Chatting With NHL 26 Developers About What Makes This Year's Game Unique

NHL 26 enters early access today, and beyond being one of the longest tenured sports games of all-time, it’s been one of the best sports games at various points as well. Whether that’s NHL 94 or NHL 14, there have been more than a handful of banger versions of EA’s hockey series during its 30+ year history.

That said, EA’s NHL series is unquestionably at a crossroads because it’s a series that has stagnated in multiple areas for many years at this point. I wouldn’t say the franchise has been lost in the wilderness, but its run from NHL 07 through NHL 14 is probably its strongest stretch of all-time, and that’s now 10+ years in the rearview. Ever since the move to PS4 and NHL 15, things have been very much up and down. Losing the EASHL for a full year and permanently losing GM Connected as a mode during that transition year to PS4/Xbox One took a ton out of the series. And while there were multiple stinkers during the era from 1993 to 2006, the last 10 years have certainly had more unrest than during that era because there has been no NHL 94 or NHL 04 to point to as a potential “best game in the series” contender.

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During its peak years, EA’s NHL games have been in the running for sports game of the year. The series has created special moments in sports gaming via the skill stick, OTP/EASHL, and even the maligned yet beloved GM Connected mode. During its run from ‘07-14, we got a lot of gameplay innovation, solid presentation, and we even had some landmark stuff like the EASHL that really defined “team play” in sports gaming. Even if the franchise mode itself was never considered top tier, stuff like the EASHL and GM Connected meant EA’s NHL game was arguably the best way to play with others in the sports game genre.

When it cooks, NHL is a game that’s beloved by hockey fans and is so fun that even people who don’t care about hockey all that much want to pick up the sticks and give it a go. The Swingers meme has been run into the ground at this point, but it does encapsulate what makes EA’s NHL game so special. It’s the ultimate “hangout” sports game. It’s just fun to play in the same room with your friends, whether you’re trying to make Gretzky’s head bleed, or do another NHL 94 tourney with some friends, or get the squad together for some EASHL games, or simply play through GM Connected with one or two buddies while hoping the mode doesn’t explode in the process.

Right now, NHL lacks that “killer” innovation or mode that hooks people like the skill stick or EASHL did in the past. The EASHL never quite recovered after its lost year during that transition to PS4, and while nothing will likely ever be as monumental on the gameplay front as the addition of the skill stick, NHL’s gameplay still hasn’t felt truly fresh in a long time.

This is why I wanted to talk a lot about the “fundamentals” for today’s interview with the EA NHL dev team. The NHL dev team is small in comparison to most of the other EA sports game units out there, and so they need to be efficient with their time and make the most out of the resources they do have. I care about things like GM Connected coming back, but I think what’s most important for the series first and foremost is tapping into those fundamentals while making teams and players far more unique than they ever have been before. After all, what made NBA 2K special all those years ago was its signature style and ability to start making teams and individuals feel unique in both the hands of the CPU and other human players.

For too long the NHL series has had a lot of the same strategies and tactics — for both human vs. human games and then when playing against the CPU in something like franchise mode. I think getting teams and players to act differently would do so much to create gameplay variety, and based on what the EA NHL dev team has shown so far this year, I think they would agree with that sentiment.

With that in mind, I was able to ask questions to both Creative Director Mike Inglehart and Principal Game Designer David Pritchett about a lot of the “fundamentals” that will hopefully shape both this year’s game and the future of the franchise.

NHL 26 Interview With The EA Development Team

Operation Sports: There's a lot of talk of using the real on-ice data to calibrate the ratings for this year's game. Is that data going to continue to be filtered to the dev team throughout the season and impact ratings in roster updates as well?

Our connection with NHL EDGE started with NHL 26, and we looked at high volume moments in gameplay as the initial starting place for influencing attributes. Specifically, we looked at skating acceleration and top speed, along with slap shot and wrist shot power. Given that skating is a constant on both sides of the puck and shooting is something done often in the game, these were the best initial places to lean in and help create differentiation between the players on the ice. This means that a foot race between McDavid and a player like Nick Foligno, for example, will play out very differently this year, creating more tactical approaches to on-ice scenarios depending on who has the puck.

This also translates to the shooting factor, as the velocity of shots will now be more varied between players and the differences in MPH will mean certain players can get the puck to the net faster, meaning goalies will have less time to react to the puck as will defenders when trying to fill the lane.

As with previous years, players will get bumps to ratings throughout the season based on how they perform. One interesting aspect we discovered working with the EDGE platform was that individual physical outputs do not change too much over the course of a season. McDavid is always fast, Tage Thompson consistently shoots hard, so as we play with ratings it will be done from a place of on-ice performance as opposed to increases in athletic performance output.

Have team strategies been updated in this year's game to further highlight the differences between how teams play or is it more about how teams deploy the strategies in the game that will be more the determining factor? In other words, will we notice new team strategy options in the coaching menus or is the focus more on making the current strategies actually stand out more?

