
The arcade racing series Need for Speed will live to fight another day, but you shouldn't expect a new entry to arrive any time soon. As part of today's Battlefield Labs announcement, it was confirmed that franchise developer Criterion is one of four teams within EA that are coming together to form Battlefield Studios, and all will focus on the next FPS title.
Eurogamer asked EA whether this means Need for Speed is as good as dead, and received the following response: "The Need for Speed team at Criterion are joining their colleagues working on Battlefield." The statement then comments on how the most recent game, Need for Speed Unbound, has received a fair number of updates since its release and taking player feedback into account.
EA then confirms that "we plan to bring the franchise back in new and interesting ways", but since Criterion doesn't have anyone working on the series currently, any new game is a significant number of years away. In September 2023, Vince Zampella said a "core group" of developers within Criterion was working on "what's next for the franchise".
For now at the very least, it appears those plans have been put on ice. A Need for Speed: Most Wanted remake was also outed by a voice actor from the original game in 2023, but that project hasn't come to light — if it was indeed real.
[source eurogamer.net]
Comments 14
Burnout 3 is widely regarded as the best arcade racer ever and yet EA eventually saw fit to task Criterion with pursuing the vastly inferior NFS games.or being support devs for other projects.
Even the fabulous riot that was Black never saw a follow up.
Not new and interesting please, just classic and enjoyment. Can we get an underground game for goodness sake. Just make a new underground with unreal 5 and it will sell.
Criterion team is working on Battlefield game since 2023 September. There was left 10ish devs who stayed and developed extra year of content for NFS Unbound. And now that small team joined to others.
They need to bring back Burnout and Road Rash, at let Criterion develop them.
That's not enough, more people are needed on Battlefield
Just remaster the good NFS games people have been clamoring for to keep that IP alive and then put devs interested in a racing game on Burnout. The fact we haven't seen a Burnout with a modern physics engine is criminal.
@Brundleflies21 agree. Bring back burnout
So it is dead then...
A remaster of Burnout Revenge for modern consoles would make good money. Why they choose to leave that money on the table is beyond me
Talking of remasters, and Battlefield specifically... It should've been a no brainer to do a remake of Battlefield Bad Company 2, or BF3 or BF4... And it would've sold, but for the no brained EA CEO Andrew Wilson. What a Muppet.
Apparently need for speed heat is better than the most recent one 👀
@Can-You-Believe-Sith it is. unbound is so bland. but NFS as a whole has been mediocre for a while. the last above average one was probably rivals
Burnout I preferred when I was a kid but I’ve been playing through the PS2 NFS games and they’re class. Had Underground 2 as a kid but Most Wanted was absolutely incredible and I’m enjoying Carbon too.
We won't get a new burnout as it's a need for speed killer. EA won't release a game that's better than their flag ship racing game. Black should have gotten a remake but EA just don't care what gamers actually want.
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