Madden 25: Ultimate Team “Seasons Mode” Detailed

The release of the 25th anniversary of Madden NFL is just over a month away, and the development team at EA Sports continues to release new details about the game each week.

This week, EA detailed Ultimate Team mode. To be specific, they detailed the new season mode that is in Ultimate Team this year.

In season mode, players will be matched up with a random opponent in an game that has an All-Pro skill level with three-minute quarters. The ranking system in place will — well, it’s supposed to — match players with opponents of an equal overall rating.

"SURVIVE AND ADVANCEEach season is made up of ten games and a four-round playoff. There are eight levels of play, starting at level one. If you win enough games to earn a playoff berth (five wins for level one), then you earn the right to advance to the next level once the playoffs for the current level are complete. There will also be a milestone for a number of wins to earn a first round bye (for eight wins for level one). With the bye, you’ll skip the Wild Card game and go right to the Divisional contest.Once you’ve advanced to level two and beyond, you’ll see a number of games required to avoid demotion (maintain your level). If you win less than this number (three games in level two), you’ll be demoted to the previous level. But fear not! You can always work your way back up the levels with more wins.EARN REWARDSYou’ll earn coins for each game you play in Seasons. More coins are awarded for outstanding performances, such as winning by lots of points or accumulating many yards of offense. Milestones such as earning a playoff berth or winning the bye are also accompanied by coin rewards. At certain milestones in later levels, you’ll receive a reward pack that contains a Premium collectable that helps you get some great items such as unique alternate jerseys. You’ll always receive an additional reward pack for winning the Super Bowl."

That last paragraph may scare some gamers who want to give the mode a shot. The fact that you earn more coins the more you dominate your opponent means that there will be plenty of players looking to run up the score instead of coasting to a win. It may lead to a lot of “accidental” disconnects by the losing player.

Hopefully EA has a plan to make sure the winning players aren’t affected by the sore losers who inhabit Xbox Live and the Playstation Network.