Electronic Arts revealed its plans to include the Professional Women's Hockey League in NHL 25 in a future update by adding six teams from the league.
The update is set to arrive sometime in December 2024 and will feature the Boston Fleet, Minnesota Frost, Montreal Victoire, New York Sirens, Ottawa Charge, and Toronto Sceptres. They will also become playable in the game in various modes.
Professional Women's Hockey League
The sports franchise has been working to include more women's leagues and female players in the spotlight in the latest installments.
The first time that women's teams first appeared in the series was in 2022 with NHL 22. Last year's NHL 23 also showcased Olympic gold medalist Sarah Nurse on its cover.
The December update will also come alongside the PWHL partnership. NHL 25 will also be introducing an NHL Arcade mode this Friday.
The game is expected to get a variety of new content tied to the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off event early next year, according to Engadget.
The addition of PWHL teams in NHL 25 comes despite the game already letting players create their own female characters in the Be a Pro Mode. The update comes as the second season of the PWHL is set to start later this month.
One of the reasons that NHL 25 did not include the women's league at launch was that the teams had only recently announced their new names and jerseys. The latter played their first season using just city names.
NHL 25 Update
When Electronic Arts adds the PWHL teams to NHL 25, it will be a complete experience with their official uniforms, a full season, as well as the Walter Cup finals.
EA NHL franchise senior producer Chris Haluke said that some of the female professionals joined them onsite at the NHL 25 community day, Polygon said.
It seems like the women were very excited to be a part of the event and relayed stories of them playing the franchise. Now that they have their likeness in NHL 25, it was something that they were excited to see.
PWHL senior vice president of business operations Amy Scheer said that their partnership with EA Sports was a strategic decision. This was because it opened new doors to elevate women's hockey across all levels.
She added that through the collaboration, they will develop in-game and out-of-game experiences that can strengthen the bond between their teams, players, and fans.
This will hopefully bring the PWHL closer to the global hockey community, according to Sports Illustrated.
