NHL 27 face scans spark backlash as fans question EA Sports’ attention to detail

EA Sports is a billion-dollar company that has been producing a wide variety of video games for more than three decades with a famous slogan of “It’s in the game.” For many hockey fans, that tagline has long been synonymous with the official NHL simulation they buy each year.

However, one thing that seemingly isn’t “in the game” for the company’s latest NHL release has many fans upset: realistic player face scans.

With NHL 27 becoming available to play late last week and the full release coming on Friday, players have taken to social media, sharing screenshots of some of hockey’s biggest stars – and what they actually look like in real life.

While there are a few stars that look similar enough to their virtual counterparts – Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Quinn Hughes, to name a few – many others are either way off and a few are even nightmare-inducing.

“None of these players are real. They can’t hurt you,” one user joked in reply to a Reddit post highlighting some of the images.

“Their eyes all seem way too close together,” another user commented, to which another replied: “Except for Cole Caufield, whose eyes look like they can’t run fast enough away from each other.”

Why visuals in NHL 27 resonate beyond gaming

For the NHL and its clubs, EA’s annual title is more than entertainment. It is one of the most visible global shop windows for the league’s stars, particularly for casual or younger fans who may engage with teams and players first in a virtual arena rather than a real one. The game carries the official licence of the National Hockey League and its players’ association, which means likenesses are part of how the sport is commercially packaged and presented worldwide.

When those likenesses miss the mark, as many fans feel they do in NHL 27, the criticism is not only about graphics. It touches how accurately the sport’s most marketable names are represented and, by extension, how effectively the league and its partners are using one of their key digital platforms to grow hockey’s audience.

Maple Leafs’ stars under the microscope

How do the Maple Leafs look?

Of the Toronto Maple Leafs scans posted on social media, several stand out for all the wrong reasons.

Auston Matthews – who has been a cover star for the game on two occasions – has a moustache that looks closer to Wendel Clark’s than his own facial hair and his hair/hairline is noticeably thicker than in real life.

Visual details matter in this case because Matthews, as one of the league’s most recognisable goal-scorers, is a central figure in both the Maple Leafs’ brand and the NHL’s broader marketing. When his appearance is significantly off in-game, it undercuts the sense that fans are stepping into an accurate simulation of the current league landscape.

A screenshot of William Nylander looks all wrong, prompting one user on X to write: “That is not my William Nylander” with crying emojis.

As for John Tavares, one screenshot from in-game action showed the former Leafs captain having eyes which could be described as “soulless.” The contrast between Tavares’ composed on-ice presence and his digital representation has been one of the more shared examples in the debate over NHL 27’s visuals.

For a franchise like Toronto, whose commercial profile extends well beyond Canada, representation in a flagship video game is one more layer in how the club engages its global fan base. The current reaction shows how quickly that engagement can turn into criticism when digital portrayals of key players feel inauthentic.

From uncanny to unsettling: the most jarring scan

Which face scan is the worst?

However, nothing could possibly prepare hockey fans for the appearance of Boston Bruins defenceman Mason Lohrei.

At 6-foot-5 and 218 pounds, the 25-year-old can be an imposing force on the ice. But with a face scan like his in NHL 27, he’s more likely to haunt video game players in their dreams.

Lohrei’s case highlights the broader balancing act facing EA’s development teams: capturing physical presence and on-ice style is only part of the job. As graphics engines become more powerful and broadcast presentations more lifelike, player likenesses are judged against ultra-high-definition television coverage and social media imagery. That raises expectations not only from fans, but also from athletes who see their digital image as part of their professional profile.

Commercial stakes for the NHL and EA Sports

The response to NHL 27’s face scans comes at a time when major sports leagues are increasingly reliant on licensed games to reach new audiences and deepen engagement with existing supporters. For the NHL and its partners, the annual release functions as:

• a marketing platform for star players and major-market teams
• a way to introduce emerging talent like Lohrei to fans who may not watch every regular-season game
• a digital companion for the long league calendar, keeping fans connected between marquee fixtures

When visual inaccuracies dominate the conversation, they risk overshadowing gameplay improvements and new features, and can influence how enthusiast communities evaluate whether to invest time and money in this year’s edition. For players whose likenesses are central to sponsorships and public recognition, it also shapes how they are perceived by supporters who primarily encounter them on a console rather than in an arena.

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EA Sports’ challenge, and by extension the NHL’s, will be to show that likeness issues can be addressed without disrupting the competitive integrity or licensing structures that underpin the game. For now, the discussion around NHL 27 underlines how central accurate representation has become to the modern sports ecosystem, where the line between real and virtual arenas is increasingly thin.