Electronic Arts’ next entry for its NHL game franchise is still set for release this year, as fans might have feared its delay to 2021.
In the past couple of weeks, the gaming community saw a glimpse of the upcoming EA sports games such as FIFA 21 and Madden 21, but little for NHL 21. An update of the next NHL entry during the EA Play was also absent.
EA clarified any forum chatter about the game getting delayed to next year due to the pandemic, via a recent blog post.
NHL 21 coming this October
Based on the recent announcement, EA is just pushing the NHL 21 a month back. They are just going to shift the “usual September window to October.”
Similar to many games slated for this year, the COVID-19 pandemic and the global quarantine state have forced many releases to get delayed. This was also the reason given by EA, as the work-from-home transition has impacted its game development.
Nevertheless, despite the circumstances, the devs were still able to bring the game development on track. As the Che Team expressed:
“This transition has been very successful and we’re happy to say that the game is on track and feature-complete against our original vision, we just need a few extra weeks to do the polish, fine tuning and bug fixing. We know some of you will be disappointed by this news, but our goal with NHL 21 is to deliver an experience that will be worth the wait.”
No next-gen ports and first look event this August
Furthermore, the blog post also included a few important announcements, which is the upcoming first look event slated late in August.
Unfortunately, the details about this event are scarce, with the devs promising to give more details once the reveal date is near.
What is clear for console users, on the other hand, is that NHL 21 won’t be made available on the upcoming next-gen consoles—the PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series X. The only way to have the game playing on there is via forward compatibility.
So the hockey simulation game will only be made available for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One X.
Moreover, EA is “complementary HUT packs,” which can be redeemed within the in-game store and WOC bags—redeemable in players’ inventory. This is EA’s way of showing gratitude to their avid player base and their dedication to the game.
Meanwhile, UFC 4 is coming to the console platform—on PS4 and Xbox One X—on August 14.
Featured image courtesy of EA SPORTS NHL/Twitter