NHL 27 Is Bringing Back ‘Connected Franchise’ For First Time Since The Xbox 360 Era

Another year brings another entry in EA Sports’ NHL series, and there are two big highlights with this latest edition that’s dropping on September 11th – it includes revamped presentation and the long-awaited return of Connected Franchise.

NHL 27 will mark the first time since the Xbox 360 era that the series has incorporated a Connected Franchise mode, which is the term for playing an online season with other people. It was originally removed due to a supposed lack of interest shortly after NHL 14, but fans have been clamouring for its return ever since.

Connected Franchise lets you create your league, build your team, manage your roster, and spark new and old rivalries with friends across a full online season. With up to 32 human-controlled teams, league customization, flexible scheduling, roster management, and commissioner tools, your group has the foundation to run the league your way.

Meanwhile, presentation is another area that’s come in for significant criticism over the past few years — I mentioned that they’d “really struggled on the presentation front with this series” in my review of NHL 26 for Pure Xbox — but that’s now also being addressed with “Authentic Atmospheres across all 32 NHL arenas”.

There’s even a couple of new commentators thrown in the mix:

Experience Authentic Atmospheres across all 32 NHL arenas, each designed to capture the sound, spectacle, and identity of its home team. Real-world goal songs, new pregame introductions, and a fully overhauled crowd bring every building closer to its real-world counterpart.

A fully refreshed broadcast package featuring John Buccigross and Darren Pang brings new voices, modern broadcast graphics, updated visuals, and more contextual storytelling to every matchup, giving games a cleaner, more authentic NHL feel from puck drop to final horn.

Honestly, while I don’t think the Frostbite Engine lends to an amazing game of hockey, I’ve been much more disappointed in the off-ice aspects of NHL in recent years, and these improvements sound like exactly what I’ve been hoping for.

Fingers crossed, eh? NHL 27 will be playable for 10 hours as part of your Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription in early September if you’re interested, and it’s available to pre-order now on the Xbox Store ahead of September 11th.

Will you be facing off with NHL 27 in a few months’ time? Tell us down in the comments section below.