EA's "Madden 26" plagued with massive launch day errors
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A screenshot from "Madden NFL 26." (Photo: EA Sports)
EA's first day of "Madden 26" was anything but a touchdown.
The big picture: The annual football video game's launch day was slammed by a number of errors that left gamers twiddling their thumbs instead of flicking the sticks.
Are EA servers down for "Madden 26" launch?
Driving the news: "Madden NFL 26" became available Thursday at noon ET for those who preordered the game and paid for early access.
- However, many users reported being unable to enter the game. Others said that their video game consoles didn't show that the game had been purchased.
- "I went to the trouble of uninstalling the Preorder version of Madden 26, and now I've installed the EA Play Trial and I can't even get in due to the servers," wrote one Twitch streamer on X.
- "Can't even get in the main menu. What a joke," wrote another.
Reality check: EA's sever status page listed the "Madden" sever as "online" by Thursday afternoon. Football fans still struggled to enter the game.
EA addresses "Madden 26" issues
What they're saying: EA acknowledged Thursday that some Xbox users who purchased the "MVP Bundle" — a combo of "Madden" and "College Football 26" — faced issues logging into the game.
- "We're working closely with Microsoft and plan to resolve this as soon as possible," Madden's developers said in an X post.
- Xbox users were advised by Madden's developers to do a hard reset of their console before attempting to play.
And on Thursday afternoon, Madden's developers said they were "going to perform server maintenance to address a specific issue" for all users, which would turn off the game for most players.
- "During this time, all online modes will be temporarily offline until maintenance is completed," the account said. Issues were fixed about an hour later, per the account.
- "Maintenance is complete and all online modes are back up and running!" the developers said.
- Representatives for EA did not respond to Axios' request for comment on Thursday.
"Madden 26" works for some gamers
Despite the hiccups, plenty of gamers found their way into "Madden" on launch day. Players posted clips from different modes, showing running backs weaving through defenses and quarterbacks making Hail Mary throws.
- They also listened to game's soundtrack features songs from Kendrick Lamar, Travis Scott, Drake and Chappell Roan.
What's next: The full game for all users launches on Aug. 14, 2025. It's possible a new influx of players could create more server issues.
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