Madden NFL 25 Gameplay Deep Dive

Hey Madden fans, welcome back to Gridiron Notes!

Here in our Orlando studio, we know what’s most important to players and that’s a deep, authentic experience delivering control on the sticks. Players will have more control than ever before in Madden NFL 25 with this year’s feature-set including Physics-Based Tackling powered by BOOM Tech, Signature Styles, new ball carrier, catching and pre-play mechanics, and a focus on football fundamentals within blocking, playbooks, and more. All gameplay features and updates covered here will be available on PC.

First, let's take a look at our Gameplay Deep Dive video that has just been released.

Let’s jump in and tackle all the details with the first look at Madden NFL 25 Gameplay:

BOOM Tech

Players have made it clear that they prefer agency and control in gameplay, rather than outcomes that feel scripted or pre-determined. When we introduced our FieldSENSE animation-branching system two seasons ago, meeting that demand was the exact goal. This year, that vision is being accelerated even more with the introduction of BOOM Tech: our next gameplay innovation, over 2 years in the making, which is an injection of real-world physics into that animation-branching technology; and aptly named after Coach Madden’s most famous catchphrase - BOOM!

Players will feel the new tackling system during any one-on-one tackle, where physics will determine a wide variety of dynamic outcomes based on the weight, speed, momentum, squareness of the hit, and player ratings, while keeping players in full control.

The features that make up the BOOM Tech package are:

• Physics-Based Tackles: Hit Sticks, Cut Sticks, Trucks, Stiff-Arms and Dive Tackles
• All-new Physics-Driven Ball carrier balance and recovery system
• Reloaded Hit Stick mechanic to make landing that perfect-hit stick feel rewarding and more skill-based

Physics-Based Tackles

There are three key components of a physics-based tackle:

• Pre-impact moment
• Moment of impact
• Tackle resolution

This system is not organic physics, or ragdoll, but rather dynamic animation selection informed by real-world physics. While not every tackle-type in the game is driven by physics, BOOM Tech will make Hit Sticks, Cut Sticks, and Dive Tackles more authentic and more unpredictable.. Let’s explain how this works:

Prior to impact, ball carriers will now anticipate and brace for impact from an oncoming tackler, making them look more intelligent and aware while also giving players the control to change direction, perform a special move, or simply stay in locomotion all the way up until contact is made without feeling any sort of suction and pre-animation alignment.

On the defender’s side of the approach, the system is constantly re-evaluating potential tackles on every frame until collision, based on how both players have deviated their poses, move-direction or speed, which leads to significantly more variety when the tackle starts - variety of the actual point of impact, the leverage of the defender and his position relative to his target.

At the point of impact, the first part of the equation is the new physics-based muscle-strength toolset. This allows developers to tune the ‘body strength’ of individual players to match their unique on-field characteristics. For example, a ball carrier such as Derrick Henry will be tuned stronger than a lighter ball carrier such as Jahmyr Gibbs. The muscle-strength tuning is then combined with the force, velocity, momentum, player ratings and leverage of both players to determine the strength of the tackle impact, and the direction of the force on the tackle interaction.

The third component is the tackle resolution, another showcasing of the dynamic nature of physics-based tackles. Instead of playing out a predetermined tackle conclusion based on the initial tackle that matched, our BOOM Tech allows the system to select pieces from a wide variety of tackle animations and branch to as many as necessary to fulfill all the requests coming from physics. This leads to more emergent hit types, stumble variety and unpredictable outcomes to deliver more visceral impact and control for both players throughout the entire interaction.

Lastly, all ball carrier and tackling abilities have been modified to work together with the new physics system. In some cases, new abilities have been created. Some abilities will modify force at impact, some will have an effect on the timing or squareness of a hit, and some will be a part of the formula in determining the outcome. Here’s some examples of new abilities built to support physics-based tackling:

• Tireless Runner - Stamina reduction has no impact on ball carrier’s ability to rebalance on broken tackles
• Extra Pop - Increased chance to create a fumble with a perfect Hit Stick
• Steamroller - As a ball carrier, significantly harder to be bumped off current path when running at full speed
• Form Tackler - The ideal tackle-timing window is easier to hit

Physics-Driven Ball Carrier Balance & Recovery System

An extension of physics-based tackling is the emergence of a ball carrier’s ability to take a hit, stumble, and then recover his balance - or as it's known in the league, Contact Balance. There’s a series of factors that can lead to one of these outcomes.