To elaborate even further, is there any chance of a PP option that's basically like "Feed X Player the puck in the slot or at the point" to ensure the Ovechkins or Draisaitls of the world are the focal point on a PP? On top of that, just to use one example, the Capitals with Ovechkin obviously try to run things through him at the point, but does their other PP unit act differently?

The strategy changes in NHL 26 are connected mostly from a perspective of player tendencies, as opposed to the playbooks themselves being altered. We wanted to build distinct and unique behaviors that we could assign to individual players, creating signature play styles that connect the in-game personas to the real life counterparts. Our existing playbooks also help in creating a stage for the tendencies to shine. The Ovi example you shared will come to fruition by AI teammates being aware of Ovi’s tendencies and X-Factors, resulting in them wanting to get him the puck if the situation presents itself.

Ovi having the Slap Shot tendency alongside the One Tee X-Factor means that when he gets the puck he will prioritize shooting in the right situations. Those right situations are important to call out because, just like real-life Ovi, even though he loves to light the lamp, if there is a better hockey play to make, such as passing to a more wide open teammate, that outcome will occur. This helps to make tendencies not feel robotic or too repetitive, which would not be authentic.

So more of what you will see is differences on the ice as opposed to changes in the strategy menus, but we see tons of opportunities with NHL EDGE as we go forward as a franchise, including areas such as the team strategies themselves.

One of the main focuses in this year's game is on AI players standing out for what they do in real life. The example that was discussed that got me most excited was about Draisaitl's spot on the PP and how he'll rip one-timers from those sharp angles on the right side of the ice. How are tendencies like that being implemented on a player-by-player basis? Are these tendencies for how they shoot or preferences for where they like to be on the ice visualized somewhere in an Edit Player screen or anything like that? Are the tendencies the major thing driving how these players think on the ice? Will we be able to build a "fake" Draisaitl and his tendencies via attributes, traits, abilities, or anything along those lines?

To put it another way, how are you getting the AI players like Ovechkin to actually be in the right spots now and making teams themselves gear their whole PP around something like feeding Ovechkin shots at the point?

Similar to the previous question, much of what you describe above comes through in the tendency system which has been built into the player database. When a player is assigned a unique offensive or defensive tendency, these will be front of mind for them to lean into when the right situation presents itself. Hockey itself is a very emergent game and situations on the ice are always changing, but if the right moment presents itself, such as Draisaitl having the puck in a “SHARP ANGLE SHOOTING” area, then he may decide to rip it from that spot to try and surprise the goalie. But, because he also has passing tendencies from his “TAPE TO TAPE” X-Factor, don’t be surprised if he feeds a teammate backdoor from the same spot the next time down the ice.

You can think of all of this as situational awareness based on what these Superstars are great at in the NHL, and if the situation presents itself they will lean into the tendencies that they are known for. The tendencies are not visualized anywhere in the edit player screens, but you will notice aspects as you play. For example, when driving down the boards on Anaheim’s Radko Gudas or Jacob Trouba, expect to be greeted with the body more often than a poke check. X-Factors also contain tendencies, so those would be the most visible areas to get a sense for tendencies. Someone with QUICK RELEASE will have a tendency to fire wrist shots more often, another player with WHEELS will have a tendency to hustle with and without the puck more often and use that speed to take advantage of odd-man breaks as well as chase down players on the back check.

Somewhat along those same lines, if real life data isn't available for created players, is the uniqueness of those players driven mostly by tendencies? In other words, will there be chances for drafted players to have very specific tendencies that they come into the league with?

Any created players within Franchise Mode will be created with tendencies and the potential for X-Factors based on how they are generated. So for players who love to play through many years in Franchise Mode, they can do so knowing that as current NHL players retire the new rookies generated will come into the experience with tendencies. We have also made sure that coverage occurs across all of the leagues in our game.

Speaking of the tendencies, it's stated there will be 22 at launch, will we be able to see all these tendencies somewhere in the Edit Player screen?

The list itself does not appear anywhere in the game in terms of a screen, but I am happy to share them here for our community to take in and digest.

We have a collection of shooting tendencies. The behaviors associated are present when the situation provides a chance for the player to use this tendency — should they have it. If they do have it, there is a high likelihood they will shoot the puck in the manner listed.

Shooting Tendencies

• Slap Shot 

• Wrist Shot

• Back Hand Shot

• One Handed Shot

• One Timer Shot

• Net Front Shot

• Sharp Angle Shot

• Opportunistic Shot (Fire Through Traffic)

There are a few skating specific tendencies, again crafted to help bring player behavior to life. These revolve around trying to beat a defender one on one with a well timed deke, or driving to the front of the net with or without the puck offensively. Another one, which I mentioned earlier is the WHEELS X-Factor. AI players with this assigned to them will hustle more often on both sides of the puck.

Skating Tendencies

• 1 on 1 Dekes

• Drive Net Front

• WHEELS Hustle

Passing-wise, we have five unique tendencies, which again are situational and come to life when the right opportunity presents itself during the flow of gameplay.

