For the past few months, real-life sports have continued to struggle with how and when, if ever, to re-start their respective leagues. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is beginning to effect digital sports, as well, including NHL 21.
Earlier today, EA Sports announced that NHL 21 will be releasing in October this year.
NHL 21 will be the first game in the franchise to miss its September release window since NHL 98, which released in October of 1997. In their update, EA notes that shifting from in-studio development to working from home is a large cause of the delay.
“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,” the statement said.
Now, when will fans get their first look at the game? Late August, according to the blog post, which promises more details in the coming months.
The update also addresses questions about next-gen consoles. NHL 21 will be a current-gen game, coming to the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One systems. Though the update says that NHL 21 will be forward compatible, it is being developed for current-gen systems.
In more immediate news, EA has added free Hockey Ultimate Team packs to the store. You will find some World of Chel bags in your inventory as well. Just some goodies to compensate for the game’s delay, and to reward supporters of the NHL franchise.
Keep an eye on Sports Gamers Online for NHL 21 updates as we inch closer to October. Hopefully, we’ll see some items on our wishlist soon.