NHL 21 Is Arriving Late This Year, And A Reveal Will Happen Next Month

NHL 21 is still coming, EA has announced, but it'll be later than usual. The series, which has traditionally debuted new releases in September, will instead release its latest game in October this year. An exact date has not been announced.

In a post on the game's website, the community team has promised that we'll get a definite release date, a first look, and "plans for the next-gen consoles" in August, and NHL 21 has been confirmed for PS4 and Xbox One. PS5 and Xbox Series X will not receive their own versions, but the game will be playable on those systems through backwards compatibility.

The delay has come due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has slowed work on the game.

"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 post reads. "We know some of you will be disappointed by this news, but our goal with NHL 21 is to deliver an experience that will be worth the wait."

NHL 20 players will also find that free HUT packs have been added to the in-game store, while some WOC bags are now available in inventories, to make up for the longer wait. NHL 20 was superb, so hopes are high for next year's entry.

Some of EA's other sports franchises are going to be cross-gen this year, including Madden NFL 21 and FIFA 21. Meanwhile, the publisher is also returning to UFC this year for UFC 4, which releases August 14.