Is the PC Community being Ignored By EA?

Honestly the best chance of the game coming to PC will be when Xbox makes their hybrid console supposedly in the next couple of years.  Hopefully they just skip the Switch 2 because even if it does have big numbers those numbers aren't hockey numbers where sales usually are the highest.

I agree with you RatedRGamer​ but I assure you after advocating for a PC release for 10+ years most of us have given up.  Lost cause until another company steps up with the NHL license!

Yes, the PC gaming market is massive and Steam alone sees 30M+ users daily. But just because the audience is there doesn’t mean EA sees a return worth chasing. 

Big Market ≠ Big Sales. Steam’s user base isn’t a guaranteed customer base. NHL is still a niche sport globally, and EA likely has internal projections showing PC hockey wouldn’t match FIFA or Madden sales. Not even close.

Porting Isn’t Cheap or Simple. NHL’s Frostbite implementation is deeply console optimized. Porting to PC isn’t “push to Steam.” It means reworking controls, anti cheat, UI, mod protections, and supporting thousands of hardware configs,  all for what might be a relatively small player base.

Madden came back to PC, but it’s received minimal support and underwhelming sales. That likely confirmed EA’s suspicions that some sports titles just don’t thrive on PC especially without massive marketing or demand.

PC Isn’t NHL’s Core Audience. NHL interest is strongest in North America. The PC market's biggest growth is in Asia and Europe, where hockey doesn’t move units like soccer or shooters. EA likely sees limited international upside.

I think we all know this isn’t about fairness or community growth. It’s business. EA won’t gamble millions unless they’re confident in strong HUT monetization and sales. If the Madden release is any insight, NHL on PC likely wouldn't deliver that return.

At the end of the day,  EA doesn’t skip PC because they think no one wants it — they skip it because they believe not enough people will pay for it to justify the cost.

I'm not even a Developer and its easy to see that a PC NHL Community has grown. Saying its smaller than it was in 2009 is a jaded answer and under looked.  

The decision to axe NHL PC support in 2009 made sense for that time. PC gaming was in a very different place.  it was smaller install base, piracy concerns, fewer tools to manage live service and anti-cheat. But in 2025, the PC market is the strongest it’s ever been. Crossplay is standard, anti-cheat tools are mature, and most of EA’s sports titles are already on PC using Frostbite. To suggest that the PC hockey community can never return to its old strength because it isn't there right now ignores how other sports titles rebuilt their PC audiences with consistent support. Look at Madden on PC post-2019, it was quiet at first, and now it's solid.

I agree echo chambers can misrepresent market size. But here’s the problem... EA has never actually tested the waters with a modern PC release of NHL. So when people say “there’s no ROI,” it’s based on assumption, not real world testing or a public statement with data. PC gamers asking for a release aren't demanding a miracle. they're asking for a trial, or transparency, not blind faith. And about those market research teams? no doubt they exist. But without actual numbers from even a single PC release in the past 15 years, how accurate is the ROI estimate? Other titles like MLB The Show on Xbox and Madden PC also started small but proved the demand by showing up consistently.

Also, Over 132 million monthly active users 33 to 35 million daily active users That means roughly 25–27% of Steam's users log in every day. Additional context: Peak concurrent users often hit 30–34 million, especially during major events or sales. Steam is by far the largest gaming platform globally, and it continues to grow year over year. then when you add in other PC platforms (like Epic, Battle.net, Xbox PC etc.), PC gaming easily exceeds console gaming market in active users. This was not the case in 2009 or in 2017. PC is the largest gaming platform globally when you count everything  especially in markets like Asia, Europe, and Canada which can expand the reach for NHL also, sport accessibility doesn’t determine if something deserves a game port lol not everyone who watches a sport wants to play it physically. That’s the point of a video game. NHL should be no different than FIFA, Madden, or F1.  Communities don’t grow when they’re ignored or shoved aside.. IMO every other EA Sports title on PC had to earn its place. NHL should be no different. If you don’t invest, of course there’s no return. you argue that “if there was a market for PC hockey, someone else would’ve made a game by now.” But that logic completely ignores the reality,  EA already has the full package meaning the NHL license, a legacy fanbase, and a complete, yearly updated game engine. Then like i said competing against EA from scratch is massively expensive thing for anyone to do in a monopoly market, you’d need to build skating physics, puck mechanics, collision systems, AI, and a full game loop before even worrying about licensing. So of course no one else is jumping in. It’s not that the market doesn’t exist lol it’s that EA already owns it. No smart dev is going to dump tens of millions into building a brand-new hockey sim just to fight EA for scraps when EA could port the game to PC tomorrow and own the entire market outright and not only for hockey, the NFL, Fifa or FC. no one is gonna compete because EA already sits king in that market except the MLB because PlayStation owns that market and  EA will never waste money trying to compete. 

