Hey Madden Fans!

My name is Jake Stein, a Producer on Madden Ultimate Team, and I have the privilege of writing the first developer blog of the Madden NFL 18 season. It’s such an exciting time as both a developer and a fan of Madden. From the developer side, we can finally see the finish line as all the planning, long hours, and polish are starting to translate into a fun, cohesive game. From the fans side, it’s your time to start getting drops of information about the new game and imagine what your experience will be, come launch night.

It’s also a time where fans love to analyze any officially released information, tweets, or videos in order to predict what Madden might be teasing.

So let’s talk a little bit about what was found by a few internet sleuths – “2-6 Online Competitive Multiplayer.”

No, that wasn’t a misprint. I’m so thrilled to officially announce what many of you have already assumed was true - the return of online team play in Madden with our new feature called “MUT Squads”. MUT Squads brings what you loved about online team from the past and blends it with the team building power and limitless lineup combinations that are offered in Madden Ultimate Team.

Let’s get into some specifics. Every MUT Squads games will start 3 vs 3. You do this by clicking on the MUT Squads tile inside of Madden Ultimate Team and entering the MUT Squads lobby. Here, you can invite your friends to go into game together or by entering matchmaking on your own where we will pair you up with two other players. To be perfectly clear, no matter if it’s just you or one other friend in the MUT Squads lobby, we will find the additional players it takes to enter a MUT Squads game.

There’s also another very important decision to be made while in the MUT Squads lobby, and this is where we really start to differentiate ourselves from previous iterations of online team play, you must choose one of three roles. The three available roles are Offense Captain, Defense Captain, and Head Coach. Each role is uniquely crafted so let’s dive in a little deeper on each one of those.

Offense Captain:

• Brings in all players from Offense and Special Teams for that user’s MUT Lineup
• Brings in the offensive playbook and calls every play on Offense
• When on Offense, you control the QB at the start of every play
• However they are not player-locked to the QB post-snap. If you call a run play and neither of the other two human-controlled players are on the HB, the player controlling the QB will immediately switch and become the ball carrier
• Controls all audibles and adjustments on Offense
• When on Defense, the user can control any of the 11 players on the field not controlled by another user
• There is no locking into only linebackers, defensive line, or secondary

Defense Captain:

• Brings in all players from Defense for that user’s MUT Lineup
• Brings in the defensive playbook and calls every play on Defense
• When on Defense, the user can control any of the 11 players on the field not controlled by another user
• There is no locking into only linebackers, defensive line, or secondary
• Controls all audibles and adjustments on Defense
• When on Offense, the user can control anyone besides the QB at the start of any given play

Head Coach:

• Brings in the Head Coach, Stadium, and Uniforms for that user’s MUT Lineup
• Calls timeouts and determines the results of penalties for the Squad
• When on Offense, the user can control  anyone besides the QB at the start of any given play
• When on Defense, the user can control any of the 11 players on the field not controlled by another user
• There is no locking into only linebackers, defensive line, or secondary

As you can tell, the Head Coach role has a little less responsibility in your MUT Squad on the field. We have found this role is perfect for your friends that may be newer to Madden Ultimate Team or aren’t ready for the challenge of calling plays, but still want to experience cooperative Madden. For your more experienced squads, you can pass around Head Coach responsibilities. While the Head Coach may not be bringing in the players, it will still be important to make sure all three players on a MUT Squad are on the same page and working together to come away with the victory.
 
Now that you understand the roles, you’re ready to jump into game. As I mentioned earlier, each game will start off 3 vs 3. In the event that a player must leave early before the session is completed, the game will continue on and the role of the player who left will be transferred to someone else still left in the game. For example, if your Offensive Captain leaves early, the play call and QB responsibilities will move to the Head Coach and everything else stays exactly the same and the game is still able to be played to completion.

There are quite a few new gameplay mechanics that have been designed with MUT Squads in mind but those details will have to wait for another blog. Just know that it’s never been more fun to play the skill positions like it will be in Madden NFL 18!

Like what you hear but you just can’t wait for Madden NFL 18 to drop on August 22nd? Well you’re in luck. MUT Squads will be fully playable on the floor at EA Play in Hollywood, California from June 10-12. Swing by and grab the sticks and ask one of us any questions about Madden you have. And speaking of answering questions, we’re going to do another Reddit AMA (ask me anything) at 4pm EST on June 2nd. This AMA will specifically focus on MUT Squads and will be an opportunity for us to clear up any questions that may come up after reading this blog.

Free EA Play Tickets: http://bit.ly/2rNWLyU

Thanks for reading all the way to the end but now it’s back to the grind. I have more routes to run and passes to pick off.

-Jake