NHL 25 was recently released, and the game has gathered mixed opinions from players and critics. Many think this is a solid entry in the NHL franchise, but others share the opposite feeling.
I had the chance to talk with NHL 25 Senior Producer, Chris Haluke, and Senior Game Design Director, Mike Inglehart, in a very insightful interview.
We talked about gameplay changes, how the community has received the game, the lack of changes in the Be a Pro mode, and if the beloved GM Connected mode will make a return, among many other things.
Without further ado, let's dive into this great interview.
Gameplay speed has slowed down this year, what was the reasoning behind this change?
Mike Inglehart - "So, with all the changes we did, with the ICE-Q, our new skating system, the empowered AI, and the reactive actions, as we were kinda playing with that, we thought that bringing the game speed down a little allowed the combination of all those things to shine.
NHL 24 was definitely a faster pace game, but I think that with the work that we did with the AI, what we wanted to do was allow people to have a little bit more time to set up, make plays, see the ice if you will.
Whether it's team-based, or they’re driving an entire team themselves, allow players to survey and actually make hockey plays, and command the zone, whether you're breaking out, or controlling a really good attacking shift in the offensive end.
We found that where the speed ended up translated well, and while it brought the speed down a bit, and you know there is some feedback out there that it could have come up a bit, the other overwhelming feedback that we got out of the gate is that the game feels more like hockey than it has in a long time.
So the speed (decrease) was done on purpose, and we think it complemented the ICE-Q features really well."
Gamers are tough to please, how do you feel NHL 25 has been received and are you happy with the feedback so far?
Chris Haluke - " Yeah, we’re thrilled with the initial response. When we think about everything we see, read, and hear, in terms of gameplay advancements, our players, they recognize the fact that they can now better understand how we have multi-year strategies in place, and ICE-Q is complementary to the sustain pressure system of last year.
When it comes to some of the other features, whether is grudge match or Franchise mode, we are getting incredibly positive feedback, and obviously, we are paying attention to everything in terms of community response and feedback.
But yeah, overall, it’s exciting and thrilling, and it’s incredible for us to finally have this game in our player's hands, and we couldn’t be more happy. “
What type of content and updates to the game can players expect throughout the year?
Chris Haluke - “ In terms of what’s coming, we can definitely hint and tease that there are significant content drops coming. Bigger than what we’ve had in the past. There are some incredibly exciting things that we can’t wait for our players to get their hands on.
What were the main reasons for reworking the Franchise mode, and what made this year the right time to do it?
Mike Inglehart - “Obviously NHL is a big game, and there are a lot of different modes. We try to look at what our players are playing and look at what areas could use some love, so to speak, and this year was the right time to focus on Franchise mode.
You could just do a new coat of paint, but that’s not really what we wanted to do. So again, as Chris said, we look at sort of multi-year plans, and this year was the time to strike and go after Franchise, and get it updated with things like the collective bargaining agreement, no trade clauses, no movement clauses, contract negotiations, and improving a lot of the user experiences.
Again, the response has been awesome, and our deep dive video that went out could have probably gone even longer, based on all the details in the mode. It’s landed well, and I think Franchise players, were patient, and they waited, and we are happy with what we were able to bring out for them this year."
GM Connected is one of the most beloved features of the NHL franchise. Is there any hope for the feature to return soon?
Mike Inglehart - "Last year, in NHL 24, Chris and I did a video that was called the talk, where we mentioned that Connected Franchise is kinda the name we are using going forward and that it was something that was on the radar.
We can say that this year we have resources investigating what’s possible there, and we definitely understand the passion that comes with that mode. It’s a mode that I’m personally very passionate about, and we are going to deliver on what we said at the end of NHL 24, we’ve just got to go through this investigation and see where it falls."
A part of the community thinks that the Be a Pro mode hasn't received as many changes as it needed. What do you think about that, and are there any plans to make some big changes to the mode in the next installments?
Chris Haluke - “ I think Be a Pro is something that we certainly know, we hear, and we understand that our community and our fans desperately want some updates, it’s been a while.
Just like everything, we are a curious team, we have lots of conversations, and when the time is right, then that’s when we will go after it, similar to what we did with Franchise this year. “
What were some of the big challenges you faced while creating NHL 25?
Chris Haluke - “You know, we’ve got a very small team, and we’ve got a passionate community of hockey fans that want it all. So for us, it’s a difficult process to prioritize what we want to do each and every year. Thinking about what our players want most.
So for me, that’s a difficult, yet exhilarating, process, of trying to identify what is it that we are going to deliver, and I couldn't be more pleased with the package and offering that we have with NHL 25.”
Mike Inglehart - " Chirs and I work closely with the other leaders, and trying to just maximize every minute of every day. To put as much quality into the game as possible.
A year goes by very quickly, and as Chris pointed out, it’s great that we have a passionate community. There are tons of wants and needs that are out there, and we want to be able to deliver all of them. So just trying to maximize every minute of every day, to put as much love and quality into the game. It’s a good challenge, but it’s a constant challenge every time we come to work."
How do you distinguish between constructive and destructive feedback?
Mike Inglehart - Mike Inglehart - “ Before coming to EA I spent 11 years working in live service gaming, and I’ll say some good lessons were learned. One is that you have to balance player feedback with how the game is performing.
Even with a gameplay feature, I will use skill-based one-timers because I know there is some feedback out there on that right now, you need to try to look at all the different types of feedback.
I don’t want to just oversample one piece of feedback, and potentially overtune or undertune something for a small audience, and potentially damage the product.
Also, we put a lot of different analytics in our games, so we can look at things like, how often are skill-based one-timers converted, and does the actual data in the game lines up with the feedback that we are getting.
So you need to look at your qualitative data, which is your feedback, and your quantitative data, which is how the game is actually performing, and then figure it out.
The good thing is, with NHL 25 compared to 24, last year with the sustained pressure, and the goalie fatigue, we definitely had bigger problems to solve with the game being unbalanced.
I’m happy that this year, we have feedback on some things, but is far quieter, compared to the NHL 24 launch. But we did the most gameplay patches we have ever done in NHL 24, so players can know that we are actively listening.
I converse with people daily from the community, we look at data daily, and we are going to make the right decisions at the right time, based on how the game is performing, and the feedback that we are getting from players.”
We hope this interview was entertaining, and answered all the questions you had about NHL 25, and the future of the NHL franchise.