Is the PC Community being Ignored By EA?

What kind of excuse is this, because it's not a popular sport, it's pointless to invest in PC and how many games are less played, but they're on PC and consoles together... 😂  

, as a company EA, have a lot of money, but you can't put it on PC, it's a shame for a company like you to say the least. NHL 2004 has been played by a lot of people for years because it wasn't released on PC anymore

Just because a company is valued high doesn't mean it can just spend without thinking about the future of their profits.  Shareholders are always wanting more money and they want to hear things like big profits from adding a product here or there.  NHL coming to PC isn't magically gonna be a huge profit.  Instead you would see console people join the PC side IF it is done right and then they need to hire more people because of all the various PC setups out there.

I mean hell I think if they do anything it would be Switch 2 but I really hope not as it would require more work on an already small team.

PC gamer here, waiting for a PC version to purchase. If you look at the steam numbers, PC gaming has grown massively since 2009 when the last PC version was released. The market is there for good sales and all the comments about it is more than just a loud minority.  Wish EA would take a chance and release it and share the sales numbers. 🙂

I see Madden 26 on PC but nothing for NHL.

Pre-order site shows only xbox and playstation as release platforms.  EA Sports ignores PC users once again.

To answer your question: yes, PC users are being ignored. 

You keep repeating the same line — "Madden and FC are on PC because those sports are way more popular than hockey."

Let’s break that down.

Nobody questions FC’s popularity. That franchise is in a different league. But saying Madden is “way more popular than hockey” — especially in the context of PC gaming — doesn’t hold up when you look at actual data.

Take Madden NFL 26. It’s been listed on Steam since April 25, 2025. As of August 6, it has only 979 followers. That’s incredibly low for a so-called “massive franchise.”

So where is this huge NFL fanbase you keep referencing? Three months on Steam — the world’s largest PC gaming platform — and not even 1,000 followers? That’s not a sign of popularity. That’s a clear signal of underperformance.

And this isn’t new. Previous Madden titles also show underwhelming numbers on PC:

Madden NFL 21 peaked at 3,226 players
Madden NFL 22: 5,602
Madden NFL 23: 6,169
Madden NFL 24: 9,526
Madden NFL 25 dropped again to 5,917

This is five years of data showing stagnation or decline. If that’s considered a success worth yearly investment, then NHL definitely deserves at least a chance.

Some will say, “Steam doesn’t show EA App numbers.” Fine — but if Madden was doing great there, EA would be publicly celebrating it. You promote FC and Apex numbers constantly. Madden? Total silence.

Now about NHL.

You’ve said porting is the easy part, but supporting it — anti-cheat, patches, servers — is the costly part. That’s fair. But you're already doing all that for Madden, which isn’t showing strong returns on PC. So why does NHL get ignored?

It’s not about cost. It’s not about risk. It’s about EA not being willing to even try.

The truth is simple: Madden’s PC run hasn’t delivered major results. NHL could easily match or surpass it if given the opportunity. But that opportunity is constantly denied — based on outdated assumptions, not facts.

The NHL community has been asking for years. You say there’s not enough demand. But how can you measure demand for something that has never existed?

Meanwhile, Madden keeps getting PC releases despite consistently weak engagement. That’s not strategic thinking. That’s a double standard.

No one’s asking for miracles. We’re just asking for equal treatment. Give NHL the same chance Madden got. Let the numbers decide.

Right now, this “no NHL on PC” logic just doesn’t make sense.

https://chng.it/2gRxDDm69n 8000+ people wanted this in 2018

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.

Thanks for proving the point — that petition from 2018, with zero support from EA, no marketing, and no visibility across official channels, still got over 8,000 signatures.

That’s 8,000 people who cared enough to act, in a time when EA was doing everything possible to pretend the PC community didn’t exist.

And what did EA do?

Nothing.
Literally nothing.
The petition itself even says: "Decision Maker: Electronic Arts – Awaiting response."
Seven years later — still waiting.

Imagine if EA had actually:

• acknowledged it publicly
• shared it on their channels
• ran a limited PC test
• or just asked the player base via in-game surveys

Instead, they ignored it completely — and now people throw this petition around as if it somehow proves "no one cares."

No. It proves that people cared.
EA didn’t.

Thanks again for making that even clearer.