The NHL is planning on diving into the esports world, with the announcement that could come in the next couple months involving EA Sports’ NHL video game series, according to commissioner Gary Bettman.
“Our goal is to unveil something before the end of the regular season which would have a series of competitions using the EA game, and we’ll have more details when we’re ready to launch,” Bettman told reporters during NHL All-Star Weekend festivities in Tampa.
The NHL would be joining the NFL, NBA and MLS as the professional sports leagues in the U.S. to host major competitions. The NFL next month is concluding its first year of the Madden NFL Club Championship, which caters to casual gamers. The NBA 2K League will begin play later this year after holding a draft for players who will be salaried, and so will the recently-announced eMLS as teams begin to announce player signings.
Bettman said last year that the NHL was talking to EA about continuing to develop the video game and that he could envision an esports league that would involve every NHL franchise. Whether the NHL’s esports league would include all 31 teams at the start remains to be seen, according to a report from Sports Gamers Online.