EA SPORTS™ Madden NFL Mobile
News Article

Welcome To Madden NFL 26 Mobile

August 7, 2025

An image of Saquon Barkley signature hurdle on a green and blue background. Official Madden NFL 26 Mobile Logo and EA Sports medallion in light colours on the left

If you're new to Madden NFL 26 Mobile, you might feel overwhelmed at first. But don't worry, whether you're here for quick matches, team-building, or chasing down legendary NFL players, this guide will walk you through the essentials to get off the ground.

First Steps

Once you've downloaded the game from the App Store or Google Play, your first job is setting up an account.

You can log in using an EA ID, your Google or Apple account. This step is important because it ensures your progress is saved and lets you play across multiple devices.

After logging in, the game will drop you into a tutorial to help you get a handle on the game. Make sure not to breeze right through and skip this part, because it teaches you the basic controls for passing, running, kicking, and defending. It also gives you a small batch of starter rewards like coins and player cards!

Here’s where you’ll also be prompted to choose a control style. New players might want to stick with the “one-button” mode, where tapping and swiping handle most of the action. Once you're comfortable, you can switch to more manual controls to take advantage of skill-based moves like jukes, stiff-arms, and user-controlled tackles.

Early on, you’ll also be given your first squad, which is basically a mix of Ultimate Team players.

From here, you’re free to start building, customizing your team, and exploring the game’s modes!

Two Ways To Get Your Fix

In game screenshot of Saquon Barkle running to make a play while defenders chase him

In Madden NFL 26 Mobile, there are two distinct, but equally fun ways to play the game: Ultimate Team and Seasons.

Ultimate Team is all about building and customizing your ultimate roster, constantly earning rewards, and engaging in diverse competitive and solo challenges. 

Seasons is about playing a traditional NFL season with an existing team, focusing on the core gameplay experience without the emphasis on rewards or ongoing roster management. It's more of a classic Football simulation mode!

Let’s break both modes down, and get a handle on what you can expect from them!

Seasons

As previously mentioned, Seasons mode in Madden NFL 26 Mobile provides a more traditional football experience. It focuses on playing through a standard NFL season.

You play a full 17-game schedule, aiming to make the playoffs and compete for the Lombardi Trophy, similar to a typical NFL season.

Unlike Ultimate Team where you build a custom roster, Seasons mode uses pre-set NFL rosters. 

Seasons can be a good mode for players who want to practice their skills, try out different playbooks, or simply enjoy a full football season experience without the pressure of managing a constantly evolving roster and competing for rewards.

Ultimate Team

Ultimate Team is the dynamic, and constantly evolving game mode in Madden NFL 26 Mobile. It focuses on building and managing your dream team by acquiring player cards, which can include current NFL stars, legends, and even the occasional wacky special promotional player!

You acquire players through various means like opening packs (using in-game currency or real money) and completing challenges. Your goal is to assemble your ultimate roster with high-rated players and strategic chemistry.

You'll play various sub-modes and complete objectives to earn coins, training points, new players, and other items to upgrade your team.

Ultimate Team is continually updated with new content, promotions, and player releases throughout the NFL season and beyond, keeping the gameplay fresh.

Lineup Management

In game screenshot of My Team menu featuring various player cards for Offense, Defense and Special

A strong team needs strong management. To get your team ready for action, simply tap My Team from the top-left menu button. Here, you'll see your active players and Coach.

You can easily browse your players under the Offense, Defense, and Special categories.

Swapping players is a breeze. Just tap a player in your active lineup, and your benched players will appear at the bottom of the screen. Then, it's a simple drag-and-drop: move a benched player into the Drag & Drop slot to seamlessly swap them with an active player.

Events and Field Passes

In game screenshot of Main Menu featuring Events, Core, Competitive, My team, trades, leagues and store

Ultimate Team isn't just about building a dream team; it's also packed with ways to earn rewards through Field Passes and Live Events. These limited-time progression paths offer new objectives, challenges, and unique rewards!

Field Pass: Your Seasonal Journey

The Field Pass is your ultimate seasonal companion, offering two tiers:

  • Free Tier: Everyone gets to enjoy this basic path with a variety of rewards.
  • VIP Tier: For those looking for even more, the VIP tier, available for purchase with real money, unlocks an array of exclusive rewards.

But the Field Pass is more than just rewards, it also grants you access to Season Team Training

This system lets you rank up your entire lineup by categories like offense, defense, and special teams, as well as specific position groups such as quarterbacks or halfbacks. 

Each rank up gives your players an Overall Rating (OVR) bonus and you'll earn extra rewards along the way!

Live Events

In Madden NFL 26 Mobile, Live Events are a crucial part of the Ultimate Team mode. They are time-limited challenges and objectives that players can participate in to earn various rewards and enhance their roster.

Live Events are constantly updated, offering daily and weekly challenges that align with real-world NFL events and seasons (e.g., NFL Draft, Super Bowl, holidays like 4th of July).

Completing Live Events allows you to earn in-game currency, training points, and new player cards. These rewards can be used for building and upgrading your Ultimate Team. 

Live Events come in different forms, often involving specific football scenarios, skill-based mini-games, or full game simulations.

Essentially, Live Events keep the game fresh and engaging by offering new ways to play, earn rewards, and stay connected to the real NFL season.

A Multitude Of Game Modes

Madden NFL 26 Mobile also has a slew of other, smaller game modes that will keep you on your toes, and help develop a wider range of game skills, while also bringing home some more rewards in the process. 

In game screenshot of Madden NFL VS Mode featuring Store, My Stats and Leaderboards

If you’re into head-to-head play, check out VS Mode, which serves as a spiritual successor to the old Overdrive mode. This mode is all about mirrored scenarios where you and your opponent play identical challenges, like “score a touchdown from the 40-yard line in three plays.” It’s fast-paced, skill-based, and ranked. Winning earns you fans, which help you climb the competitive ladder, as well as fans, VS Drinks, and VS Tokens, which can be spent on exclusive VS Mode rewards and upgrades.

Team of the Week (TOTW) is a recurring event that highlights top-performing NFL players from the real-world football season. Each week, new TOTW players are released, featuring boosted overall ratings (OVR) for a limited time. Players can acquire these special cards through dedicated TOTW events, packs, and specific sets, allowing them to strengthen their Ultimate Team rosters with current, high-impact talent. This mode provides a dynamic way to keep the game fresh and engage with the ongoing NFL season. 

Madden NFL 26 Mobile also includes Leagues, which are like clans or guilds. You can join a group of players and participate in League Tournaments or Championships, where each member plays a portion of the match. Performing well earns you league currency and bragging rights.

In game screenshot of League vs League featuring various players and their teams across the world ready to play competitively

Starting Off On The Right Foot

When you’re just getting started, it’s smart to focus on the basics. Events are a great early option, as they offer decent rewards and help you build your team without needing a maxed-out roster.

Secondly, don’t forget about your playbook. Try sticking to a core set of 4–6 plays you really understand, and gradually expand from there as you gain more budget and unlock new options. 

The key to enjoying Madden NFL 26 Mobile is exploring your options and finding what works best for you, and then crafting your own unique version of the gameplay loop.

Whether you're playing casually or regularly trying to climb the competitive ladder, there’s always a new promo or challenge around the corner. 

Stick with it, experiment with strategies, and you’ll find your rhythm quickly!

Be sure to stay tuned over the next few weeks, as well roll out a series of strategy-focused blogs to help you hit this new season as hard as a Running Back on a breakaway!

Check out Madden NFL 26 Mobile now! Available on Android and iOS. Stay in the conversation by following us on x.com, and Answers HQ.