Madden 18 Patch Is Out Now, Here's What It Does

Madden NFL 18 has been updated just in time for the start of the real-world NFL season, which kicks off on Thursday night. Today's patch makes the game look better on some consoles, as it introduces high dynamic range (HDR) support, while it also implements "general stability updates" that should fix crash scenarios and lock-up scenarios.

The Madden 18 update also fixes a problem where the "Terrible Towels" during home Pittsburgh Steelers games showed up as black or grey instead of yellow and black. What's more, the patch changes the quarter length in online head-to-head matches from four minutes to five.

As for gameplay changes, the new update makes tweaks that make it so ball carrier moves are less effective (dammit), while it should be easier to pass rush the QB now when they hold onto the ball for a long time. The update also fixes a problem where characters on the sideline would not react as they should when big plays happen. You can see the full patch notes below, as shared on EA's website.

The 2017-2018 NFL season begins with the Thursday Night Football matchup between defending Super Bowl champions the New England Patriots and the Kansas City Chiefs. Tom Brady, the QB of the Patriots, is on the cover of Madden NFL 18. While he does not believe in the curse, one of Brady's most reliable receivers, Julian Edelman, suffered a season-ending ACL injury during a preseason game this year.

Madden NFL 18 September 6 Patch Notes:

General

• HDR support
• General stability updates fixing various crashes and softlocks
• Fixed issue with the Steelers’ crowd “Terrible Towels” appearing black or grey
• Online Head-to-Head quarter length changed from four minutes to five minutes
• Fixed an issue around MUT Squads players receiving the incorrect rewards when teammates leave the session early
• Improved a small framerate drop when the ball is snapped on PS4
• Tuned scaling of the football to be slightly smaller
• Fixed an issue where points were purchasable in trial
• Fixed button functionality to correct X button notfunctioning on PS4 when attempting to load a Madden Profile

Gameplay

• Zone Coverage tuning to increase Break-on-Throw times
• Tuning to decrease effectiveness of Ball Carrier moves
• Fixed issue around coaches standing in the middle of the field when restarting MUT Challenges
• Tuning to increase blocksheds in run defense vs. Gun Inside Zone plays
• Tuning to slightly increase pass rush when QB holds onto the ball for extended time in the pocket
• Fixed issue with sideline characters not reacting appropriately to big plays

Franchise

• Fixed incorrect Chargers vs. Giants Week 5 game on the schedule
• Fixed issue around schedules recording incorrectly when using Play Now Live for Preseason Week 2