RatedRGamer wrote:

But those titles also had to build that PC audience by continued PC support which NHL never got.

NHL was on PC from 1994 to 2009. As someone who took part in all the fun - online leagues, customization - I can assure you that today's PC Hockey community is nowhere near as passionate and prolific as it was during this time. However, consoles began to dominate the gaming market and EA made the decision to axe PC development to focus on the console. IMO, even as one of the most hardcore PC Hockey fans, it was a good move .

RatedRGamer wrote:

We’re asking for transparency, honest consideration, and acknowledgment that the PC hockey community is real, and growing.

Nobody denies there's a PC Hockey Community - but you have to understand it exists inside a bubble. The echochamber reinforces this belief everyone wants a PC title. Of course, if everyone you communicate with is a PC gamer.. it will always seem like EA is 'missing out' on a market. 

RatedRGamer wrote:

EA has held the market position and NHL license control for over 20 years.

 Anyone can petition the NHL and pitch a videogame to them in an effort to obtain a licensing deal. What does it tell you when not a single reputable developer has attempted to compete with EA while they were releasing PC games? And what does it tell you that even now - almost 20 years since the last PC release and not a single PC developer has come forward with a real game that could compete with the console version. 

It should tell you that PC Hockey is not a market worth investing in. This doesn't invalidate your claim there are passionate PC hockey gamers - literally nobody is disputing that. However, what is up for debate is whether that would translate to a positive return on investment. Companies like EA have market research experts that do the real math (not just hang out in PC Hockey forums) and they've likely determined there's no worthy ROI on the market. 

RatedRGamer wrote:

You may not have a legal exclusivity deal, but EA clearly has functional exclusivity through scale, legacy, and long standing league relationships.

EA built that through years of releases. There is literally nothing stopping anyone from doing the same, other than not having a full grasp on what's involved in actually developing a AAA hockey title.

i learned how to play hockey on the road with a ball and stick for 30 bucks at Walmart but okay lol. still has nothing to do with a game..

It does though. The accessibility of the sport helps drive its popularity. Not to mention, hockey is an extremely physical sport that takes a more fearless type of person to play. And most likely one that not a lot of parents are pushing their kids into. My point is that it just doesn't have the popularity that other a lot of other sports have. Which also means the video game doesn't as large an audience as bigger sports.

Yes, FC and Madden had their playerbases grow. I'm sure those sports have also grown. I'm in Austin, TX. We have 2 sports teams here. Texas Stars and Austin FC. People go absolutely crazy for Austin FC. I live near the stadium and it's bonkers on game days. I love going to Stars games. I saw a couple during the playoffs and the crowd was awesome. The games were fantastic. However, it severely lacked the energy of an MLS match that draws a bigger crowd and one that puts up with ridiculously hot weather. Yes, it's Texas though. I also lived in Portland, OR for a long time. Timbers games always drew far bigger crowds than Winterhawks games. It's entirely possible that's not the same in Canada though. Here, American football pretty much beats everything. I'm just using my real world experience as an example. My point is, the popularity of a sport correlates with how well the video game sells. I truly hope that someday we're able to support a PC version of our game.

As far as transparency goes, I'm giving you reasons why we haven't had a PC release in a very long time and what we need to make it happen going forward. We fully acknowledge there's a PC hockey community though. The dev team isn't going to post all the research they've done and break down the various costs and potential forecasts. It's pretty easy to see why there is no PC version when you look at the history of PC hockey games. They've always been more popular on console. 

EA has held the market position and NHL license control for over 20 years.

We haven't held control over the NHL license. It's never been exclusive to EA. Regardless of relationships built over the years, again, there is nothing stopping anyone else from getting that same licensing. Especially other companies with a history of licensed sports games like Sony and 2K.

Most developers can’t justify the cost of building a full AAA hockey sim plus paying for NHL/NHLPA/CHL/NCAA licenses just to compete with EA.

Yeah, it's an expensive endeavor. Which again adds credence to my statement about hockey just not being popular enough. For example, there are other soccer games with official licensing. Because those games have the playerbase to support them. Regardless, if you take licensing out of it, why isn't anyone making a sim hockey game? Anyone could make the same type of game that we do without licensing. At the heart of it, we're all here for a competitive hockey experience. That's not something EA has exclusivity of. Another company could build that without the NHL licensing. It's a huge amount of work which means a very large investment so I imagine the companies capable of putting out a AAA hockey game are shy to do so.

