Madden Ultimate Team is far and away the most significant piece of the modern Madden puzzle. Every year, MUT is determined to make changes to ensure that every year feels fresh and new. Gamepur is here to detail the biggest changes so that we can help you feel less overwhelmed.
Champion cards are crafted from OVR, not program type
For the entire existence of Madden Ultimate Team, the top cards in the game had to be crafted using cards from the same set. In Madden 24, that all changes. Now if you are crafting an 88 OVR champion, you can use an 88 OVR card in the game. Or at least that’s what we hope. Last year, you couldn’t add ‘account-bound’ cards into champion sets, and we currently have no idea if that’s changing.
Crossplay is here
Perhaps the biggest change on this list is that players on PS5, PC, and the XBOX Series family of consoles will all be in one shared player pool and matched together in head-to-head play. Sadly, marketplaces are still not shared. While this is disappointing to many players, the increased player pool should hopefully lead to better matchmaking. Madden’s priority has always been to find a match as quickly as possible. This change will make it possible for EA to introduce other metrics into matchmaking.
The item catalog will help you find cards
It’s always a bit difficult for new players in Madden Ultimate Team to discover how to find new cards. The Item Catalog is EA’s attempt to fix this. It will show you not only how to make the cards, but also the usage percentage of the card globally. While this is basically just a UI change, it will give players who are having trouble filling specific positions a better starting point.
Reworked Competitive Pass
One of the biggest frustrations in Madden 23 was that the brand-new Competitive Pass would update every two weeks. While this seemed like a decent idea on paper, in practice it meant that nearly every two weeks the game would break, and rewards would often take hours or sometimes even days to redeem. In Madden 24, EA has promised that the competitive pass will only update with each of the games seasons. This will still give players daily and weekly rewards without the stress of making sure they are punished if they miss a single day. EA has also said that the first 1,000 players each season will earn an auctionable version of the Competitive Pass Champion. This change ensures that there is still a rush to optimize without punishing those who aren’t perfect.
Seven Seasons
Last year, Madden’s seasons focused on specific parts of the yearly calendar. Despite having more events than ever, Madden 23 only had four seasons. In Madden 24, EA has decided to follow NBA 2K and MLB The Show and will likely follow a similar cadence. While we don’t have exact details yet, we can expect seasons to be the place where you acquire the best cards in the game.
