When EA Sports confirmed that Madden NFL 26 would launch on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, and even the Nintendo Switch 2, football fans on PC were thrilled. But that excitement didn’t last long for college football fans, because College Football 26 is locked to consoles. No PC release. So why does one football franchise get PC support while the other doesn’t?
Let’s take a look at history, as it’s usually a good teacher.
Madden’s relationship with PC hasn’t always been smooth, but history explains a lot. The series was a PC staple through Madden NFL 08, before EA abruptly pulled the plug from 2009 to 2017. For nearly a decade, PC players had no way to play Madden outside of emulation, and frankly, it sucked. However, fans of the series didn’t just let that sit idle. They let EA know every chance they could by voicing their frustration on forums, Reddit, and even by putting petitions together and sending them to EA.
As for why Madden was canceled on the PC after Madden NFL 08, it was all about the money. EA’s executives had deemed that the PC sales of the prior games were too low to...