The first is the quality (or lack thereof) of the hit on contact. A more glancing hit, or one that is not square, or early or late, may fail to bring the ball carrier down, and instead influence the angle and distance that he will move while in a recovery. Torque (the amount of rotation on the ball carrier) can also influence if the ball carrier may spin or turn while in recovery, as well as foot position… if the ball carrier’s foot position is not in a state where he can realistically recover, even if the hit is not good quality, he would not be able to recover effectively.

The chance of the ball carrier to recover is determined by the position of his center mass relative to his feet and torso, along with player ratings and abilities will determine if and how quickly a player can recover, or combined with muscle-strength tuning, how resilient he may be to taking hits. Using the previous example, Derrick Henry is going to recover out of broken tackles much differently than Alvin Kamara.

Reloaded Hit Stick: Timing-Based

It just so happens that Madden NFL 25 is the 20th anniversary of the Hit Stick, the most popular Madden mechanic of all-time, and it’s getting an update worthy of a Coach Madden “BOOM.”

Hit Sticks will now be determined by the timing of the hit and angle of approach by the defender, in addition to player ratings and muscle-strength tuning. If the tackle is too early, too late, or a bad angle is taken, the hit power at the point of impact will be reduced. Tackle and Hit Power ratings will influence the timing windows, so that the chances of having a successful Hit Stick will increase when attempting with high-Hit Power players.

This new mechanic also comes with its own on-field feedback system, with the primary goal of rewarding a perfect Hit Stick with a visceral moment. A tackle indicator under the defender will provide feedback on the power, squareness and timing of the Hit Stick. You’ll also feel controller rumble based on the hit quality, hear new sound effects captured specifically for these moments, and even hear the crowd react to big hits or broken tackles. A perfect Hit Stick won’t just look and sound awesome. It will also grant a higher chance of causing a fumble.

Physics-Based Tackling powered by BOOM Tech is an innovation in gameplay to change the way the game feels on the sticks, ultimately giving players more control and more emergent moments than ever before. It’s also a glimpse into where gameplay is going in the future. Tackling was the first and most obvious area to start injecting physics into gameplay, but this technology is going to be the foundation of our future vision of expanding physics throughout all of gameplay.

Signature Authenticity

In addition to user control, players and fans alike admire Madden for its visual authenticity. That type of immersion doesn’t stop with visuals, there’s much more that extends to the on-field experience to maximize NFL authenticity.

For Madden NFL 25, Signature Authenticity includes an overhauled set of ball carrier mechanics that offers more explosive special moves and player differentiation. You’ll notice signature pre-play styles before the snap and preplay adjustments where players across the field will illustrate realistic football IQ that’s been hidden behind the scenes in Madden for many years. As we continue to push the boundaries of authenticity, the line between Madden and the real-world NFL will blur.

Ball Carrier Revamp

There are no details about the ball carrier experience the team didn’t dig into this year to enhance. Let’s start with improved contextual awareness. Using our Frostbite(™) animation technology, we have brought more athleticism and awareness to ball carriers. You’ll notice these improvements in both user and AI-controlled ball carriers when running through traffic, especially when at or near the line of scrimmage. You’ll see ball carriers notice oncoming defenders and brace for impact. You’ll notice players “getting skinny” when navigating tight lanes. You’ll also see nuanced movement with what we are calling Avoid Turns. These are unique, athletic direction-changes away from incoming threats. This system uses a formula to calculate the distance and angle to the threat. Once a player requests a direction turn, based on the distance/angle threshold, the new animation will trigger.

Skill Moves

We’ve also completely refreshed ball carrier skill moves. Not only have we added hundreds of new jukes, spins, high-steps and hesi’s, we’re also delivering new tools for players to get creative in making their own highlight-reel runs. To further enhance all the new animations, there’s a new mechanic called the Setup State. Pressing down RT/R2 and flicking down on RS enters Setup State. This move has a chance to send oncoming downfield defenders into a breakdown, meaning the ball carrier’s next move has a chance of faking that defender out. The power of the new Setup State is being able to set defenders up, chain a move combo together and blow right by them. This will discourage your opponent from clicking off their defender in the hopes that an AI defender has a better chance to tackle you.

