Madden 19 Release Date, Features, Deals & Pre-Order Guide

This is everything you need to know about the Madden 19 release date, pre-orders, systems and the new Madden 19 features that you will be able to experience in August.

EA brings Madden 19 to the PC, after a long break and you can even play it on PC without buying it thanks to Origin Access Premier.

No matter which console you plan to play Madden 19 on, this is what you need to know about the new game.

Madden 19 Release Date

What you need to know about the Madden 19 release date.

The Madden 19 release date is August 10th. This is much earlier than we’ve seen in previous years and it may be due to every other game pushing their schedule up by about a month.

With the Madden 19 Hall of Fame Edition, gamers can play on August 7th. This special edition includes Terrell Owns on the cover and offers up extra bonus items. GameStop already lists Madden NFL 19 for pre-order on Xbox One and PS4 and we expect to see other retailers join in soon.

EA surprised gamers by announcing the Madden 19 PC release this year, that is coming alongside the new Origin Access Premiere subscription plan. This will include Anthem, Battlefield V, FIFA 19 and early access.

EA Access members can play Madden 19 on August 2nd on Xbox One. With Origin Access Premier you can play Madden 19 on PC starting today, August 1st. There is no EA Access for the PS4. This used to be the full game, but last year we saw that only a small portion of the Longshot story mode was available in this early release. Here’s how to play Madden 19 early.

If you buy EA Access now, you can play Madden 18 right now at no extra charge.

Madden 19 Price

There are two Madden 19 editions and prices. Don’t expect any more super special editions.

Madden 19 is $59.99 and the Madden 19 Hall of Fame Edition is $79.99. Here’s more on which Madden 19 edition you should buy. We also dive deeper into if the Madden 19 Hall of Fame Edition is worth buying, if you are leaning that direction.

If you want another Elite Legends Player, you will likely be able to get a $19.99 DLC from GameStop or in the game to upgrade or add another Legend to your MUT team.

You can buy Madden 19 as little as $16 if you own Madden 18 and trade-in at Best Buy. Here are the best Madden 19 deals.

Madden 19 Features & Graphics

this is an example of the new Madden 19 graphics.

We saw the Madden 18 game arrive with Xbox One X enhanced graphics this year and we will definitely see better graphics on the PS4 Pro and Xbox One X with the Madden 19 release. This means you will play in 4K and you will have HDR support, which helps make the stadiums and players look more realistic. Expect to see EA build on the foundation they had in Madden 18. It helps that Madden shares the engine with FIFA and Battlefield games, so progress in one game can carry over to other games.

“We’ve worked directly with community members on Madden NFL 19 to make a deeper, more immersive football game that gives players what they want – more choice, more control, and key enhancements to fan-favorite modes,” said Carlos Guerrero, Sr. Producer on Madden NFL 19. “Real Player Motion technology combined with all new franchise-building tools like Positional Archetypes and the return of Custom Draft Classes are features that football fans will find fun and engaging. Madden NFL 19 steps up the authentic football experience in so many ways.”

EA details three major upgrades for Madden 19 in their latest announcement. This is to the player control, Madden Ultimate Team and MUT Squads and to Connected Franchise Mode. Here’s what’s new in Madden 19.

Madden 19 Player Control & Upgrades

In Madden 19 you will take advantage of Real Player Motion to get more control of the player. EA says this will deliver, “realistic character movements and animation variety, creating authentic movement unique to positions and body types that delivers game-changing control and precision on the field.” Here’s a closer look at some of the new Madden 19 player moves.

• Sharp Cuts – Now you can make a sharp cut instead of a rounded turn to stay in at the edge of the field.
• One-Cut – You can activate a special acceleration burst if you time the button press right and you get one per play.
• Strafe Burst – On Defense you can accelerate out of the strafe to counter a One-Cut move.
• Special Move Chains – EA calls this branching special moves. It will allow you to chain together a juke and a spin and back to a juke if you need to get out of a sticky situation.
• Hit the Hole – Flick the RS towards a gap and skip through a smaller hole.
• Push the Pile – Move the pile forward when there is no hole, without getting caught up on your own blockers.

With this new feature you will be able to better hit the holes in the D line and seamlessly run for more yardage. This sounds like an excellent upgrade if EA is able to deliver on this promise.

Madden 19 Catching Upgrades

With Madden 19 you can expect better catching interactions thanks to a new Mid-Air Collision system. This will help you go to the high point of the pass and get more control if you prefer to user-control your receivers.

Defenders can now decide if they want to take on the pass, or wait and take on the player. If you take on the player you can gear up for a big hit to make the pass incomplete, or you can play the ball and try for an interception.

If you are playing as the receiver you need to pay attention to the pass. If it is high and you try a RAC catch you may miss the ball completely.

Madden 19 Tackling Upgrades

EA upgrades tackling in Madden 19 with visual upgrades and changes to the physics for a more realistic visual representation. Here’s what you can expect.

“Our players will see tackles influenced by momentum, speed, and weight with our new Momentum Tackle system that ensures tackles play out as expected based on how the players started the tackle. When a defensive back is standing still or strafing to make a conservative tackle on a big, bowling-ball type of back running at him with a full head of steam, you’ll see the defensive back get taken for a ride while getting that back on the ground. Conversely, if the running back is trying to change directions and gets popped by a big linebacker running downhill, the running back will take the force of that hit and fall down in the appropriate manner.”

