NHL 25’s Cover Is Unlike Anything The Series Has Done In Its 33-Year History

EA Sports has officially announced NHL 25, and for the first time in the series, the game has not one but three cover stars. And these aren’t three all-stars from different teams–they’re the Hughes brothers.

Jack and Luke of the New Jersey Devils, along with Quinn of the Vancouver Canucks, will grace the cover of the NHL 25 Deluxe Edition. Jack stands alone on the cover for the standard edition, while Quinn gets the standard edition cover for Canada and the rest of the world. Luke, sadly for him, doesn’t get his own standalone cover.

“We feel incredibly honored to be on the cover of NHL 25,” Quinn said. “Being featured alongside my brothers is the sort of thing you dream about as a kid but could never imagine happening in real life.”

Jack added: “It reminded us that on the ice, we’re competitors, always learning from each other, but off the ice, we’re brothers who love to play hockey.”

Luke said, “We have a one-of-a-kind hockey story growing up together and now a one-of-a-kind cover. We can’t wait for fans to experience NHL 25.”

In terms of what’s new in NHL 25, EA says the game has a new “logic-driven animation system” that is able to better replicate an authentic NHL experience. One of the pillars is what’s called Next-Gen Vision Control, which is a skating mechanic that gives players more freedom and control on and off the puck. The game also boasts improved AI to help teammates respond more realistically. There are also new “Reactive Actions,” which include new animations for “critical” moments in hockey games.

What’s more, NHL 25 has a new skill-based system for one-timers that will reward players for setting up plays in the right way. Additionally, the game has a unified XP progression system that now is shared across multiple modes in NHL 25.

The game also has what’s called Sapien Technology that includes better-looking hair and beard looks, along with cloth on jerseys more realistically shifting around during games.

And in a change fans might be excited about, the Franchise mode gets more attention in NHL 25, led by the new Franchise Hub that aims to give players a more streamlined way to access the mode. EA only discussed the new additions and changes to NHL 25 at a high level, but the company said it is planning deep dives on all the important elements of the game in the weeks to come before launch.

NHL 25 releases on October 4 for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S (it’s not coming to last-gen platforms this year), with EA Vancouver and EA Bucharest once again handling development.

People who preorder the Deluxe Edition ($100) will get a special perk in the form of seven-day early access, beginning September 27. The Deluxe edition also comes with a variety of in-game extras and bonuses for the Hockey Ultimate Team mode.

Another thing to know about NHL 25 is that, like other EA games, it will have a 10-hour free trial available for EA Play members. Game Pass Ultimate members get the trial, too, since EA Play is included.