BOOM! —
Issue came after EA said players “should now be able to play… without issue.”
Kyle Orland
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Since its introduction in 2013’s Madden NFL 25, Connected Franchise Mode has let users control a single player, coach, or owner across online leagues with friends or strangers who are doing the same, and even change who they control mid-season. The mode has been a popular option for the decade since, with one Deadspin writer going so far as to say: “If I can’t play connected franchise mode, I’m not playing their terrible game.”
Madden NFL 23 players were already facing several prominent Franchise Mode bugs before this high-profile save corruption snafu. One, which threw online players back to the NFL draft after a few seasons, could be fixed in some circumstances. Another, which caused offline franchise mode saves to be corrupted after several seasons, contributed to fan site Operation Sports outright saying in a November article that “Madden 23 Franchise Mode is Actually Broken.”
To those who have had their online Madden franchises wiped out by this issue, take solace that it could have been worse. In 2004, a PlayStation 2 Holiday Demo Disc for Viewtiful Joe 2 ended up erasing every save game on any memory card inserted in the system.