Less than 1% of Madden NFL 15 players have completed The Gauntlet

Of all the Madden NFL 15 players, less than 100 have successfully completed The Gauntlet since the game’s release last week.

The jaw-dropping figure comes via the EA Sports Madden NFL Twitter account which today revealed that of the 1 million (1,000,000) players who have entered The Gauntlet, only 97 have actually beaten all 40 levels. That’s less than 1 percent.

The Gauntlet is a new mode in this year’s Madden NFL 15. It offers players a series of unique challenges to test their skills in all facets of the game. Designed like an old-school arcade challenge, The Gauntlet offers 40 levels of challenging obstacles that you must successfully complete with a limited number of attempts (lives). If you fail and run out of lives, you start over. Adding to the mode’s difficulty are Boss Levels which appear every five stages. These “bosses” offer “unique, offbeat” challenges like kicking a 100-yard field goal in hurricane-force winds.

According to EA, the primary goal of The Gauntlet is to "provide a fun, approachable way for new users to learn Madden, as well as giving franchise veterans tools to make themselves better and truly challenge their Madden prowess." Prior to Madden NFL 15’s launch, we had a chance to talk with assistant producer Danny Doeberling about the new mode; you can read more about the idea and concept of The Gauntlet here.

For what it's worth, I, too, have failed to successfully complete all 40 stages.