NHL 25 Release Date and Cover Athletes Revealed

With hockey season looming, EA Sports has officially revealed the NHL 25 cover athletes and tons of new details about the latest installment in this franchise. They continue to be the kings of hockey gaming, and it looks like NHL 25 is making even more leaps forward into the future.

New features are headed to Franchise Mode, and the whole game is getting a boost as character likenesses for every player step up to a new level. We now know the NHL 25 release date, and players who pre order the deluxe edition will get the longest early access period we've seen yet.

NHL 25 Release Date

We've now learned the NHL 25 release date is October 4, 2024. This is right in line with the release timing they've used in recent years, and it'll surely add to the excitement as the puck drops on another NHL season.

The first regular season NHL games of 2024 are set for October 4 and 5 when the New Jersey Devils and Buffalo Sabres clash at the O2 Arena in Prague as part of the 2024 NHL Global Series Czechia. The action will reach North America on October 8, and then the 1,312-game regular season will be fully underway.

NHL 25 Cover Athletes

While we saw a multi-athlete cover as recently as NHL 23 when Trevor Zegras shared the honor alongside Sarah Nurse, this year boasts a rare first. Three siblings take the spotlight for the first time as Quinn, Jack, and Luke Hughes are all NHL 25 cover athletes.

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

“It was a very proud moment for all of us when we saw the Deluxe cover,” said Jack Hughes of the New Jersey Devils. “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.”

“Being on the cover with my brothers is incredibly exciting,” said Luke Hughes of the New Jersey Devils. “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.”