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In the lead up to the release of Madden 23, there has been a lot of hype around potential changes to Franchise Mode. This year’s version of the game has been advertised to have improvements to drafting logic, include a new and improved free agency system, and new player tags and motivations. Although these were the main improvements to the mode, it turns out that they are not the only improvements. A former Madden game developer took to Twitter to reveal some unannounced Madden 23 secret updates.
Former Game Dev Reveals Madden 23 Secret Updates
Andre Weingarten whose Twitter tag is “Retired Game Dev” (@Moonlightswami), known by many as just Swami, is a former game developer. Swami spent four years working at EA Sports on Franchise mode for the Madden NFL series. Earlier this year, Swami announced on Twitter he was moving on from working on Madden 23. However, Swami tweeted out a thread this week of “a few nuggets that got changed in franchise that wasn’t announced previously.”
Fantasy Draft Contracts
The first of the Madden 23 secret updates Swami talked about was to the contracts of players selected in fantasy drafts to start a franchise. Swami shared a spreadsheet showing the breakdown of player contracts based on what round they are selected in the fantasy draft. Also, team salaries in the first year of a fantasy draft franchise will increase to $175M. This makes it a little easier to re-sign players. You can see the full breakdown below.
Playmaker Receiver Archetype
The second change Swami revealed is that the developers have removed the WR Route Runner archetype from Madden 23. Taking its place is a new Wide Receiver archetype: Playmaker. According to Swami, this new archetype “emphasizes [Yards After Catch] and ball-carrier moves, to represent the guys who are elite after the catch, even if they aren’t before.”
Physical Attributes Limited
The third change limits the amount of upgrades a player can get to their physical attributes throughout a franchise. Swami said that a player used to be able to get +3 to attributes like speed, throw power, etc. This has now been tuned down to only +1. This was done to be more realistic and make each player more unique.
Ability Slots
Player abilities will now be available in either of the two slots available on non-QB players. Previously, certain abilities were only usable in either the first or second slot. The stronger abilities will now be harder to unlock due to higher OVR rating thresholds. QBs will still see some restrictions on ability slots. The best QB abilities will be gated to slots 3-5, meaning they have to be an X-Factor player in order to use them.
Dev Trait Progression and Regression
Swami said that the Madden 23 team has reworked the criteria for a player to increase their development trait at the end of the year. This is especially true for defensive positions. Being top in the league in stats like tackles or deflections and interceptions is one way defensive players can upgrade their development trait this year. Swami also explained that if a QB throws too many INTs, they will not be able to get a dev trait upgrade that year, even if they meet the previous criteria.
EA has also improved the criteria for development trait regression for aging players. Now, a player’s traits will regress based solely on their performance. If, after this regression, there are too many of one type of development trait in the league, then the regression system from Madden 22 will be used to make sure it matches the levels that were set when the league was created.
Draft Generators
Swami’s last tweet was a little more mysterious. Talking about the new draft generators, the former developer revealed a secret new mold for quarterbacks. Specifically, a left-handed QB.
Could we see future QBs generated that are similar to some famous left-handed QB? When thinking of who that could be, names like Vick, Tebow, and Young come to mind. Hopefully, we will learn this QB’s identity in the future.
What do you think of these previously unannounced changes to Franchise mode? Are you excited to play Madden 23 after hearing these new changes? Let us know in the official Sports Gamers Online discord! Be sure to check us out on Facebook and Twitter, and keep an eye on our YouTube channel!