Madden NFL 25 Ultimate Team Deep Dive

Hey Madden fans!

Welcome back to Gridiron Notes, where we bring you information on your favorite modes straight from our developers!

Today, we are here to talk about the biggest year of live services and Madden Ultimate Team yet. Make sure to tune into our Good Morning Madden streams on Twitch all year long for player item reveals and program information! We’ll be live this weekend, so stay tuned!

Let’s break today’s Deep Dive down into three main sections:

Firstly, we want to offer new ways to play. This goes for both our online competitive players AND our solo offline players. We want you to feel as though you’re earning, progressing and building your Ultimate Team regardless of how you play. Also, we know MUT can feel daunting for new players. That’s why we’ve focused on streamlining your experience with some changes throughout Ultimate Team we think you’re going to love. Lastly, we know how much you loved the amount of MUT content in Madden NFL 24, so we’re going to deliver even more in Madden NFL 25: More seasons, more content. 

Let’s dive in!

New Ways to Play

Online H2H

So, you think you’re a Madden GOAT? Here’s where you prove it. Online Ranked Head-to-Head is a live service outside of Ultimate Team where you can make your mark across the Madden universe. Over a quarter of all of our Madden players play Online H2H. This year, to ramp up the competition and give you a tangible marker of your Madden skill, we’re bringing rankings into Online H2H. It’s just as it sounds – you win, you climb the rankings. Each win earns you Rank Points. As you rank up, you’ll make your way to Madden legend status. You’ll see exactly where you are on the leaderboard and climb H2H Divisions as you rank up. Want to solidify your spot atop the best of the best? Legend Rank is an exclusive club for the Top 100 Online H2H Madden players in the world!

In Madden NFL 25, Online H2H has received upgraded matchmaking! Also, break out your snow boots, we’re adding the much-requested ability to select time of day and weather. Both players will be able to choose their preference but the match will use the settings of whoever is selected as the home team.

Online H2H will lay the foundation to have more live service updates throughout the year. Each season will provide its own Ranked event with a new opportunity to achieve top dog status and prove your skills. 

Madden Ultimate Team Ranked

The H2H Hub is your home for ranked, Head-to-Head MUT play. You’ll now see, clearly displayed, your persistent rank amongst the best as well as the division you’re in. With improved matchmaking, winning matters more than ever because ranked points can only be earned by victories. With ranked mode, we’re using our divisions technology to create an experience unique to the Ultimate Team player. The divisions system provides you with a long-term goal to climb the ranks, make your way to the top, and earn the best rewards in Ultimate Team along the way. Keep grinding once you get to Legend rank, because the Top 100 players at the end of each session earn themselves an auctionable player item!    

Weekend Gauntlet

Ready to test your MUT lineup and stick work against the best of the best? Weekend Gauntlet is here, giving you a place to earn high value rewards when you win. You’ll earn Gauntlet-Exclusive player rewards after 10 wins, but stay locked in, because two losses and it’s game over. Qualify for the Weekend Gauntlet by winning 16 MUT Champs games from the past week or with coins. With Weekend Gauntlet we’re trying to bring back the community spectacle element by celebrating and rewarding the most competitive MUT players out there while also providing an arena for the best players to compete against each other. Season One will have two Gauntlet-Exclusive player item rewards. These items are earned after achieving 10 wins in a single run. There will also be 500 Limited versions of these two player items that have more ability power for the first 500 players to 10 wins! All Weekend Gauntlet games are five minute quarters, All-Madden difficulty. We’re looking forward to these being some of the most competitive games of the MUT week! 

6-on-6 Events

We’ll be introducing some 6-on-6 events this year! These events will let you compete in small-sided 6-on-6 football, a totally new way to play with your existing Ultimate Team roster. You’ll take on solo challenges that will have you reconsider how to best utilize your squad. We anticipate this being a more approachable format for MUT beginners as well as a new, fun experience for the MUT veterans. You’ll have more open field, more space to see a route develop and hit the right read. Stay tuned for more information, we anticipate the first event coming this Fall.  

Solo Seasons

Some of our most avid MUT gamers rarely play head-to-head against other players. This year, we’re introducing more robust solo experiences for our offline players. Online H2H seasons mode is now available for offline players! Players will enter solo seasons, play an entire solo season, make the playoffs and eventually make the Super Bowl all against AI opponents. You’ll even be able to move up and down divisions with an escalating difficulty curve, just like in Head-to-Head Seasons. Truly endless play for solo players allowing them to have full competitive games without having to wait for the next content drop.  

New Challenge Types

Introducing… Epic Challenges! New to Ultimate Team in Madden NFL 25, these solo challenges are not for the faint of heart. The challenges demand a strong coaching sense and an impeccable playcalling strategy. Only the most dedicated users will be able to conquer these grueling tasks. Time to test your stick skills! 

Now a permanent fixture, Gridiron Forge challenges are back! Gridiron Forge challenges are quick challenges that escalate in difficulty. New ones will be added all year long. 

Streamlined Experience

Refreshed MUT Presentation

You spend all year building your ideal lineup. Well, you deserve to show that lineup off! In Madden NFL 25, we’ve refreshed the in-game MUT presentation. You’ll see your stars standing up front-and-center prior to kickoff of your game. This is our first step in providing you with opportunities to better celebrate what you accomplish!  

New Lineup Experience

Ultimate Team has always been part football simulation and part deck building. In Madden NFL 25 we are streamlining that deck building experience, making it as easy and as fun to use as the in-game experience. For starters, your lineup screen will now suggest improvements and show you how they impact your team’s overall rating. This includes strategy items! You can now easily see, when you equip a strategy item, which players are being impacted by the strategy item without having to transition screens. One pain point we know you felt in lineups was setting your depth charts after a substitution. This year in MUT, you’ll be able to drag and drop player items across your lineup! The goal here is to make your lineup-setting experience as quick and easy as possible, allowing you more room for experimentation. Looking for a specific Theme Team? Building the best 6-on-6 lineup? Lineup customization will be easier than ever. We’re looking forward to seeing you get in the lab and experiment, unleashing the power of many lineup combinations!  

We’ll make setting your 6-on-6 lineups easy, too. 6-on-6 positions are designated in your existing lineup. For example, you’ll see a “6-on-6” tag on your QB1’s item in your lineup. This means you’ll be able to jump into the 6-on-6 gameplay without having to manage two separate lineups. If you’d rather manage two lineups, you can save a different 6-on-6 lineup, the option is yours. 

More Seasons, More Content

In Madden NFL 23 we had five seasons. In Madden NFL 24 we had seven seasons. Madden NFL 25 will have eight program-filled seasons! 

Last year you loved the amount of content we released, especially late in the season, after the Super Bowl. We released more than 50 unique Ultimate Team programs, each one bringing new ways to build your Ultimate Team. We’re going to provide even more programming in Madden NFL 25. We’re determined to keep that momentum going. As long as our players are enjoying the content we’re putting out, we’re going to keep creating new experiences. We want Madden to feel fresh and rewarding 52 weeks a year. 

Dev Note: We re-visited every single MUT program from Madden NFL 24. In doing so, we re-worked some fan favorites and developed new ones to keep things fresh throughout the year. Stay tuned!

In summary, we’re beyond excited for you to enjoy new ways to play Madden Ultimate Team in Madden NFL 25 – whether you play competitively, solo or both. We’re looking forward to seeing your powerful lineup customization with a refreshed, streamlined presentation. And of course, we’ll be delivering rewarding, meaningful experiences every week, all the way up until the launch of Madden NFL 26. See you on the sticks!

-Madden Ultimate Team Development Team

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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.