Madden is my yearly reminder of the current year that I’m in. Like a reality check of sorts except I just get sadder every time I see the number at the end of the title inevitably going up. ‘EA SPORTS Madden NFL 26’ is inbound once again, coming to consoles and PC via Steam, dropping in about a two weeks time on the 8th of August and with it players will be able to experience (and I quote) “a new AI-powered machine learning system to convert thousands of plays from nearly a decade of real NFL data into more explosive gameplay—with new player-specific traits, authentic play-styles, and adaptive counters that match on-field tendencies and strategies of NFL quarterbacks and coaches”. And now you might be wondering, well, will Madden 26 be on Game Pass? I’d love to try this sort of thing out.
Well sadly, no, Madden 26 will not be on Xbox Game Pass when it launches across all platforms. That won’t stop it from eventually making its way to a subscription service: EA Play, which is bundled with PC Game Pass and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, has consistently seen just about every Electronic Arts published title under the sun make its way to EA Play and therefore, become available on Xbox Game Pass. It’s just a matter of how much time you want to wait before you can jump in and grind your Ultimate Team. Sooner is probably better than later if you’re into that thing, since your mates will likely be clobbering you not too long after.
Madden 26 will launch on just about every platform under the sun on the 14th of August but will be available 7 days ahead of time for Deluxe Edition buyers.