17th year without a PC release

its not that big of a deal, like once the game has its worldwide release, and when it comes to Game Pass, you can just make an xbox account and playcloud gaming

You need a subscription for that, and yes it is a big deal, it is a technical workaround with plenty of issues, not a solution. PC players that use PlayStation to play NHL will have to get a Xbox gamepass ultimate subscription on top of their PlayStation subscription. I literally only have a Xbox to play NHL, I moved to PC years ago and never upgraded to a series console until NHL 25 forced me to do that, honestly not a good investment but I wanted to play 25. There is one thing PC players care about, owning their games and not needing a subscription or a internet connection to play them.