Every year, Madden NFL seems to have a glaringly neglected mode. The great news — the best news — about Madden NFL 22: That mode is Madden Ultimate Team.

For once, MUT is the mode that goes begging. For once, Madden Ultimate Team is the mode that gets a maintenance-level update from last year. Good! Madden lifers have long resented MUT, for all its microtransactions and monetization, accusing it of sucking up what little oxygen a year’s development cycle leaves, while core features and gameplay are left gasping and semi-conscious. But for Madden NFL 22, EA Tiburon stood pat on MUT, and that alone is a message to the community, just as much as the Franchise mode’s overdue improvements and badly needed refreshening.