EA Sports has announced a multi-year deal with the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) to bring the upstart league’s players and teams to NHL 25.
The PWHL comes to NHL 25 on December 5 with all six teams–these include the Boston Fleet, Minnesota Frost, Montréal Victoire, New York Sirens, Ottawa Charge, and Toronto Sceptres.
These teams can be used in Play Now, Online Versus, Shootout, and Seasons. PWHL uniforms will be accessible in World of Chel and Hockey Ultimate Team. EA warned that not all player likenesses will be available right away, saying it will “continue to add more” players over time.
PWHL integration in NHL 25 also includes the Walter Cup–the PWHL’s version of the Stanley Cup.
NHL 25 isn’t the first NHL game to feature women, as this actually began with NHL 22 when EA struck a deal with the International Ice Hockey Federation. Sarah Nurse was on the cover of the following year’s game, NHL 23, alongside Trevor Zegras.
EA’s other sports games have added women over the years, too, now spanning EA Sports FC, UFC, and PGA Tour. The PWHL is now in its second season. The Minnesota Frost won the inaugural Walter Cup.
Beyond the introduction of the PWHL, EA is releasing a major update for NHL 25 this holiday, and one of the most exciting pieces of it is the introduction of the NHL Arcade event series. Beginning November 15 through World of Chel, this is an arcade-style, three-versus-three mode featuring a Big Head mode and power-ups like Supershot and Super Speed, along with big and small goalies.
The action takes place in a bespoke rink with no glass and no rules. It’s not quite like the NHL Hitz days of yesteryear, but it might help satisfy the itch.
NHL 25 is also introducing the 4 Nations Face-Off in 2025. This is a round-robin tournament featuring players from the USA, Canada, Finland, and Sweden. There will be a dedicated mode for this, and each nation’s uniforms will come to the game across a variety of modes. The real-world 4 Nations Face-Off takes place in February 2025, so the update for NHL 25 will likely go live around then.
Additionally, EA is trying to lure players back to NHL 25 by offering free content to everyone who simply logs in between November 15 and January 2. Everyone who does so will get six vanity items for the arcade mode, along with a special pack for the Road to 4 Nations content that’s redeemable immediately. Players will also get a PWHL 83 OVR team building choice pack that will become redeemable when the PWHL integration goes live on December 5.