NHL 22 news is scarce with no reveals landing at EA Play Live, but we’re hoping that could change very soon.
Here’s what we know so far about the NHL 22 release date, including news of a potential beta.
Latest – NHL 22 quiet after EA Play Live no-show
Sometimes the biggest piece of news is that there isn’t any, and that’s unfortunately the case so far with NHL 22.
We’ve yet to see even the slightest bit of acknowledgement from EA Sports about the game during EA Play Live or elsewhere, whether that’s with a teaser trailer or even game announcement.
There was a potential beta spotted, which we have more details on here, but that’s really been the only NHL 22 crumb so far.
This could just be caused by EA Sports waiting for a specific time or keeping their focus on FIFA and Madden for the time being, but hopefully things will change soon and we’ll hear more about NHL 22.
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NHL 22 Release Date
While nothing is official yet, we expect the NHL 22 release date will be October 12, 2021.
While previous NHL games have followed a September release date, we saw that change with NHL 21 being released on Tuesday, October 13, 2020.
That delay was likely affected by the global pandemic and adjustments in game development, and may have also been due to the NHL season itself being delayed.
This year, the NHL season is actually set to begin on October 12, which would again follow the Tuesday release date from last year, and feels like a perfect time to drop the title.
With the Stanley Cup and NHL Draft now in the rear-view mirror, we’ll hopefully be due for some news soon about the announcement of NHL 22 and confirmed release date.
Beta leaked ahead of EA Play Live
While nothing came of EA Play Live, we’ve finally got some NHL 22 news as the beta has reportedly leaked according to the Twitter account @PlaystationSize.
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Little is known so far, but the beta is apparently code-named Water Buffalo on PS4, and the counterpart for PS5 has been spotted with the name Ackee Beta.
Demo or EA Play Trial
We were initially holding out hope for an NHL 22 demo as soon as July, but the lack of news seems to point to the most likely drop being an EA Play Trial.
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The 10-hour EA Play Trial has remained standard for EA Sports titles, and based on the timing they’re using for Madden 22, a trial of NHL 22 would probably arrive on October 4, 2021.
That would put it out just one week prior to the currently expected release date, giving players a chance to test out the game before committing to purchasing it or placing a pre order.
Pre Order Early Access
While not confirmed just yet, we can likely expect Early Access to be available for players who pre order a special edition of NHL 22.
EA Sports is already offering three days Early Access for MVP and Dynasty Edition pre orders of Madden 22 and four days Early Access for Ultimate Edition pre orders of FIFA 22.
It would be odd for them to break that formula with NHL 22, which would likely see a special edition grant three to four days of Early Access if players opt to pre order.
Next Gen Platforms
After NHL 21 opted out of going next gen, there’s plenty of excitement to see how things change this year with the first next gen games in the series.
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If the leak mentioned above about the NHL 22 beta rings true, it does confirm what we already suspected in that NHL 22 will release on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.
As for what features it’ll bring along for the ride, that much remains completely unclear, though we do hope they adapt something similar to the Dynamic Gameday mechanic coming to Madden 22.
Source: https://www.realsport101.com/nhl/nhl-22-release-date-delays-demo-pre-release-ea-play-trial/
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