The Madden franchise returns to PC this year, but what about Nintendo Switch? It’s not happening. Producer Ben Haumiller told GameSpot today at the EA Play event ahead of E3 2018 that while Madden 19 isn’t coming to Switch, future instalments could.
“We always think about every platform out there,” he said. “It’s really a decision of what’s best for Madden and us as EA and where we’re going.”
2017’s Madden 18 also skipped Nintendo Switch, but another EA Sports game–FIFA 18–came to the hybrid console that year. FIFA 19 is also scheduled to hit Switch, so it’s a bit of a bummer for American football fans to see the Madden franchise skip the console two years in a row.
In potentially more positive news, Haumiller said EA Sports has “always” evaluated bringing Madden to new platforms such as Switch. He suggested that if the Switch’s install base grows big enough, EA would more seriously consider bringing the game there.
“You never rule out getting you game in front of players. you want to go where everyone is. We’d never rule it out,” he said. “We just don’t have any current plans right now.”
It is understandable that EA would launch FIFA for Switch before any other sports franchises given the global appeal of soccer relative to the America-centric nature of football. While FIFA 18 did come to Switch, it was not the best-looking or most feature-rich version of the game. GameSpot’s FIFA 18 Switch review scored it a 5/10, compared to 7/10 for the PS4/Xbox One editions.
Haumiller didn’t give a specific reason for why Madden 19 isn’t coming to Switch. Like last year’s game, Madden 19 runs on the Frostbite engine, which also powers the new FIFA games. FIFA 18 for Switch, however, used a modified game engine.
In other Madden news, EA Sports told us to that Madden 19 will not address the NFL’s controversial new kneeling policy.
