Madden 19 Has "Strong" First Weekend, Franchise Hits 130 Million Copies Sold

EA's Madden franchise is one of the most commercially successful series in the history of video games. The publisher announced today that the franchise has now sold more than 130 million copies of Madden games since the franchise debuted back in 1988. The sales milestone comes after the release of Madden NFL 19, which enjoyed a "strong opening weekend," EA said in a press release. EA did not provide a specific unit sales figure for Madden NFL 19, nor did it say how sales compared to Madden NFL 18.

The Madden franchise stood at 99 million copies sold back in 2013 before the release of Madden NFL 25 (which is the special name EA gave to Madden NFL 14).

Madden is EA's second sports franchise to pass 100 million copies sold. EA's soccer juggernaut, FIFA, surpassed 100 million units sold back in 2010. The publisher's Sims series, passed 100 million units all the way back in 2008, while EA's Need for Speed franchise hit 100 million copies sold in 2009.

Madden joins only a handful of other franchises in surpassing 100 million copies sold. Some of the other franchises to reach that mark include Assassin's Creed, Grand Theft Auto, Mario, Final Fantasy, Call of Duty, Pokemon, and Lego.

EA also specified that Madden games for mobile devices have now passed 73 million installs. The latest game, Madden NFL Overdrive, launches on August 15.

"It's incredible how many people have enjoyed Madden NFL over the years, and the impact it's had on not only teaching the sport of football, but growing the love of it as well," EA Sports executive Cam Weber said in a statement. "Every year Madden NFL is the game that kicks off our season of EA Sports games, and it continues to be one of the titans of the game industry."

EA's next big sports game releases are NHL 19 (September 14) and FIFA 19 (September 25).