NHL 23 - Which Version Should I Get?

SportsGamers,

With the 5th generation of consoles being out for almost two years at this point, after careful consideration and community polls we've made the decision to move to Gen 5 consoles starting with ECL '23 Winter, as announced in late July in our article about the NHL 23 Technical Test. 

This means in all simplicity, that future tournaments organized by SportsGamer.GG will be played on Gen 5 versions (PlayStation 5 & Xbox Series X|S) of NHL 23, but we will be gauging interest for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One tournaments, and external partners can still choose to host PlayStation 4 or Xbox One tournaments at SportsGamer.GG. 

What it all comes down to then is, which version should you get in order to make sure you can participate in all SportsGamer.GG events?

Here's a quick reminder of how the cross-play feature on NHL 23 will work:


Players can play against any opposing team within their console generation, but mixed teams will not be possible. Therefore, teams must be made up of only one console generation and type in order for cross-play to work. However, keep in mind that EA Sports hasn't yet announced when exactly the cross-play feature will be implemented to the game, and it is possible that tournaments launched before then will not be able to support teams from the other platform. For ECL '23 Winter specifically, the preferred platform of choice will be PlayStation 5. We predict Xbox Series X|S teams will be able to join in on the ECL action once cross-play is confirmed to have been added to NHL 23, so hopefully by the ECL '23 Spring season at the latest.

NHL 23 features two versions of the game available for Pre-order. Players will be able to opt for the standard version or the X-Factor Edition on any console. When opting which version to go for, keep in mind that while NHL 23 will include cross-play for consoles within the same generation, it does not feature cross-play between console generations. If you are planning on upgrading to a next generation console over the course of the NHL 23 life cycle, you should definitely look to go for the X-Factor Edition in order to secure double entitlement without having to buy both editions separately.

The bottom line is, if you want to be able to participate in all upcoming action, we recommend still purchasing the X-Factor edition, getting you the double-entitlement. However, our own tournaments and leagues will in the future be ran on the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S platforms.

Here are the NHL 23 Editions available for pre-order including the pre-order perks:

Standard Edition

- HUT X-Factor Women's choice pack
- 5 World of Chel X-Factor Zone ability unlocks
- Be a Pro X-Factor slot unlocks (2), XP boost and bonus trait points
- Signed Sarah Nurse World of Chel jersey

X-Factor Edition

- Double entitlement (Unlocks the game for both Gen 4 & Gen 5 consoles)
- 3-Days early access
- 4600 NHL Points
- HUT X-Factor Player choice pack
- HUT X-Factor Power-up starter pack
- HUT X-Factor Women's choice pack
- 5 World of Chel X-Factor Zone ability unlocks
- Be a Pro X-Factor slot unlocks (2), XP boost and bonus trait points
- Signed Sarah Nurse World of Chel jersey