What company publishes the Madden NFL video game series?

EA Sports publishes the Madden NFL video game series. EA Sports is the sports-game label of Electronic Arts, the company that created the franchise with coach and broadcaster John Madden.

Electronic Arts developed the first John Madden Football in 1988 and has continued publishing the series through its successive names, including John Madden Football, Madden NFL, and the more recent numbered editions. Development has been handled by different EA studios over time, including EA Tiburon and EA Orlando, but EA Sports has remained the recognizable publishing brand.

The series began without official NFL licensing. Early games used generic or fictionalized teams and players, because EA had not yet secured the rights to use authentic NFL content. Madden NFL 94 was the first entry to include real NFL teams, while Madden NFL 95 added an NFL Players Association license for real player names.

Players sometimes confuse EA Sports with EA Tiburon or EA Orlando. Those are development studios or internal teams; EA Sports is the publishing label associated with the Madden franchise.