You’ll also see new hit stick animations and players will get up more realistically at the end of a play.

Madden 19 QB Upgrades

EA incorporates the behaviors and special touches of QBs throughout the league. This includes mannerisms and fidgets before the snap, pre-snap adjustments and audio.

This will sync up for supported QBs and you will see the fidgets, familiar pre-snap adjustments and hear familiar barks of commands when something needs to happen before the snap.

Madden Ultimate Team Changes for Madden 19

There is a new Solo Battles mode for Madden Ultimate Team. This is a reward driven game mode that will put you up against other players as you complete single player challenges to get the best rewards and battle for the top spot.

MUT Squads returns and you can now team up with two other friends to take n the computer in tough MUT Squads challenges that will force you to work harder than ever.

EA shares details on new Madden 19 features.

Madden 19 Connected Franchise Mode

Daniel Williams, a Madden Writer with EA Sports outlines the changes to Madden 19 Connected Franchise Mode.

“A longtime favorite mode in the Madden community is Connected Franchise. This mode gives players the ultimate NFL experience. With Madden NFL 19, in addition to controlling the NFL team of your choosing, you’ll be able to adjust the roster to completely fit your scheme and gameplan thanks to Player Positional Archetypes, which help determine which players are the best fit. Improve how well your roster and scheme match as you earn XP and spend Skill Points to boost specific skill sets.”

Additional franchise upgrades include;

“In Madden NFL 19 Franchise Mode, players can choose the offensive and defensive schemes that best fit their playstyle as they compete in single player and/or multiplayer seasons. Schemes are also linked to a new intuitive progression system – based on authentic positional archetypes – that give virtual coaches the tools and the big decision to either win now or build their squad for the future.  NFL fans will also have a top community-requested feature with the introduction of Custom Draft Class Creator where fans can create their own draft classes featuring players from the past and present for use in Franchise.”

Madden 19 LongShot Homecoming

The Longshot Story mode is back in Madden 19. More than 80% of players finished this mode in Madden 18, and EA is continuing the store with Devin Wade and Colt Cruise. The new mode is called Longshot Homecoming and it will continue the journey into the pros, both on and off the field.

Wade starts training camp with the Dallas Cowboys and Cruise tries to get another shot at the NFL while dealing with off-field obligations. You’ll also be able to play as Devin and Colt in Franchise and MUT modes.

Madden 19 Celebrations

After you score, you can now pick your celebration. This will allow you to taunt the other team easily and bring a little of what some of us love, or hate, from FIFA. Here are the celebrations you can choose;

• RS UP – Team/Group Celebration
• RS RIGHT – Spike
• RS DOWN – Player Signature
• RS LEFT – Dance
• RS CLICK/R3 – Swagger: Steal a Signature animation from the opponent team

These will match the celebrations from the field that you see each Sunday.

Madden 19 Cover

One of the Madden 19 cover athletes.

After years of voting, EA decided to put Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski on the cover of Madden 18 and Madden 17 with no player vote. EA may continue the trend this year, picking a player for the cover instead of allowing fans to choose.

EA announced Terrell Owens as the Madden 19 cover athlete for the special Hall of Fame Edition.

Antonio Brown is the Madden 19 cover athlete for the standard edition of the game. You can see the cover above, which shows off Brown’s well known smile, a break from previous action shots. It’s a cool, clean looking Madden 19 cover.

Madden 19 Editions

There are two Madden 19 editions that you can pre-order. A standard Madden 19 edition that is $59.99 and a Madden 19 Hall of Fame Edition that is $79.99. There is a chance that you will see a special digital only edition with even more bonus items, but that is unclear at this stage since EA dropped that option in 2017.

The Madden 19 Special Edition includes the following bonus items;

if you buy the special edition you get bonus items.

Madden 19 Demo

Do not expect a Madden 19 demo that allows you to try the game for free ahead of the release date. There is also no need for a Madden 19 beta, unless EA shakes things up dramatically.

Instead you will be able to buy EA Access for $5 a month or $30 a year and you can expect to play Madden 19 five days early. Here’s how to play Madden 19 early on PC or Xbox One.

Madden 19 Consoles

We know that you will be able to play Madden 19 on the PS4 and Xbox One. This also goes for the PS4 Pro and the Xbox One X.

You will not be able to play Madden 19 on the Xbox 360 or PS3. EA stopped making Madden for these consoles and there is no reason to bring it back. If you own one of these and want to play a new Madden game you will need to upgrade.

EA did not include the Nintendo Switch in the announcement, so don’t expect to play Madden 19 on the Switch.

Madden 19 Real Player Motion

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EA is hyper-focused on control and movement this year with Real Player Motion (RPM). This will deliver "unprecedented control" to players who can now move more realistically and see that shown on screen with better animations.  Instead of all players on the field moving mostly in a similar fashion, you will see differences between body types and positions. This offers the possibility to change up the way we play the game and the importance of using players in the positions they are assigned for.  With new animations, players also get more control of the players. This means you will see better cuts and acceleration from ballcarriers and even fan favorite celebrations.

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