One of the core modes in Madden every season is Franchise. There, players can take their favorite team and lead them to glory over the course of decades. After several years where the Madden team neglected the mode, EA Sports recommitted to Franchise a few years ago. Madden NFL 24 isn’t going to be the overhaul some players want, but it is bringing back some much-requested features and implementing a few key changes that should improve league realism. Those include the return of Mini Games, an expanded trading system, and draft improvements, among other things.
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Mini Games have been missing from Madden for years, and Madden NFL 24 is bringing them back in several ways. Not only can you play them from the main menu, but they’re included in Franchise mode as part of both Training Camp and weekly training sessions. Successfully earning higher-tier medals in each session will improve your stats, though it’s important to note that they are totally skippable. If you decide to take a pass on Mini Games in Franchise, the computer will randomly assign you a medal ranking and improve your players based on that.
As far as trading goes, the big addition this season is that EA Sports has added additional trade slots, which will let you build the blockbuster trades we see in the NFL. Trade slots have been expanded from three to six, though only three of those can be players. Because of these additional slots, the team has readjusted trade logic, which should result in realistic trade offers being accepted, though we’ll have to wait until we can play it ourselves to judge how successful this expanded trading system is.
Maybe the most exciting addition (depending on how you approach Franchise) is the expansion of “Generational” prospects in the draft. We saw these start to appear in Madden 23, but 24 expands the system to every single position. They’ve also added new options for utility prospects, which will provide you with multi-talented players who can move around the field. Think of a college QB who makes the switch to WR once they get to the NFL.
Outside of those changes, Madden NFL 24 is adding several new commissioner tools that should please anyone playing in a connected league, the option to relocate as soon as you start a new save, an expanded roster of cities you can relocate to, and an overhaul of coach talent trees to give each coach on your team three full trees to choose from. All in all, it’s a solid update on last year’s version even if it isn’t doing anything too innovative. Here’s hoping expanding the draft and relocation teams is a step toward adding a historical version of Franchise like we see in NBA 2K23.
