Madden NFL 21
The first 3 hours are a test
What the data shows
- In the first 2 hours most reviews are negative (86%); after 10h it's almost 1 in 2 (43%).
- Fully opens up by hour 10.
- The opening is criticised more than in 100% of games we track.
- The game has no story achievements, so drop-off points can't be measured.
- Only 70% of owners have even the first achievement — the rest barely played.
When it gets good
Share of positive reviews by how many hours the reviewer had played when writing the review.
before it gets good opening up fully opened up
Based on all 5,181 Steam reviews in every language. Median playtime in a sample of 293 reviews: 40.3h for positive, 46h for negative. Almost every game is rated lower in the first 2–3 hours: that window includes refunds and quick first impressions. What matters is how deep the dip is and how fast the game recovers.
Where players quit
Share of players who started the game and reached each story milestone. 100% is the most common achievement (69.9% of owners), so people who bought the game and never launched it don't count.
This game has no story achievements, so we can't tell where players quit.
All achievements (28)
story milestone ending side
- Move Master Successfully fake-out a defender with a ball carrier special move. 100%
- Role Player Gain the Role Player rank in Face of the Franchise 36%
- Key Contributor Gain the Key Contributor Legacy rank in Face of the Franchise 30%
- Stud Finder Draft a rookie with a Hidden Dev Trait. 29%
- MVP Win MVP with one of your players. 28%
- Pro Bowl Caliber Gain the Pro Bowl Caliber Legacy rank in Face of the Franchise 27%
- Dealmaker Re-sign a 90+ OVR player. 26%
- Team Legend Gain the Team Legend Legacy rank in Face of the Franchise 25%
- ROTY Win Rookie of the Year with one of your players. 24%
- Bragging Rights Win the Super Bowl in an online league. 22%
- Hall of Very Good Gain the Hall of Very Good Legacy rank in Face of the Franchise 21%
- Roster Reshuffle Complete a fantasy draft. 20%
- Future HOF Gain the Future HOF Legacy rank in Face of the Franchise 18%
- Big Spender Win a free agent bidding war for a 90+ OVR player. 16%
- 1st Ballot HOF Gain the 1st Ballot HOF Legacy rank in Face of the Franchise 15%
- Future of the Franchise Reveal a rookie's X-Factor potential. 15%
- Throwin’ Dots Throw a Passing TD using the low throw mechanic. 13%
- NFL Icon Gain the NFL Icon Legacy rank in Face of the Franchise 13%
- Change of Scenery Relocate a team. 11%
- The GOAT Gain the GOAT Legacy rank in Face of the Franchise 11%
- Situational Awareness Make a Coaching Adjustment in the 4th quarter or OT. 10%
- Unblockable On 3 plays create a sack or tackle for loss after a pass rush move win, using a different rush move each time. 9.7%
- Pro Bowler Participate in the Pro Bowl during a Franchise season. 6.9%
- Primetime Gain over 50 total yards while using Celebration Loco over the course of a single game. 6.0%
- Head-to-Head Win a Head To Head game in an online league. 6.0%
- Comeback City Comeback and win when trailing by 17+ points at halftime. 5.4%
- Already in Progress Create a league from a Play Now Live game. 4.9%
- Lockdown Corner Win 3 presses in a single game with the same CB. 3.9%