NHL 23, the next annual release in EA’s long-running hockey-simulation game series has been given a launch date for October 14, 2022 and it’ll be coming to both PS5 and PS4.
The news came with a reveal trailer, and a post on PlayStation Blog revealing one of the cover athletes to be none other than Anaheim Ducks centre Trevor Zegras.
In addition to Zegras, Team Canada forward Sarah Nurse will also be featured on the cover, making Nurse the first female player ever to be on the cover of an NHL game. Zegras for his part, is the youngest ever to do it.
EA also revealed that it’ll introduce mixed men’s and women’s teams for Ultimate Team in NHL 23, another first for the franchise.
Cross-platform matchmaking will also be coming to the new NHL, though it doesn’t seem like it’ll arrive at launch, as EA specifies it’ll come in “an update launching later this year.”
There also seems to be some improvements made to puck and stick handling, with “last-ditch shots” now possible thanks to new Stumble Actions.
EA also says that goalie AI has been further enhanced this year, to make “getting the puck in the net even harder.”
You can check out the reveal trailer for yourself, here.
Pre-order bonuses for the game’s X-Factor Edition were also revealed, and if you pre-order before September 16, you’ll also get a HUT Team Builder Choice Pack to kick start your team.
You can check out the other rewards for pre-ordering the X-Factor Edition for yourself, here.
- Dual Entitlement
- 3-Days Early Access
- 4600 NHL Points
- X-Factor Women HUT Choice Pack (1 of 4)
- HUT X-Factor Player Choice Pack (1 of 18)
- HUT X-Factor Power-Up Starter Pack (Instant)
- 5 World of Chel X-Factor Zone Ability Unlocks (Instant)
- Signed Sarah Nurse World of Chel Jersey (Digital)
- Be A Pro X-Factor Slot Unlocks (2), XP Boost, and Bonus Trait Points
Source – [PlayStation Blog]