[Offline Franchise] saved game doesn't load [ Edited ]

[awsdcs24]

All should be careful what you say.  If you dare question EA actually delivering on what they advertised and you paid for they threaten to boot you off the forums.

Like most in this thread, I have been an annual purchaser of this game from the beginning - every year without fail.  I've always ever only played offline franchise and scour many forums to read how everyone else seeks to find the most accurate simulation possible of being an NFL GM/coach/player.

Being an annual buyer of the next game that means 10.96% of the value of Madden 22 is gone already - lost forever. Each new day increases that number.

So I don't think EA should be threatening to kick it's tier 1 customers out when they dare to question.

Just sayin'

[hixystix]

Same problem on Xbox Series X.  Seven years into my franchise and the game crashed while try to exit after the end of a game.  Now both my manual and auto saves won’t load. Just like everyone else, they try to and take me back to the screen where your save area. EA has said nothing about this. What a horrendous company. 

[tallballa44]

I've been having this issue as well. I've lost 3 separate franchises to this glitch, so I've been testing things out trying to locate the source of the problem. I'll list everything I've noticed below along with summaries from other posts. Hopefully, this will aid in coming up with a solution.

Naming the Problem: After a few in-game seasons, the franchise save file gets corrupted. When attempting to load the save, no error message is given. It just loads for a few seconds and then brings you back to the load menu as if nothing happened.

MY OBSERVATIONS

• To start, I'm on PS4 but many users have reported this issue on PC, PS5, and Xbox. I initially thought it might've been a hardware issue since I have an older model but this doesn't seem to be the case.
• I've only done offline franchise modes. I don't know if the problem persists when making an online league and I don't want to pay the monthly PS Plus subscription necessary to find out.
• For each of my play-throughs, I have only been a coach. Several posts on here have described the possibility of issues cropping up when you switch between roles, such as from owner to coach and vice versa. However, I have started franchises as real life coaches (John Gruden, Mike Zimmer, etc.) and switched to a created coach several seasons in, so this idea can't be discounted entirely.
• My first franchise play-through was with the Raiders. After rebuilding for a few years, we had our first playoff match-up. I played through the game like normal. I was able to scroll through the post-game stats but, when I tried exiting the game, the game crashed. I booted the PS4 back up and tried to load the auto-save. This was when I first encountered The issue.
• I began a Cardinals franchise with the intention of creating a backup save every week. Once again, I made the playoffs. I saved twice: once for my regular save file and once for my backup. I played through the game. Once again, it crashed when I attempted to exit the game. As expected, the auto-save was corrupted. However, I attempted to load my regular save (the non-auto version) as well as my backup save. Both were corrupted. This echoes experiences shared by @jojuneau, @JediRalts, @Cathal_aus, @atomicbeag259, @mauzeyjj, @jrevo33, and @f_bird93.
• It was at this point that I created a Vikings franchise for the sole purpose of identifying the cause of this issue. I simmed forward several seasons and created a reliable save at Week 1 of the new season. The save seemingly does not get corrupted until the playoffs begin, which coincides with many of the posts I've seen on this thread as well as my own experience. I was able to play in-season games and proceed normally. However, once Wild Card Weekend started, my save file would become unreliable. Before my WC playoff game, I created a new save, exited, and attempted to load unsuccessfully. I remembered that my previous franchises became unusable during the same period of the season, so we can be fairly certain that the issue is tied to the playoffs.
• Once I reach WC Weekend in any franchise, I am able to sim through the playoffs like normal. I can get through free agency and the draft as well. After the off-season, I can create a new save that does not get corrupted. This reinforces the idea that the glitch only affects save games that are during the playoffs, and would explain why the backup save I had during my Cardinals run was  corrupted.
• In a last-ditch effort to save my Vikings franchise, I loaded my clean Week 1 save. I simmed through the season, forcing wins to make sure I made the playoffs again. During WC Weekend, I played the game like normal. With just a few seconds remaining, I closed the Madden application. You know how the game will ask if you want to load from where you left off or else delete the active match-up's score? Well, my goal was to reboot, load the saved game that only had a few seconds left, and sim the rest. Well, when I tried to load, it didn't prompt me like I expected it to and I just ran into the same issue of not being able to load the file. 
• I tried deleting Madden from my hard drive and re-installing. The issue still persisted.

