Madden NFL 27 is the 37th installment of the Madden NFL series.
The number in the title does not equal the game’s position in the series. Madden titles commonly use a season or release-year number, so Madden NFL 27 is not the 27th game overall.
The series began with John Madden Football in 1988, followed by annual releases and changes in naming conventions. Some installments used calendar-style numbers such as Madden NFL 2005, while later games returned to shorter numbers such as Madden NFL 25, 26, and 27.
Because of those naming conventions, counting the installments requires considering the full franchise history rather than reading the title literally. Madden NFL 27 follows Madden NFL 26 and is identified as the series’ 37th installment.