Sports game release season is officially in full swing, with NHL 20 launching today on Playstation 4 and Xbox One consoles through the EA Sports division of Electronic Arts Inc. [stock_market_widget type="inline" template="generic" color="default" assets="EA" markup="(NASDAQ: {symbol} {currency_symbol}{price} ({change_pct}))" api="yf"].
NHL 20 marks the 29th overall entry in the series and includes revamped commentary and broadcast systems, as well as the addition of the Real Player Motion (RPM) mechanic for enhanced AI and player movement on the ice.
Celebrating NHL 20’s digital and physical launch this morning, the game’s Executive Producer Sean Ramjagsingh issued this statement:
In addition to those changes, NHL 20 notably includes the new Eliminator competitive mode — inspired by the massive popularity explosion of battle royale games like Fortnite and PUBG — which places 81 players into a match all vying for the ultimate #1 spot.
That new mode may be included in eSports events shortly, as the National Hockey League finally entered the competitive gaming realm with the NHL Gaming World Championship back in 2018.
Aside from live events during the finals, fans interact with Championship festivities via mobile devices through the NHL app, as well as major streaming services.
The 2019 World Championship ended back in June, with Matt Gutkoski (known by the handle Top-Shelf-Cookie) winning the finals held at the HyperX Esports Arena in Las Vegas and taking home the $50,000 first prize.
NHL 20 will be the focus of the next Championship season, with registration expected to kick off in March and online open play taking place through April.
On the football front, EA Sports released Madden NFL 20 last month, which just received a major update with a new 5-minute match mode arriving in time for the ongoing Madden Club Championships.
In other eSports gaming release news, the latest WWE branded game is also on the horizon, with next entry WWE 2K20 due to launch for PC and console players on Oct. 22, 2019.
