December 2022 - A Sad Period For Madden NFL 23 Gamers
The 28th and 29th of December 2022 was a living hell for some MaddenNFL 23 fans, who logged into their franchise to find an error message reading “the leagues are down,” resulting in the loss of potentially hundreds of hours of online gameplay
The 34th installment in the Madden NFL series, Madden NFL 23 was released in 2022 for the PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S consoles. It also marked the series’ debut on the Epic Games Store. Madden NFL 23 is named after John Madden, the late head coach who sadly passed away in 2021 (December), the football video game also pays tribute to the one time face of NFL TV broadcasting by having him as the cover of the latest installment of the video game.
Madden NFL 23 Fans Go Mad!
When most Madden 23 fans learned that countless hours of games played online in their franchise mode had been lost due to a server error, it was a day filled with shock, sadness, and anger.
Due to a storage problem on EA’s Madden 23 servers, gamers who logged into franchise leagues between December 28 and Dec. 29 discovered that their saved game was missing. The saves for Face of the Franchise, Connected Franchise Mode, and Online Franchise Mode were all corrupted at this time.
EA posted in answers.ea :
From the Developers: An error message stating that the leagues are down was displayed to players attempting to access the franchise server between 2:45 PM EST on December 28 and 1:00 AM EST on December 29, 2022. The franchise file was corrupted due to a data storage problem, affecting everyone who logged in during that hour.
This did not go down well with most gamers as a lot went online to vent their anger, as seen in the social media comments of some fans below:
@adamloklin tweeted: Some players are talking to a lawyer for the first time in their life. 😂 they mad
@PhateOfMan: The worst part is this happened at the same time that I got to the point in my franchise where there wasn’t an OC to hire. The annoying thing is apparently that has been an issue for a couple of years now. EA doesn’t care, they get their money regardless. Sad.
@GodWins17171
Probably best, wasting time watching the NFL is one thing, but spending countless hours on the same game every year is madness.
@lauriewool: Like all Madden games by EA, it turns into a complete dumpster fire. With every update, all you get are clock milkers, shit talkers & a game full of whiners.
Every game now, your opp takes nearly 3 qtrs just to hit a FG, in their first drive! C’mon man!
EA Advises Gamers to Begin New Madden NFL 23 Franchise
If you logged in between 2:45 p.m. EST on Dec. 28 and 12:45 a.m. EST on December 29, 2022, you must begin a new franchise, as advised by EA.
Many gamers enjoy the franchise mode, in which they take charge of a team and direct its development over the course of multiple seasons. It does a great job of capturing NFL atmosphere and culture, and it’s a big reason why so many fans play Madden games besides the actual football simulation they provide. As the seasons go on, the chemistry between teammates improves.
It’s one thing to root for the Chicago Bears, and quite another to spend dozens of hours building your own version of the team in Madden 23’s more realistic setting.
Despite the many benefits of online multiplayer, it’s disappointing to see an issue with EA’s server configuration ruin the fun for so many football fans. Games like Madden are fantastic because they give players the freedom to create their own narratives within the NFL, seeing their preferred team through the good times and the bad, and making their own draft picks each year.
It is clear that EA made a major mistake, if they can only restore 40% of the backup. When playing games online, players should at least expect their saved data to be secure if they are required to store it on servers owned by the developer or publisher.
There is room for improvement on EA’s part, as a 60% debilitation rate on the affected saves is not ideal despite the fact that one cannot expect server infrastructure to be 100% good.
