NEW YORK -- TNT Sports, Warner Bros. Games and the National Hockey League are joining forces to bring viewers a clash of excellence in hockey and real-time animation for the first-ever MultiVersus NHL Face-Off on Sunday, April 14 at 3:30 p.m. ET, exclusively on truTV and Max’s B/R Sports Add-on.
Legendary and beloved Warner Bros. Discovery characters appearing in the highly anticipated MultiVersus videogame, including Bugs Bunny, Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman, Velma and Shaggy, Steven Universe and Finn the Human, will take center ice in a fully animated presentation featuring a matchup of the two most recent Stanley Cup champions, Colorado Avalanche at Vegas Golden Knights. The slobbery and short-fused Looney Tunes character Tasmanian Devil will officiate the game and drop the puck on the afternoon’s action.
Before they take the ice, a special team selection draft of the MultiVersus icons will happen during NHL on TNT’s postgame coverage of the Buffalo Sabres at Detroit Red Wings on Sunday, April 7.
The animated presentation of Avalanche at Golden Knights will use the NHL’s innovative NHL EDGE tracking technology to recreate the action on the ice as it happens in real-time, featuring the characters of MultiVersus alongside avatars of the NHL’s biggest stars — including Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makarof the Avalanche against Jack Eichel and Jonathan Marchessault of the Golden Knights, among others. The ice rink for the alternate telecast will be dynamic and incorporate rotating elements based on environments from the MultiVersus game, such as the Space Jam Court, Adventure Time Tree Fort, Sky Arena and Trophy’s E.D.G.E.
Steve Mears will call the game, with color commentary from Colby Armstrong. The duo will also share game notes and analysis during the first and second intermissions. The traditional broadcast of Avalanche at Golden Knights will be available on TNT and Max’s B/R Sports Add-On with Kenny Albert, Eddie Olczyk and Brian Boucher on the call.
MultiVersus NHL Face-Off will merge two different tracking technologies — NHL EDGE positional data (NHL Puck and Player tracking) and Hawk-Eye Innovations optical tracking to generate realistic character and player avatar movements to best represent the movements of the NHL players on the ice. The real-time animation will be produced in association with NHL innovation partner Beyond Sports.
Published by Warner Bros. Games and developed by Player First Games, MultiVersus is a free-to-play videogame with an ever-expanding cast of iconic heroes and personalities, set against the backdrop of reimagined universes and environments. The game is scheduled to officially launch on May 28. For additional information, visit MultiVersus.com.
