EA Sports has officially announced NHL 22, and it delivers some notable changes over last year's game as it properly makes the jump to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S for the first time. Auston Matthews is on the cover once again, following his appearance on the cover for NHL 20.

The biggest thing to know about NHL 22, which releases in October, is that it runs on EA's Frostbite engine, which also powers the Madden and FIFA sports franchises, along with DICE's Battlefield series. The other topline takeaway is that NHL 22 introduces new X-Factor abilities that were popularized in the Madden series to introduce a new layer of strategy on the ice.

EA is saving deep dives on NHL 22's Franchise, Be A Pro, and HUT modes for later, while we'll also have to wait to hear more about what's new for updates to stick controls. This initial announcement is all about high level details, and this starts with X-Factor abilities.