Passing Tendencies

• Bank Passes - Using the boards situationally to pass around defenders

• Stretch Passes - Seen in the defensive end to set up forwards flying the zone

• Risky Passes - Players will try and make passes through tight areas 

• Breakout Passes - Players with this will start the PP rush by carrying and moving the puck

• Playmaker Passes - Players with this will be PP pass distributors

The last category is on the defensive side of the puck and how players will look at attacking opposing players in various situations.

Checking Tendencies

• Hip Check - Players with this will lean more into hip checks situationally

• Body Check - Players with this will use the body more often than poke checks

• Stick Check - Players will poke check more often than use the body

• Gap Control - Players will try and maintain space between themselves and the puck carrier

• Expanded Stick Check - Players will use the poke check in a wider range of situations

• Bodycheck Forecheck - Players will throw the body more in forechecking situations

• Bodycheck Support - Players will be more physical in situations where battles for the puck are taking place. 

As for both tendencies and abilities, do you think these systems are going to be scalable moving forward to continue to add more to each system? I've been impressed by the traits system in Madden 26 so far, and while I know you can't speak for that game, I just mention it to say I'm wondering if you have plans to add more to these systems. It seems like they could really be a linchpin that give some uniqueness to AI players, and that could help them act more like their counterparts we watch every night during the real season.

The main thing we want to preserve as we go forward is ensuring that what we add in these areas creates meaningful differences to gameplay. Similar to how we reshaped the X-Factor system this year by condensing the list into a truly game-impacting lineup, we want to continue with that philosophy going forward. If the opportunity to expand these areas meshes with our approach, then we definitely will look to expand.

In the past, I think a criticism a lot of us have had with the NHL series was not that the gameplay itself was bad, it just felt same-y game to game. In this case, I'm more talking about franchise mode/playing the CPU, but did you come into this year sort of trying to think about how to make AI teams and players feel different so the "grind" of an 82-game season felt more unique night to night?

This has been a journey we have been on at least since I joined the franchise, and I have a ton of commitment to getting this nailed for the NHL series. A great sports game, from my perspective, should be like eating your favorite movie snack; you just want one more game, but before you know it, you’ve played ten more games. And that comes from each game truly feeling different from one another. Any sports game that feels recipe-driven can be fatiguing over time and hurt that compulsive feel.

We did a ton of side-by-side comparisons with NHL 25, both playing against the AI and watching AI vs. AI games, and we have really created significant variability game to game with NHL 26. Players will notice very different AI behaviors from much of what we have discussed in this interview and game to game. Expect the unexpected, which should make it easier to have that one more game [feel].

Somewhat along those same lines, I think a lot of the time -- especially in an online setting -- we pretty quickly realize what methods lead to goals and which ways do not. So sort of returning to the Draisaitl example, is there any concern that even if you get teams/players playing more like themselves via stuff like those sharp angle Draisatl shots or Ovechkin one-timers, that those shots won't actually go in enough because they end up not being the "meta" ways to score?

I know it's a hard balance, but I guess I'm just curious that as you tweak goalies and do everything else to make the players act more like their real selves do you have any concern that the game won't end up rewarding you for that "realism" so to speak and people will shy away from trying to mimic the real tactics or shots because they're not leading to enough positive results.

The Crease Control Goalie System is another great addition to NHL 26. It will be another aspect that contributes to the compulsive nature of the game this year. The goalies will be up to the task in front of them with new abilities allowing them to adapt to situations better and properly adjust to the changing direction of the puck, thanks to new branching animations.

In terms of how the goalies interact with everything we have discussed today, as you said, there is a balance to all of these components working together. As I mentioned earlier, tendencies are situational, so even if Draisaitl is low on the goal line, it doesn’t mean that he will always shoot just like in real life. And with our goalie system also factoring in aspects such as the goalie's fatigue, every shot he does take from low in the zone will be a different scenario, so outcomes will not be predictable, just like in the real NHL.

So, sometimes Leon will beat the goalie from his spot, sometimes the goalie will win the duel, and sometimes he will opt to pass or move with the puck. From a PVP perspective, our goal is to have a gameplay experience with no exploits or golden paths so that players are rewarded for playing good hockey and not manipulating the experience.

Lastly, I've been stoked to see how you guys are giving players certain unique animations based on abilities. Are unique animations solely going to be based on abilities, or do you think the system is flexible enough in the future where you can start tagging individual players with more signature animations as well (assuming it's not too cost-prohibitive -- and not eating up too many development hours to get that granular)?

For NHL 26, unique animations are built into the specific X-Factors with visual differences being features within each one, such as WHEELS having a unique hustle animation and QUICK RELEASE having a faster unique shot release animation. We do see opportunities in the future to further develop this, with skating styles being a good example for this, as they can be very unique depending on the skater.

I want to thank the EA NHL development team once again for taking the time to do this interview (and the PR folks for helping to set it up). As a former sports game dev, I know how rough these final weeks can be while crushing bugs and trying to get ready for launch, and so taking time out of their busy schedules to answer these questions means a lot.

Until next time y’all. And, as always, thanks for reading.

-Chase