I'm not saying it's never going to happen. I truly hope there is a PC version some day. I'd love for us to support as many platforms as possible. 

i learned how to play hockey on the road with a ball and stick for 30 bucks at Walmart but okay lol. still has nothing to do with a game. We’re talking about video game fans who already watch the sport, love it, and want to play digitally. The cost of real skates or ice time is irrelevant when discussing a digital market. I also understand the business case you're making that Madden, FC, and F1 have larger global markets. But those titles also had to build that PC audience by continued PC support which NHL never got. FC and Madden didn’t always have strong PC presence support but over time built that player base. NHL could do the same. We’re not demanding the impossible. We’re asking for transparency, honest consideration, and acknowledgment that the PC hockey community is real, and growing. If EA continues to wait for demand to magically appear before investing, it’ll never happen. As for your claim that “anyone can make a hockey game” that’s technically true, but misleading. EA has held the market position and NHL license control for over 20 years. Most developers can’t justify the cost of building a full AAA hockey sim plus paying for NHL/NHLPA/CHL/NCAA licenses just to compete with EA. You may not have a legal exclusivity deal, but EA clearly has functional exclusivity through scale, legacy, and long standing league relationships.

Yes, hockey is huge in Canada. It's also huge in certain states in the US. Regardless, it's still the 5th most popular sport in North America. And out of that crowd, there's just not a large enough PC playerbase to support a PC release.

Soccer doesn't require ice and expensive gear though. You can literally go to a park, field, beach, etc. and the only required piece of equipment is a ball. This is what helps make it such a popular sport. Anyone can play it. Hockey requires a whole different level of skill with expensive gear to support it. Not everyone is going to have an old pair of skates and a frozen pond in their backyard. 

We don't have a tight grip on the market. We're not in control of the hockey video game space. There is no exclusivity. Anyone can make a hockey game. They can also acquire the licensing from various leagues. We don't have exclusive rights. There is nothing stopping anyone else from making hockey video games. It's a very big project to take on though. This is a tremendously difficult sport to replicate authentically in a video game. Then add in licensing and costs skyrocket. So, chances are good other companies have realized the return on this doesn't make the investment in making one worth it.

Madden, F1 and FC have the playerbase to support PC releases. Hopefully, NHL will have that someday. We recognize there is a PC player community. It's just not one that is currently big enough to support the investment into a native PC game.

i live in US and Canada and hockey is huge here so. also the comparison for soccer and hockey isn't accurate. ive played soccer and hockey as a kid and made the WHLfor a minute in hockey. Soccer costed 500 to sign up yearly and 400 for equipment "Cleats, Shinguards, your team jerseys" hockey was the same sign up fee and like 800 bucks for equipment. saying it isn't popular is a bit shortsighted. if it wasn't popular there wouldn't be a game period. women's hockey has blown up too. also, the NHL draft has more players go undrafted yearly than mlb and NFL do. this has nothing to do with developing a game. if it was like i said. No EA NHL period.  Yes, F1 is a global sport and had a major popularity spike thanks to Netflix but that doesn’t mean NHL lacks popularity. In Canada and the US NHL is one of the most followed and culturally embedded sports, and the EA NHL series is consistently a top-seller here. As for PC demand being a "vocal minority" the truth is, there’s been no serious effort to gauge that demand. Petitions don’t get visibility or EA support, and many fans have long given up because every year ends in silence or deflection. The conversation being “talked to death” isn’t proof of low interest—it’s proof of loyal fans constantly asking for clarity. You mention other studios not making hockey games as proof the market isn't there. But EA has held a tight grip on the market for decades, making it financially and strategically difficult for another major publisher to justify jumping in. That doesn’t mean there’s no audience it means EA has controlled the space. Finally, no one is saying it's cheap to do but if Madden, FC, and F1 can justify PC ports (despite having similar backend needs: anti-cheat, crossplay, patches, support), then NHL could too. Especially when EA already runs Frostbite based games on PC. We’re not asking for special treatment we’re asking to be acknowledged as a real player base. The growth of PC gaming since 2015 speaks for itself. All we want is transparency on whether EA ever intends to serve this audience.

F1 is also huge. It's much more of a worldwide sport than hockey. Sure, hockey is played all over, but it doesn't carry the same popularity as F1. Maybe if Netflix did a documentary series on hockey, it'd gain more popularity like F1 did? Who knows. There is a big barrier of entry with hockey. It's a very expensive sport to even play. It doesn't have the same participation that a sport like Football (soccer) does where you just need a ball and a space big enough to kick it around in.

I'm not saying there is no demand. There's a very vocal minority of PC players that bring up this issue every year. There have been numerous petitions that receive dozens of responses. Hardly enough to justify a PC release. If there were the demand for a PC version, why do these petitions hardly get any action?

Look, people love to claim we're all about the money here. The reality is that it takes a lot of money to build and support a PC version. I know a lot of research has been done on this. If we could determine it was going to be as popular as people seem to think, it would be done. We're not the only game dev/publisher with the means to make a hockey PC game. If the market were there, we'd have one by now.