Dev Note: Try stacking jukes and spins onto the Setup State.

Hold RT/R2 and:

• Back-Right Juke to Spin (Flick right stick down to the right, then roll the right stick down and around the opposite direction)
• Back-Left Juke to Spin (Flick right stick down to the left, then roll the right stick down and around the opposite direction)

We’ve also added some signature locomotion run styles for some of the game’s biggest stars. The recognizable and unique run-styles of Isaiah Pacheco, Christian McCaffrey and Saquon Barkley will be immediately noticeable. You’ll also see more nuanced behaviors that make ball carriers look more authentic, things like off-arm balance movements, head swiveling when noticing defenders and more.

Signature Pre-Play Styles

Authenticity additions don't stop there. We’ve added over 200 new signature pre-play behaviors to increase the anticipation and action that happens at the line before the ball is snapped. You’ll see 16 unique, signature QB sets that include approach to the line, QB stance and a variety of mannerisms. You’ll recognize Jalen Hurts’ low stance, Dak Prescott’s road-game leg kick and cadence and more. We’ve also added dozens of signature wide receiver approaches and setups, including those of CeeDee Lamb and Tyreek Hill.

Smart Pre-Play Adjustments.

For years, Madden has maintained and added special checks and adjustments in its pre-play logic meant to simulate the types of changes real-life NFL players make at the line of scrimmage every play.

Many of those adjustments have been mostly hidden from gamers unless you knew a developer to ask. This changes in Madden NFL 25 with smart-adjustment behaviors.

When you see an offensive lineman make a hand signal before settling into his stance, or a linebacker signal to a defensive back, or the defensive alignment change to match a motion, these will no longer be random fidgets - now these real-life football adjustments will be shown with contextually appropriate animations out of nearly every position on the field. As the easiest example, when the offensive line is dynamically changing its protection to a ‘5-0’ call vs. 5 rushers on the line, you’ll see the center put his 5 fingers in the air to alert the rest of the offense of this blocking change. This will be the only time the center uses this gesture, and this dynamic ‘line check’ is something that’s always been in our blocking logic, but gamers may never have known. Here’s a list of just a few other examples:

• Tackle alert Guard to edge pressure threat
• Center alert guard to join half-slide
• Center re-Mike vs. sub defense
• Center alert line to all-out blitz look
• HB add to base protection
• Tackle alert full slide
• TE alert max protect
• HB empty protect adjustment
• Defense alert to same play ran 4+ plays in a row
• Man coverage DB in a mismatch
• Teammate communication for mismatch
• Defense signals for bunch, trips, jumbo, unbalanced line, etc.
• Low energy/exhausted defense get-to-stance

Foundational Football

The fundamentals of the sport are at the forefront of everything we do in gameplay because an authentic and fundamentally-sound replication of the sport is extremely important to our players. Players want maximum control on the sticks and to be rewarded for their football knowledge by winning the chess match of pro football. With the work we’ve done this year in catching, blocking and playbooks, we think our players will feel both.

Catching Innovation

Players will have more control over the types of catches they want to deploy than ever before. Yes, I’ll repeat that… THAN EVER BEFORE. When you hit a catch button in Madden NFL 25 you’ll get the exact catch you’re requesting and the system will ensure that the context of the catch will be reflected accurately. For example, if you decide to hit Y/Triangle for an aggressive catch, but the pass is low, we’ve added new low-height jumping catches to ensure you get the button input response desired. We’ve added more than 700 new catching animations to add more context, athleticism and control, including easier access to back-shoulder catches and back-pylon fades.

Speaking of control, we also added a new catch mechanic this year - the spectacular (spec) catch mechanic - a fourth catching option on L1/LB that allows you to attempt a one-handed catch. When trying one, you’ll get the bonus of an extended catch radius while also risking a higher drop-chance, especially when attempting a spec catch with a lower-rated player. Use this one wisely!

To add even more control, we’ve enhanced the ability to branch from one catch to another catch with an additional button press. Feel like modifying a spec catch to a possession catch? Or branching a normal catch to a sideline or possession catch? Simply switch your button-press mid-catch, and get exactly what you want to show off your stick-skill, while seeing the exact catch you expect.

