We assume fairly few of you are shocked to hear that EA are in fact releasing the annual version of their very popular NHL series, as expected called NHL 23. Still, we always appreciate the announcement of these generally great games.
This year it will be a more inclusive edition not only sporting the first female hockey player ever on the boxart - Sarah Nurse who shares the honor with Trevor Zegras - but also offering the possibility to use players from IIHF Women's National Team with male players in the Hockey Ultimate Team (HUT). Nurse herself said this about the honor:
"It is such a tremendous honor to be the first woman on the cover of the EA Sports NHL franchise. Hockey is really for everybody and I'm excited that NHL 23 is celebrating the diversity and inclusivity of the sport. I hope that the increased representation of women in such a prominent game will inspire young girls everywhere to know that there is a place for them in hockey."
We're also promised gameplay enhancements thanks to the Frostbite engine, cross-play matchmaking (for the first time) and "over 500 new Last Chance Puck Movement gameplay animations". Check out the reveal trailer below, some screenshots as well as the official boxart.
The game will be released for Playstation 4/5, Xbox One and Xbox Series S/X on October 14 and if you want to compare different editions and read about pre-ordering bonuses - you can do that here. EA also reminds us on Twitter that it will be available "for 10 full hours starting October 11th with the early access trial" if you have EA Play or Game Pass Ultimate.