fixed issue within Sets that was causing a crash
The Yard Updates:
- Most Feared Vanity Capsule
- Nike SC High Trainers added
NFL Authenticity Updates:
- New Face Scans added to these players:
- Christian Barmore – DT – Patriots
- Elijah Mitchell – RB – 49ers
- Pat Freiermuth – TE – Steelers
- Andrew Booth Jr. – CB – Vikings
- Willie Gay – LB – Chiefs
- Trent McDuffie – CB – Chiefs
- Uniform Updates
- Black Helmet Added for Eagles Alternates
- Jets Black Helmet Added for Jets Alternate
- Cowboys White Helmet added for Color Rush
- Helmet fixes to Vicis Zero2 and Trench to allow proper positioning
- New Cleats added
- Adidas Primeknit
- Adidas Freak Ultra 22
- Adidas Freak
- Adidas Adizero
- Nike Alpha Menace Elite 3
- Stadium Updates
- Steelers Stadium Rebrand
- Browns new field art
- Rams field goal pad updated
- Bears tarps updated
- Bengals Edgewall and tarps updated
- Giants Edgewalls updated
Presentation and UI Updates:
- Shortened the end-of-drive flow in Face of the Franchise
- Reduced the blind spots in Cinematic version of Player Lock Camera
- Fixed an issue with players disappearing from huddle when timeout was called
- Fixed the incorrect wipe in Superstar KO postgame flow
- Various stability fixes
- Various polish updates to the User Interface
- Fixed issue where difficulty setting in Team Select Pre Game that was not matching difficulty in Game Options from the Pause Menu
- Fixed issue where Visual Feedback settings were not loaded in Play Now
- Fixed issue where Tug-o-War graphic stays on screen the entire game
- Removed non-inclusive language around vision settings
Madden 23 was released on August 16 for Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