Blocking

One core fundamental we know is extremely important to the community is the trenches, so we’ve continued to invest in blocking in Madden NFL 25. The excitement for the new pass blocking mechanics we’re introducing this year was reinforced when our own Madden Design Council signed off with its eagerness for the feature when we pitched the idea to them early on in production.

For the first time ever, players will be able to see who their pass blockers are targeting in pre-play and will have new tools available to modify that targeting to capitalize on picking up their opponent’s blitz tendencies.

When you enter the pass protection menu in pre-play, you’ll see four additional pass block options alongside the four that have always been there. The new protection options are ‘Half-Slide’ Right and Left, Base and Empty. When scrolling through the protections, you’ll see how they modify the blocking scheme.

Half-slide is the typical 2 / 3 Jet blocking scheme that every NFL team employs - it has one side of the line in man blocking, and the other side in a slide or zone to protect the QB. The Empty option is meant for a 5-man protection, and will automatically send any running back into a route, while putting the linemen into ‘Sift’ or MDM rules to both sides - meaning they’ll block the most dangerous 2 of 3 or 2 of 4 to their side, with the expectation that the QB will get rid of the ball on time if pressure comes. The Base option reverts any protection change back to the default protection scheme, which is the ‘4-down and the Mike’.... In addition to setting protections globally, you can also modify any existing or new protection by using the ID the Mike mechanic to direct the running back who to block, and the double team mechanic.

There’s some risk and reward. You’ll notice ‘flame’ emojis sometimes appear above defenders when in the pass protection menu. These indicators are to tell you which players will NOT be blocked if they blitz, and are meant to show the QB who he has to throw hot off of if blitzed. When making a pass protection adjustment, the targeting will become ‘stickier’, and open up the meta to make interesting decisions on both sides of the ball when determining which threats to block and more importantly… which to leave unblocked.

That’s not all for blocking though. We’ve also adjusted how the passing pocket is formed this year. We’ve made improvements to the tackles’ pass block AI, where instead of attempting to get to the most ideal point of intersection with their target, they’ll now stay in their pass sets longer and get to the latest intersection point. When iterating on this, we noticed that even with the tackles getting deeper in their vertical pass sets, the QB was still out-leveraging them with his drop back. When we investigated why, the QB dropbacks had been sped up over the course of many cycles so much that they were almost 2X the speed of the original animation capture… so we have also slowed down the drop back-speeds to the more accurate real-life speed. And in combination, players will now see a pocket form more naturally around the QB while he drops back, and the QB will not outleverage his tackles by staying in ‘phase’ with his protection.

In addition to adding new targeting logic, blocking schemes and strategy mechanics, we have also visually updated the trenches with over 500 new animations across all block types: Pass Block wins and losses, impact blocks, get-engages, reach blocks, and more. All new and existing blocking animations have been tuned to give players more control over block sheds and disengages so that when a player hits a stick to get off a block, they’ll feel like their input was received.

Playbooks

As another one of our key innovations, the team is really excited about a brand new playbook tool we’ve been investing in for several years. We began designing this new Frostbite capability in 2021 and have been implementing it since 2022. This investment is going to start to return dividends to players in Madden NFL 25, not only by creating some really cool new plays, but also with what it will allow us to do during the season.

In terms of simply making plays, this new tool allows our design team to make plays faster and easier, with a variety of new debug tools to ensure plays are created with more polish, and plays can be created more frequently. Targeting more variety in play-call options, our focus this year is providing team identity, and we’re excited to bring unique NFL trends for each of the 32 teams, including Miami Orbit Motions, the Texans variety of deep crossers, and even the Chiefs Super Bowl-winning Corn Dog play. We want to give every fan, regardless of team affiliation, something they can embrace and celebrate as their own.

The investment in strategy doesn’t stop at launch however. Our new playbook tool also unlocks our ability to truly become a live service playbook provider, so plan on seeing strategic, new plays getting added to each team’s playbook during the NFL Season to keep our playbooks fresh and as up to date as the plays you’ll be seeing coaches call on the sidelines.

With our live service plans, there’s some specific changes that returning players will be thrilled to hear. First, the legacy play limit with Custom Playbooks no longer exists, so you will be able to add plays to your custom playbook from every playbook in the game. We’ve also refreshed the Custom Playbook interface to be a bit more user-friendly.

