One of the more underrated presentation features in a sports video game is dynamic lighting. The ability to see a late-afternoon kickoff slowly fade into dusk and eventually under the lights makes games feel alive in ways menus and stats never can.
College Football 26 made it a headline feature in its marketing. Madden 26, on the other hand, didn’t even mention it in its pre-release blogs. And now that the game is out, players are left wondering whether or not the feature is really there. And if it is, why is it so inconsistent?
Pre-Release Confusion About Lighting In Madden 26
Discussion about dynamic lighting in Madden 26 actually started long before the game even launched. Back in July, OS user Michaelhawj asked the community whether or not dynamic lighting was going to be present in Madden 26, considering how important it was marketed for CFB 26. Beta players reported seeing time-of-day transitions in Superstar mode, but not in Play Now or Franchise modes. This was worrying enough, given that Madden 25 on the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S already lacked the smooth lighting progression found in the last-gen versions of the title, which actually had a more robust lighting system. How that’s even possible, one could only guess.
Needless to say, when Madden 26‘s pre-release blogs failed to mention dynamic lighting in any capacity — while College Football 26 was boasting it — longtime fans began to expect that the feature would not make the cut for the latest entry.
Lighting In Madden 26
Now that players have had a chance to test Madden 26 across early access and full release, the verdict of whether or not the game has dynamic lighting is… complicated. Operation Sports community members, such as JPDavis92, have posted screenshots showing that dynamic lighting does exist in certain cases, especially in Franchise mode in games that start at 4:25 PM. We’ve shared some of them below. The first image shows the game shortly after kickoff in the 1st quarter, while the second image is representative of the 3rd quarter.
So, mystery solved, right? As funny as it may sound, no.
While some users have reported seeing changes in lighting during games in a variety of modes, the results are inconsistent. Other users have reported seeing no changes at all unless they use SuperSim to jump ahead or turn off the accelerated clock. Even then, the transitions often feel abrupt rather than gradual, making it seem more like a lighting “swap” at the quarter break than a continuous sun cycle. By comparison, Madden 25‘s last-gen version showed shadows literally creeping across the field, play by play.
Some of the OS users have suggested that quarter length and play count may be the trigger. Six-minute quarters with an accelerated clock may not generate enough time for the game to actually initiate the lighting changes, while full-length quarters with no clock adjustments seem more likely to show changes. Others have suggested that Madden 26 could use a similar system seen in games like MLB The Show 25, where dynamic lighting changes vary depending on what month you’re playing in — sunset in early September won’t happen at the same time it does in December.
Does It Matter?
On its own, dynamic lighting is not a make-or-break feature for Madden 26 in the grand scheme of things. But it is certainly emblematic of a larger issue when it comes to Madden — presentation often seems to be an afterthought.
When College Football 26 can market progressive lighting as a feature, while Madden 26 players are left hunting for proof it even exists, that speaks volumes. It also raises an uncomfortable reality that last-gen Madden games made for consoles that are over a decade old are providing more immersion than their next-gen successors.
To sum it all up, is there dynamic lighting in Madden 26? Yes, but it’s unreliable. Some users are seeing it across multiple different modes in the game, while others aren’t. And even then, it seems to be more of a step-by-step transition rather than a gradual one.
