Madden 25: 10 Things to Do Before It Arrives

Madden 25 arrives in August and there are some steps prospective buyers, and those who have pre-ordered, should take before the game lands on shelves.

The Madden 25 release date is August 16th for all platforms, a list that includes PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and Windows.

If you’re planning to play Madden 25 right away, or if you’re still thinking about buying a copy, allow us to take you through some tips that will help you prepare for launch.

Decide If You Want to Pre-Order

There are some great reasons to pre-order a copy of Madden 25. On the flip side, a lot of shoppers might want to hold off, at least for the time being.

We’ve released a guide that will take you through the best reasons to, and not to, pre-order Madden 25 for your platform of choice.

If you’re on the fence right now, check it out. It could help you make a final decision in the days ahead.

Pick the Right Edition

If you haven’t pre-ordered a copy yet, but plan to, make sure you pick the right Madden 25 edition for your interest level and budget.

There are four versions of Madden 25. There’s a standard edition, a Deluxe edition which comes with more content and an early release date, an EA Play Pro edition, and an MVP bundle.

We’ve put together a guide that will take you through each edition it should help you decide which one is right for you, or the person you’re buying the game for.

Check Your Pre-Order

If you do decide to pre-order, make sure you keep tabs on your order. If you periodically check your order, you’ll avoid a headache in August.

If you buy a physical copy of Madden 25, make sure your delivery information is up-to-date. If you’re planning to move this summer, you might forget to update your shipping address.

You’ll also want to make sure all of your payment information is correct so you don’t hit any snags when the retailer you bought the game from charges your credit card.

Many retailers charge you right away, but some still charge when an item is preparing to ship.

Buy an External Hard Drive

We don’t expect a massive download size, but Madden 25 will still command a large chunk of space on your platform’s storage.

EA will continually update the game with enhancements and bug fixes and those patches will require space on your storage as well.

If you’re rocking an older console with a limited amount of storage space, and/or you don’t like deleting files to make room for new games, you might want to use this time to invest in an external hard drive.

Samsung’s T5 Portable SSD is still one of our favorites.

Hunt for Deals

Before you pre-order a copy, make sure you hunt for deals.

We’ve found a few Madden 25 deals that might be of interest. You may also want to use a site like SlickDeals to track deals in the weeks ahead.

Follow Madden

If you’re really interested in Madden 25, and if you’re here you probably are, make sure you follow EA’s Madden account on X for the latest information about the game.

Look Into EA Play

Some of you might want to look into an EA Play subscription. EA Play isn’t free, but a subscription nets you discounts, early release dates, a library of games to play, and more.

EA Play subscribers can take advantage of an early Madden 25 release date and start playing the full version of the game up to three days before the official street date.

A basic EA Play subscription is $5.99 a month or $39.99 a year. EA also offers Play Pro, an upgraded membership with additional perks. It’s $16.99 per month or $119.99 for the entire year.

Upgrade Your Console

If you still own an Xbox One or PlayStation 4, you may want to look into buying Microsoft’s Xbox Series X or Sony’s PS5. Madden 25 will run, and look the best, on current-generation platforms.

While EA hasn’t outlined all of Madden 25’s features, we do know some changes will be exclusive to newer platforms.

For instance, the new era of Franchise & Presentation will only be on PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and PC.

Make Sure Your PC Meets the Requirements

If you’re planning to play Madden 25 on a Windows PC, make sure you dig into the game’s requirements.

Steam has minimum and recommended specs on its website. It’s unclear if these are official or placeholders but even if they’re the latter, they should be similar.

Madden 25 Minimum Requirements

• Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
• OS: Windows 10 – 64-Bit
• Processor: Intel Core i7-6700K (4-cores; 8-threads) or AMD Ryzen 5 1600
• Memory: 10 GB RAM
• Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4GB or AMD Radeon RX 570 4GB
• DirectX: Version 12
• Network: Broadband Internet connection
• Storage: 65 GB available space
• Additional Notes: DirectX 12 compatible video card (feature level 12_0)

Madden 25 Recommended Requirements

• Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
• OS: Windows 10 – 64-Bit
• Processor: Intel Core i7-8700K (6-core; 12-thread) or AMD Ryzen 7 2700X
• Memory: 12 GB RAM
• Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 8GB or AMD RX 6600 XT 8GB
• DirectX: Version 12
• Network: Broadband Internet connection
• Storage: 65 GB available space
• Additional Notes: DirectX 12 compatible video card (feature level 12_0)

You’ll want to compare these to your computer’s specifications to ensure they a) meet them and b) the game will perform how you want it to.

Preload Madden 25

If you want to play Madden 25 ASAP, you’ll want to buy a digital copy. This will allow you to preload the game files before the release date.

If you pre-order a digital copy of Madden 25, you can preload and start playing as soon as the game unlocks.