Madden NFL 26 Hands-On Preview: Weather Games Are Better Than Ever

There’s something special about a December game in Lambeau or Gilette Stadium. The snow covers the field. The wind blows around the players, throwing off even the best kickers and quarterbacks. Heck, sometimes players can’t even see the sidelines with how much precipitation is in the air. And if there’s one thing Madden NFL 26 finally nails, it’s how big of an impact heavy snow and rain can have on the gridiron.

Recently, I played a few hours of an early build of Madden NFL 26, and while there are tons of small changes that most casual players probably won’t notice, there’s at least one that will immediately catch your eye. Madden has always had weather in the game. That part isn’t new. However, the effects of that weather are much more pronounced in Madden 26.

During one of my games, I was playing against cover athlete Saquon Barkley and the Philadelphia Eagles in heavy snow. Barkley took a handoff from Jalen Hurts, and I moved my linebacker to the left to cover a hole. However, my defensive end slipped as he came out of his stance, leaving the side of the field I’d just left wide open.

Had we been in a bowl, Barkley would’ve planted his foot and cut back into that hole for a big gain. Luckily for me, the slippery snow caused him to lose his footing, slowing him just enough for me to dart in and make the tackle before he got loose.

Moments like that perfectly show how impactful the weather is on gameplay. And it’s not simply mechanical, you’ll see snow or rain spraying behind a player as he runs around the gridiron. Visibility is also at a minimum in heavy weather, making it nearly impossible to see receivers downfield or perfectly line up a deep field goal.

I would hesitate to call it game-changing because you aren’t going to see it all the time, but it does mean that weather games feel different. In its quest to simulate real-world football, this is one of my favorite steps the Madden team has taken in a few years.

Outside of the weather, there are dozens of changes that the developers mentioned in their presentation. Most of these are tough to tell how important they’ll be in only a few games, but they sound promising. For example, the overhauled Coach DNA should make playcalling a bit easier and keep you guessing as the opposing AI coach changes its game plan based on what you’re doing on the field.

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There’s also been a big update to QB AI, which will hopefully make CPU opponents more challenging. Essentially, EA is giving AI quarterbacks the ability to do more of what the user does, making games against Josh Allen feel much different than a contest against Brock Purdy.

Finally, it’s important to note that EA Sports has brought over several features from the College Football franchise. Most importantly, Wear and Tear is now in Madden, adding more decision-making to each game of Madden. Plus, the developers have introduced CFB’s style of speed. As the developers put it, “4.2 means 4.2.”

Even still, I did notice a few weird instances where speed seemed like it might still be being tweaked. On one play, J.J. McCarthy was running stride for stride with Justin Jefferson after an interception. McCarthy has decent wheels, but you’d think there would be some separation on an 80-yard sprint after an interception.

Again, it’s worth noting that this is an early build, and I didn’t have time to dig into more than a handful of games. With that in mind, I’m very optimistic about a few things, which is more than I would’ve said with Madden NFL 25.

The improved weather mechanics genuinely impact the game and should be a massive boon to Franchise mode. I vastly preferred College Football 25‘s more wide-open gameplay to Madden last year, so hearing the studio wants to merge the two has my ears perked up. And the changes to AI will hopefully make CPU opponents feel different each time you take the field. As you might be able to tell, a lot of these changes should give Franchise mode a big boost. Here’s hoping the team can deliver with great off-field improvements, though I was only able to get my hands on Play Now mode.

Fortunately, we shouldn’t have to wait much longer to hear more. Madden NFL 26 is due out on August 14th, so we’ll be hearing about all the mode changes over the next few months.