In a completely unexpected move, EA’s NHL 20 has added three new athletes, none of whom actually play professional ice hockey. Through a partnership with apparel company Adidas, EA has brought professional basketball player Kyle Lowry, along with NFL players Adam Thielen and Juju Smith-Schuster, into the newest hockey game.

The players are available as playable characters in NHL 20’s pond hockey mode, NHL Ones. They’re also available in the Hockey Ultimate Team mode and the World of Chel mode.

Lowry, Thielen, and Smith-Schuster also have their own unique apparel in NHL 20, including hoodies, jerseys, and skates, that players can unlock in NHL 20. This apparel can also be purchased in real life from adidas.com.

In Hockey Ultimate Team mode, players can take on each athlete’s Squad Battle challenge to earn their home jersey. These run for a period of one week, beginning now with Thielen’s challenge, then Smith-Schuster’s from November 14-20, and finally Lowry’s from November 21-27.

Go to the NHL 20 website to get all the details about this special crossover promotion. This campaign is part of NHL 20’s ambition to appeal to new players and try new things. The game also has plans to introduce celebrity commentators at some point in the future.

NHL 20 released in September for PS4 and Xbox One. GameSpot’s NHL 20 review scored the game a 9/10, praising its controls and presentation in particular.

Source: GameSpot