MY THOUGHTS

• At this point, I cannot get any more useful information through trial and error. The rest of this post will be conjecture and my best attempts to identify causes and solutions. Please keep in mind that I am not a computer scientist, so take these with a grain of salt.
• We can be fairly certain that the glitch is localized entirely around the playoffs. The only save files that have gotten corrupted, in my experience, happen during this time of the season.
• I don't know if the glitch caused by exiting a playoff match-up is related. It very well may be it's own separate issue that just happens to mix with the corrupted save glitch in unfortunate ways.
• However, if these two glitches are related, there could be a number of reasons. The timing of the glitch leads me to believe that it is tied to in-season rewards related to the playoffs.
• There could be an issue embedded in the "First Playoff Game" event for coaches, where the press asks you questions and you receive staff points based on your performance. Perhaps the issue occurs when the game tries to reward you for a playoff win.
• The issue could be tied to the Madden profile reward system, where you earn XP for doing certain in-game activities.
• There might be a data-allocation glitch, where data is either being stored incorrectly or else not being accessed correctly when we try to load save files. This could be tied to the issue where users try to delete auto-save files, only for both the auto-save and the non-auto-save versions to be deleted. This has happened to me as well as @atomicbeag259 and @amuzie72.
• Without knowing more about Madden's code and what runs in the background, there is not much more I can offer. If I had to guess, I would say that the issue is embedded in the coach reward system, as this is the newest feature to come to last-gen franchise mode and is, therefore, the most likely candidate to introduce new bugs.

Basically, until this issue is resolved, we have two choices: either sim through every franchise game or stop playing altogether. I don't wish to stop playing, but the true source of fun in franchise mode (for me at least) is building the roster and then getting to compete for Super Bowls with the squad you created. At this stage, that is simply not an option.

[Phoenix2300]

I just want to say that both times encountering this glitch has happened during the regular season for me. Doesn't seem to be only a playoff issue.

[UberGabe428]

Same thing happened to me twice. Into my sixth season and after my week 14 game with the Rams it boots me back to my Xbox start up menu and when I try to load either save it doesn’t load. All that time wasted for absolutely nothing.

[Plipsman]

I ran into this issue on PS4 this morning. Week 17 of my 3rd season in an offline franchise. Come on, EA. I'm so tired of leaving comments like these on your boards about your games. As a dad of 5-year old twins, my video game time is very limited. Over the past month+, I've devoted all of it to Madden 22. And now the limited free time I've used on your game building an escape from life's stresses during that period was for naught and wasted because of this bug.

It's experiences like this that are killing my passion for video games after 30+ years. Quality assurance doesn't seem to exist these days and that responsibility is passed to the paying customer to serve as software testers. It's so frustrating and sucks all enjoyment out of the hobby. This bug creates a HORRIBLE customer experience and should have been resolved long ago. Patience levels are at 0 for many of us because EA has already exhausted its benefit of the doubt with us too many times before.

I used to buy NHL, FIFA, and Madden every year. But after many repeated issues similar to this one and recycling old "features" that get branded as new every year across your multiple franchises, I can't remember the last time I spent money on a FIFA or NHL game. The thought of buying future Maddens was already hanging by a thread before this botch.

The fact that this game breaking bug is STILL not fixed is downright embarrassing, but unfortunately not unexpected. EA has conditioned us for this very low level of customer service over the years. This bug and its ongoing duration of existence is a perfect example of why the company has been a joke in the community for a while. It's a clown show.

[sheetmcgeet]

If you are on PC you can go into ur madden game file then click on saves. Right click on the autosave that wont load and it will give you an option to restore to previous version and ur last auto save should be there. Click restore and it should he good.

Make sure to restore the autosave and not ur manual saved file so you dont lose as much. I still lost a couple games i played so its not an entire fix but still much better than starting over

[Masher_Smasher]

I can't access Franchise at all. Every time I try to load that mode the game crashes. Every other mode loads fine. Is EA trying to tell me something??? 

Spoiler

[free6474]

What is the solution to this problem. 

[NoFaceAngl_275j]

@awsdcs24 You are correct. When I posted about how Ea should offer a refund, I got suspended for a few days from these boards and recieved an email saying I was a troll. Then I was suspended again. Now, this ea Blueberry or whatever his name is that everyone tries to be on egg shells when they message, doesnt repsond to my questions on here. This is the customer service for a loyal customer of 25 years. Suspended, ignored and this all because I'm extremely angered by this broken product that had to be knowingly peddled as if it were whole. I'm calling my bank on Monday to see if they can get my money back. I'll probably get booted for this post as well. What a joke. Remember this next year everyone, bc that's how our voices will be heard.