Madden NFL 20: Breaking Down the Franchise Mode Additions

We’ve been asking, begging, and dare I say it…groveling for franchise mode to get this kind of treatment for years and finally, it looks like we’re going to be seeing some big changes in Madden NFL 20.

But let’s not stand on ceremony, you can check out more on what we are about to analyze on the announcement story.

Scenario Engine

One of the biggest problems with franchise mode has been it has gotten a bit too predictable and impersonal over the years.

Thus, the inclusion of the scenario engine is a big deal in terms of finally driving some story and personality into franchise mode, which will likely bring some real unpredictability and fun back into the mode.

The scenario engine basically underpins franchise mode with potential story elements like hold outs and scheme changes causing players to get angry with your decisions as a GM. There will be both major and minor storylines which EA reverse engineered over the last seven years of NFL action.

For the first time in the series’ history, you are going to have to consider the fact that you are building a team with at least some semblance of personalities to balance. You can’t just cut an aging franchise guy for a rookie and expect things to work out anymore, at least that’s the plan according to EA.

From the sounds of it, there’s going to be a real risk and reward to almost every roster decision you make, which is something straight out of deeper text-sims like the beloved Out of the Park Baseball.

One of the biggest problems with franchise mode is that it has always felt like you could game the system and succeed no matter what — if done right the scenario engine could introduce unpredictability that’s sorely needed to get things back on the right track.

And in case you are wondering, it does sound like EA will be updating franchise with more and more scenarios throughout the year to keep the possibilities as dynamic as ever.

Scheme Fit Changes

The scheme fits last year were a logical first step towards what we’re now seeing in franchise mode — and it’s good to hear they’re also seeing some improvements.

If the changes do indeed smooth out the problems with last year, this will already be a big improvement for the series. However, on top of planning on fixing some of the problems the development team is also looking to provide more flexibility with how teams can actually be built.

If a player doesn’t fit a scheme, their presence probably won’t be crippling this year — at least according to what EA is saying.

On top of that, there’ll be some new scheme types, which is something you would expect as the feature matures into year two and the game of football itself continues to evolve.

Expect RPOs to become a bigger deal in this year’s game as one example.

Superstar Abilities

This is either going to be amazing or its going to be a regretful decision: but the attempt to differentiate computer opponents now sees superstar abilities coming into the spotlight.

The goal with superstar abilities is to make playing legendary players a more daunting task — which should in turn make each opponent feel different.

The hope is that these abilities aren’t so overpowering that they take over the game — but that they do make each opponent different because they all feature different sets of great players to scheme against.

Final Analysis

It does seem like there are now real attempts at moving franchise ahead. The hints were there last year, and this year we are finally getting player personalities and elements that move team building from beyond just matching a bunch of high numbers together.

Here’s to hoping it all works out when Madden NFL 20 ships on August 2.