With this tech update and new design to Online Head-to-Head, Custom Playbooks will NOT be available in Online Head-to-Head (Regs) or Play-a-Friend (PAF) at launch this year. The future release of ‘Saving Custom Audibles’ will be coming to Madden NFL 25 post-launch, allowing players similar capability that is more authentic to NFL Team Playbooks. Yes Madden gamers, you read that right - we are planning to add the ability to save custom audibles that will carry-over from game to game in an early title update. There will be more details about this long-requested feature when it is closer to completion. As always, Madden NFL 25 is consistently updated during the season and the team is monitoring the mode and meta around playbooks and potential custom playbook return.

Dev Note: Players in Franchise mode can still utilize custom playbooks and benefit from the upgrades above, along with the improved UI.

Lastly, the playbooks that have been known as ‘Live Playbooks’ - the alternate versions of team playbooks that we’ve updated in the past - will now become the launch-day version of each team’s playbook for players that don’t wish to take playbook updates and want the original versions.

Special Teams - New NFL Kickoff

In addition to the new types of offensive and defensive plays that you’ll see, you’re going to notice one very significant change in special teams. Yes football fans, the new NFL Hybrid Kickoff Rules will be in a and ready to go for launch day.

In a testament to the passion of the team here at Tiburon, we were able to implement all the new complexity of this rule change after learning about it at the same time as everybody else - which was when we were already deep into alpha.

The dev team has worked directly with the NFL, specific NFL coaches and other leagues to understand all the applications and impacts of these new rules to ensure that we are up to date on day one for our fans. With one NFL coach having stated, “This is the most significant change to pro football in 25 years,” it was not an easy challenge, but one that we’re pumped about providing for our players. Outside of just having the rules supported, you’ll also experience some extra layers of strategy and schemes the team has gotten creative with to be leaders in the football world around how this could change the game as we know it. We think some of the creativity the team has put in will surprise-and-delight fans, so we don’t want to spoil all the details today… just be on the lookout for cool new ways to engage with the hybrid kickoff on launch day, some which have been shown in our trailer.

Additional Updates

• Hot Route Update - The basic route tree will now be available by default, including post and corner, as well as custom stems (below). Hot Route Abilities will now only be needed to unlock exotic routes.
• X-Factor and Superstar Ability Updates:
• KO Abilities - These abilities are now far less likely to force knockouts late in a catch, or after a catch has already been secured.
• Secure Protector - This ability is no longer guaranteed to counteract competing pass rush abilities.
• Unstoppable Force - This ability now performs better vs. Play Action.
• Inside Stuff and No Outsiders - These abilities will no longer function if the defensive team uses Pass Commit.
• Set Feet Lead and Pass Lead Elite - Reduced pass velocity bonus.
• Pass Coverage Improvements:
• Improved ‘rally’ to the flats to make them react quicker to check-downs
• New Cover 3 Match check vs. non-bunch trips formations called ‘Skinny’, which focuses on the backside hook/curl to help on crossing routes coming from across the field
• Improvements to base Cover 2, Cover 3 and Cover 4:
• Tampa 2 has a new zone that does not match called the ‘Curl Zone’, and is used on base Tampa 2 plays that don’t include a blitz, meant to avoid underneath defenders from matching and getting cleared out as easily.
• Improved the drop-depths and locations for Curl/Flat and Hook/Curl players to better carry vertical routes on Cover 3
• Man Coverage tuning to improve how defenders read WR cut-moves
• RPO Defense Improvements:
• Defenders aligned over receivers (i.e. Slot & Flat defenders) will read their keys and prioritize pass responsibilities over playing the run.
• Perimeter defenders will be more aggressive in shedding blocks by receivers
• Defensive Read-and-React was tuned to increase box defenders' awareness and reaction to the handoff.

