Summary

  • NHL 25 is introducing major improvements to Franchise Mode, including a visual overhaul and enhanced contract negotiations.
  • The game will feature a major upgrade to the player conversation system, allowing players to communicate with their team and coaches throughout the course of a season.
  • EA Sports is also making fixes to NHL 25's presentation, in-game AI and movement, and plenty more with the newest iteration in the annual hockey franchise.

NHL 25 has unveiled a whole host of changes coming to the popular Franchise Mode with the release of the newest iteration of the annual hockey game. Throughout recent weeks, EA Sports has been slowly revealing plenty of updates coming to the 2024-25 season game for the annual franchise. NHL 25 is making a number of improvements to its gameplay, with the touted "Ice-Q" system offering improved teammate and opponent AI, enhanced skating and puck handling mechanics, and more realistic collisions. Now, one of the franchise's most popular game modes is getting a huge boost.

While game modes like Hockey Ultimate Team and World of Chel serve as the main form of online play, Franchise Mode has been one of the NHL series' most popular offline modes. Franchise Mode allows players to take full control of a team by making trades, editing and adjusting the team's lines, and acting as a general manager. Franchise Mode has often seen updates to its core gameplay, with past games adding a coaching system, line chemistry, and more. However, the game mode looks to be receiving some of its biggest changes yet in NHL 25.

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The newest "Deep Dive" trailer from EA Sports is giving fans a full look at all the changes coming to Franchise Mode in NHL 25. Franchise Mode will benefit from a complete visual overhaul in NHL 25, offering quick access to player and team statistics, box scores for past games, and more. NHL 25 will introduce a major rework to the game's contract system, finally giving fans the option to use "no-movement" and "no-trade" clauses alongside improved contract negotiations with players. The new contracts will also feature "modified" trade clauses, with in-game players giving the GM a list of accepted teams.

NHL 25 Details New Franchise Mode Features

The player conversation system is also the subject of a major rework in NHL 25, both for keeping team morale up and signing new players. NHL 25 players will now be able to negotiate contracts with free agents, using the conversation to work out details ranging from salary and contract length to expected team role. The conversation system will also be used to communicate with the team's coach, ranging from setting preferred positions for certain players to adjusting a coach's scheme. NHL 25 is currently scheduled to launch on October 4.

NHL 25's significant improvements to Franchise Mode follow plenty of other notable changes coming with the new game. EA Sports is making several fixes to the game's presentation, offering multiple new camera angles and the new "Grudge Match" system for tracking important matchups. The developer is also continuing to reveal more about the game, with further announcements expected to come in the two weeks before the game's launch. NHL 25 looks to provide a sizable upgrade to its predecessor when it launches next month.

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NHL 25 Tag Page Cover Art

NHL 25
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Sports
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Systems
PlayStation-1 Xbox-1
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Released
October 4, 2024
ESRB
Everyone 10+ // Mild Violence
Developer(s)
EA Vancouver
Publisher(s)
EA
Engine
Frostbite
Multiplayer
Online Multiplayer, Local Multiplayer, Online Co-Op, Local Co-Op
Franchise
NHL
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WHERE TO PLAY

SUBSCRIPTION
DIGITAL
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EA SPORTS™ NHL® 25 is powered by ICE-Q, a new gameplay intelligence system that gives you the time and space to control every inch of the ice. Next-Gen Vision Control allows you to walk the blue line, square up to the puck carrier, stay locked on goal, and much more. Empowered AI completely overhauls Chel’s CPU player system, helping them execute authentic plays with a refreshed playbook that improves powerplays and opens up the ice for better overall positioning and offensive opportunities. Reactive Actions utilizes a series of new animations to make skaters more responsive in critical situations, increasing their urgency, collision avoidance, and reliability. ICE-Q is true hockey intelligence.

Plus, the addition of a revamped Franchise Mode experience, a brand-new WOC Live Events structure, HUT Wildcard Mode, and a simplified, single-path XP progression shared across HUT kicks Chel’s game modes up a notch. Upping the ante even further on presentation, the all-new Grudge Match System keeps track of the competitive history between teams across all major online and offline modes and enhances series with special X-Factors that are earned in previous matchups against rival teams. Finally, the introduction of Sapien Technology to the franchise takes character likenesses to a whole other level. Like the Hughes Brothers, NHL 25 is next-gen hockey.

Genre(s)
Sports