The Madden NFL 23 closed beta ended on August 3, 2022 at 12 PM ET according to EA forum posts, and later coverage notes the game itself is now being shut down on July 13, 2026. That means there’s no active Madden 23 beta on PS4 now, and any “free” trial discussions you’re seeing are about the full game or older weekend promotions, not the beta.

What Reddit-style posts are usually referring to

People on Reddit often mix up:

  • the closed beta ,
  • a free play weekend ,
  • and the EA Play trial or free access promo.

For Madden NFL 23 on PS4, the free weekend ran from September 8 through September 11, 2022 , which was separate from the beta.

Quick clarification

If your question is about whether you can still play Madden NFL 23 for free on PS4 in 2026, the answer is no in the sense of an active beta or official free trial tied to the game’s current lifecycle. The title has also been scheduled for server shutdown on July 13, 2026.

TL;DR: the Madden 23 beta is long over; the PS4 free weekend was September 8–11, 2022; and the game is now in its final shutdown phase.