EA has announced that Madden 15 will be hitting the field on August 26 in North America and August 29 in Europe. The release date was revealed in a short teaser, shown below, which features defensive player of the year Luke Kuechly, linebacker for the Carolina Panthers.
The teaser promises that you will "see the transformation" this June, a theme demonstrated visually by Kuechly becoming digitized while narrating the video.
If the release date is August, June is a reasonable time frame to expect to see the first gameplay footage, if that is what EA is implying with that tagline. Releasing the first footage in June gives the developers several more months to work on the title until late August, as well as the ability to release smaller details along the way.
Hopefully this year includes more than updated rosters and tweaked game modes, but we really don't know what to expect from the title yet. EA gave a very brief feature tease alongside the announcement, promising the "most immersive defensive gameplay control in franchise history". I hope this translates to real gameplay changes and not just marketing hype, because the defense is largely passive in Madden. Aside from interceptions (if you know what you're doing), the AI will likely do a better job than you at defense after you pick the play--a greater degree of involvement would be welcome.
Last year's release, Madden 25, was a special edition celebrating the 25th anniversary of the franchise, but we're back to the basic numeric naming style this season. Keep an eye out once June rolls around for the first videos of gameplay. The title will be released on PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One on August 26 in North America.