Additional Shared Features

We’ve covered a TON of new features that will give players more control and more authenticity in Madden NFL 25… but that’s still not all. We have a new teammate in our Tiburon studio. Not sure if you’ve heard about it or not, but College Football is back. And having another football dev team across the hall has allowed the two of us to collaborate and share football features that fans of both games can enjoy. Madden and College together in Tiburon - WE ARE FOOTBALL. As a result of that collaboration, here’s a list of additional features new to Madden NFL 25 that you’ll also see in College Football 25:

15 new Mini-Game Experiences, including an all-new Gauntlet experience
Some of the new minigames include:

• Pocket Presence - A returning classic that tests your ability to throw the ball accurately while responding to threats in the pocket.
• Pitch Party - A lateral laden trek down the field to confuse defenders and reach the end zone.
• Backfield Survival - Fan-favorite Backfield Survival is getting a new twist, where you only earn points from celebrating in your pursuers’ faces.
• Bucket Drop - Practice your Skill Based Passing by smashing as many scattered targets as possible before the time expires.
• Two Minute Drill - Control the full team, utilize all your playbook has to offer, and try to simultaneously clinch the game and drain the clock.

• The return of The Gauntlet The Gauntlet returns inside of Minigames! This brand new Gauntlet will put your minigames prowess to the test with over 100 different challenges, each with their own variability, including Bonus Challenges, Boss Levels, and an ever-increasing difficulty. The Gauntlet is about more than just survival now, it's also about Points. Precious precious points. Can you conquer the infinite halls of The Gauntlet?
• Defensive Switch Stick This advanced mechanic will give defensive players the ability to quickly switch between defenders BEFORE the pass is thrown with a directional flick of the right stick/R3. This will allow players to manually move more than one coverage defender as the play develops. To avoid ‘getting stuck’ on a pass rusher when a quick snap happens, you can switch off the pass rusher by holding down B/Circle and flicking LS directionally to automatically switch to a coverage defender. This was done to avoid confusing player switch with pass rush mechanics.. For players who wish to toggle this functionality OFF, there’s a gameplay setting for that.
• Coverage Shells This is an advanced football strategy mechanic adding functionality on the Right Stick/R3 in the play-call menu that allows players to disguise their coverage by toggling between multiple coverage shells or alignments to change what their defensive backfield will show to the offense in pre-play. Players will be able to choose between Cover 1, Cover 2, Cover 3 and Cover 4 shells and make any ‘stock’ coverage align in one of these options. Just like in real life, disguising alignment carries risk of putting a defender out of position, so use strategically!
• Custom Route Stems This route-customization tool gives players the control of the length of the initial stem of routes via the hot-route menu in pre-play. Want to change a slant from 3 yards to 10? Or turn a 5-yard Out into a 12-yard out? This creator mechanic will allow you to modify any route that can be smart-routed. Hold L1 and LS to extend by 1 yard at a time, or use the D-Pad for 5-yard increments.
• New Kick Meter Options Madden players will now have 2 kick meter options available to choose from - the legacy Madden meter, and the new Multi-Meter making its debut in College Football 25. The new multi-meter has two meters, one horizontal, for accuracy, and one vertical, for power. As you set your accuracy with A/X, simply continue holding down that button to fill the power meter and release before it fills into the ‘overkick’ red area. The new multi-meter will be the online default meter, but players playing offline or in Franchise mode will have the option to toggle the legacy meter on at any time via the Gameplay settings.
• Updated Crowd and Sideline reactions
• New Read Option ‘hold to keep’ mechanic To make sure we’re not making option plays harder on players playing both College and Madden, we’ve aligned our read option mechanic with the college version. It’s inverted from what it’s typically been, and now to keep the ball with the QB, hold down A/X as the read is being made. To hand the ball off to the RB, do nothing, which is more aligned with how RPO’s (Run-P

  Ready for Kickoff?

  To close, we want to tell our players everywhere ‘THANK YOU.’ We started on a mission to maximize player control two seasons ago with FieldSENSE, and players have responded. In Madden NFL 25, we are continuing that momentum with an authentic, robust set of innovations and updates that includes:
  • Physics-Based Tackling powered by BOOM Tech
  • Signature Authenticity focused on a complete revamp of ball carrier mechanics and signature pre-play styles
  • A heavy yearly focus on Foundational Football Fundamentals, in the trenches, catching, and a brand new playbook technology to bring each team unique schemes for every fan to celebrate all season Madden NFL 25 gameplay will give players more control than they’ve ever had before, and we can’t wait for you to get your hands on it. -Clint Oldenburg, Gameplay Production Director __ Madden NFL 25 launches worldwide on August 16, 2024. Pre-order the Madden NFL 25 Deluxe Edition and play early. Conditions and restrictions apply. See disclaimers for details. Stay in the conversation by following us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Answers HQ.