NHL 27 First Details Announced With Reveal Trailer
EA Sports has announced NHL 27, the latest entry in its annual hockey simulation series, releasing September 4 for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. The cover features San Jose Sharks superstar Macklin Celebrini, marking the first time a Sharks player has graced the cover since Owen Nolan appeared on NHL 2001.
The reveal trailer highlighted several new features arriving with this year’s edition. Most significantly, the game introduces an enhanced broadcast presentation, with ESPN’s John Buccigross and TNT’s Darren Pang serving as commentators, alongside new broadcast graphics and in-arena presentation updates that aim to improve the overall viewing experience.
The most notable addition is the return of Connected Franchise mode, which enables online multiplayer seasons with other players. This marks the first time the feature has appeared in an NHL game since 2013’s NHL 14—a gap of over a decade. The absence of online franchise play has been among the most-requested features from the franchise’s fanbase, with players consistently requesting its return across Reddit and EA’s official forums. The return of this mode has generated positive initial response from the community, though some confusion emerged regarding the specific implementation details of the Connected Franchise system.
The announcement underscores EA Sports’ efforts to refresh its annual sports title offerings by reintroducing long-requested community features alongside modernized presentation elements. The combination of enhanced broadcast production quality and the restoration of online franchise gameplay suggests the publisher is responding directly to fan feedback to make NHL 27 a more feature-complete offering than recent entries.