Online franchise mode added to EA Sports NHL 27

Some new features are coming to the latest edition of one of the best sports franchises in video game history.

On Thursday, EA Sports announced the new features coming to NHL 27. This will be the this will be the 36th edition of the famed sports franchise that was launched in 1991.

The biggest addition to this year’s game is Connected Franchise, an online franchise mode. Players can create a league that they can invite friends and other users to play in, with the option to include up to 32 human-controlled teams. Flexible schedules, commissioner tools, and other settings will make the online mode more unique than ever before.

Another new feature of this year’s game is more authentic atmospheres inside each of the 32 NHL arenas. Each team will have its unique traditions, identities, and energy placed inside the game, including goal songs, chants, and other details that make the in-arena experience as authentic as ever before.

There are also some changes to the broadcast setup for the games. Not only will there be a more modern feel with enhanced graphics, cleaner, updated camerawork, and better on-screen storytelling, but there will also be a new broadcast team calling the games. After years of having James Cybulski doing play-by-play and Cheryl Pounder on color commentary, with Ray Ferraro before her, ESPN play-by-play broadcaster John Buccigross will be joined by longtime TV analyst and former NHL goaltender Darren Pang, using updated play-by-play and analysis to hopefully better capture the emotion of the game as well as the speed with more natural reactions and flow.

In NHL 26, ICE-Q and NHL Edge data were used to better individualize each player’s talents and habits. This year, teams’ playbooks have been added to the game, giving each team a more intricate setup that fans and users alike can exploit on a game-by-game basis. That means the Florida Panthers you see in the game will replicate the Florida Panthers you see on the ice in real life, and the high-flying Edmonton Oilers will be using their speed both in reality and in the virtual world.

Hockey Ultimate Team has a little update as well, along with building a roster through your own little “dynasty.” There’s an introduction of authentic NHL coaches and playbooks. The coaches are expected to add a new layer to the team-building method that has made Hut one of the most popular features in the game’s history.

Fans can pre-order the Deluxe Edition now, with consumers being able to play the new game as early as Sept. 11.