Maximum Football has finally dropped its much-awaited Franchise Mode, but the jury still seems to be out on a verdict. While fans have been eagerly trying out all the new features and cosmetics, there are definitely some things holding the game back. Still, even though the game mode isn’t perfect, it has stirred up quite a name for itself in the Maximum Football fan club.
Initially off to a rough start, Maximum Football struggled to gain traction and connect with players. However, Franchise Mode is set to change all that. The game-defining update will enable players to blend their Dynasty Mode progress into the pro league seamlessly. It’s time to step up your game and see if you have what it takes to make the cut. Today, I’ll be talking about my first impressions of Maximum Football’s Franchise Mode and whether or not it’s worth it.
What Is Franchise Mode?
To get a better understanding of my review of Franchise Mode, let’s take a look at what Franchise Mode brings to the table. Released on 9th December 2025, Franchise Mode materialises the concept of taking your college squad to the big leagues. Not only does it aim to give players more creative autonomy, but it can also help transition your Dynasty Mode team into professional play.
Seniors from Dynasty Mode will automatically enter the following year’s Franchise draft pool, allowing you to bring them into an NFL team of your choosing. Follow up on your favourite college picks and see how far you can take them with the proper coaching tips and training routines.
That’s not all, though. Maximum Football wants to give players full-fledged autonomy. The ability to run leagues as you wish. Your rules, your strategy, and even your ticket prices. I’ll expand on all of this ahead, but this was just to get you started and give you an overview of what Maximum Football’s Franchise Mode is all about.
First Impressions Of Franchise Mode
You may know what Franchise Mode is, but what features do players have access to in this newly released game mode? I mentioned that there are two selling points for Franchise Mode: the transition from Dynasty Mode to Franchise Mode and the ability to create a league as you see fit. Now, it’s time to break down how Maximum Entertainment has achieved these goals.
Pre-League Settings
When you start Franchise Mode for the first time, the first screen you will be prompted to is the League Settings menu. Here, you can select league size, number of games per season, number of conferences/divisions/teams, and playoff berths. Next, you have the General Settings, where you have a plethora of settings to choose from, for example, ball type, overtime type, timeouts per half, etc.
The final two setting menus include scoring and clock settings, which are really fun to play around with. Now, if you’re a hardcore football fan, this might not seem that attractive. Why would anyone want to change the original rules of the game, right? But for most casual (and some competitive) gamers out there, this is the perfect solution to a monotonous and repetitive game mode.
By allowing players to change the core rules of the game, you can now replay the league in different versions. Choose between smaller leagues with professional settings or larger conferences with college-level rules. It is up to you to set the playing field where teams go head-to-head and tough it out to see who comes out on top.
Choosing Your Team And Staff
The next part of the selection process is picking which team to go with and a staff pairing that complements it. Players have a wide selection of teams to choose from, with budgets mentioned below each team’s banner. However, that’s not all. If you don’t feel like siding with one of the pre-made teams, you can always create your own!
Maximum Football allows you to create a Custom Team to play with in the season. While there will be some prerequisites and restrictions, I’m sure a lot of you will love the idea of creating a team of your choice. It’s a similar situation with the staff. While you cannot create your own staff, there’s a list of staff you can hire, from head coaches to accountants. Here, everything is under your control.
The one thing you need to bear in mind is that after choosing a team, everything comes out of the team’s budget. And until the season doesn’t starts, you won’t generate revenue. Still, this is an amazing change in Maximum Football. Not only will it keep players engaged with all the decisions, but you also have the power to dictate who stays and who goes.
Player Customisations, Coach Challenges, & Revenue Streams
The final part I’m covering for Franchise Mode is the player customisations and other smaller decisions. As it says, player customisations are now a thing in Maximum Football, and I’m not just talking about their body dimensions. Welcome to the world of customisations, where you can edit their body size, facial features, mouthguards, tattoos, and more.
Coach Challenges are basically side quests you can complete to earn XP. Use this XP to upgrade your coach’s stats. The game features weekly, seasonal, and career challenges, giving you a ton of free XP to get your hands on. Finally, we have ways to make money, and this is quite interesting in my opinion.
First of all, you can set ticket prices and upgrade your stadium as you progress. But now, you can even set concession prices at your discretion. Think a hot dog is worth $8? Set the price and see how well it does. The more popular your team is, the more people come to games. The player customisations and revenue streams really make Maximum Football stand out compared to other football games, and might just be what the game needed to get back on track.
