Is the PC Community being Ignored By EA?
Every year the amount of people who want NHL on PC grows and every year its disappointment. Is the PC Community being Ignored By EA? as a person who moved fully to PC this year and as part of the PC ...
Forum Discussion
You’re blending personal opinions with corporate messaging, and in the process, making EA’s stance sound even more confused and contradictory.
Let’s break down a few key points.
“Hockey isn’t as accessible as soccer.”
True — in real life. But this is a video game discussion. Gran Turismo players don’t own supercars. FIFA players don’t play for Manchester United. Accessibility of the sport has no bearing on a game’s potential success, especially when NHL already thrives on console.
“PC isn’t NHL’s core audience.”
You don’t say? It’s never been given the chance. That’s like locking a product out of a market and then saying, “see, no one’s buying it there.” Meanwhile, Madden has had five years of poor PC performance — and still gets a port every year. Why does Madden deserve patience, but NHL doesn’t deserve a test?
“We don’t control the market, anyone can make a hockey game.”
And yet no one has — because EA has held de facto control of the hockey sim space for over 20 years. You may not have legal exclusivity, but you’ve built the infrastructure, branding, licensing relationships, and fanbase. Acting like other devs can “just make one” is detached from reality.
“If there were demand, other companies would be doing it.”
False. That’s like saying “no one else made a console basketball sim for 10 years, so clearly NBA games aren’t viable.” 2K crushed that idea. Same could happen here — if someone took the chance. The problem is: EA refuses to be that someone, while still holding the genre hostage.
“PC hockey games were always more popular on console.”
Yes, because the last NHL game on PC was in 2008.
Seventeen years have passed since then.
Steam, Twitch, YouTube, digital distribution, social media — everything has changed.
There is no such thing as a “history of failure on PC” because PC simply didn't get a chance in the modern ecosystem.
“Madden, FC, and F1 have the playerbase to justify it.”
Let’s be honest. Madden doesn’t. The numbers prove it.
Madden NFL 21 peaked at 3,226 on Steam.
Madden NFL 25 peaked at 5,917.
Madden NFL 26 has <1,000 followers in 3+ months.
You’re not defending logic. You’re defending complacency.
There’s a PC community that wants NHL. It’s been loud, consistent, and patient. And instead of saying "Let’s test it once and see," EA keeps repeating "We don’t see the numbers."
How could you? You've never looked.
The "accessibility" excuse makes no sense. It's a video game. It's selling fantasy. Why else would Codemasters make an F1 game? And why would the "accessibility" test apply strictly to hockey on PC, but not hockey on console or F1 on PC? (Let's be honest, F1 is grandfathered in on PC because EA acquired Codemasters. We all know that a homegrown EA Sports F1 title would be console-only.)
If we want to talk about Madden's declining numbers, that didn't "just happen" like EA had no agency in the matter. EA made the intentional choice to withhold PS5/Xbox Series parity on PC for three years, and Madden customers voted with their wallets. Actions, meet consequences.
Even if EA can argue that technical issues held back Madden for three (questionable) years, what does that say for SEVENTEEN YEARS of no NHL on PC? That's not "Gosh, PC game dev is hard", that's just "[Bleep] off, PC gamers". That anti-PC attitude was what got the entire EA Sports PC lineup wiped out in the first place in the late '00s. It's never gone away, and EA will never stop deflecting blame back on "customers" they don't really want.
