The classic Need for Speed racing game series, which has been around for 30 years, may be entering a period of hibernation. According to Matthew Everingham, a senior photographer for the renowned racing fan website Speedhunters, EA has quietly shelved the Need for Speed series and is quietly halting development.
Speedhunters is a car fan media platform sponsored by EA, dedicated to promoting global car culture and racing scenes. It has worked closely with many "Need for Speed" series games. The website has not been updated since April this year. Matthew EveringhamPoint outCurrently, Speedhunters will also suspend operations simultaneously, indicating that EA's investment in the overall "Need for Speed" series ecosystem is gradually decreasing.
While EA has yet to officially respond, a series of internal adjustments seem to hint at this decision. Earlier this month, EA announced that it would shut down the online servers for Need for Speed: Rivals on October 10th. As early as 7, members of the Need for Speed development team, Criterion Games, had largely transitioned to the Battlefield series, leaving only a handful of core members to maintain resources related to the game.
Vince Zampella, the senior director of the Battlefield project, recently revealed to Eurogamer that "the remaining members of the Need for Speed team will join the development of Battlefield", confirming that Criterion Games is almost fully committed to the development of another game.
The Need for Speed series dates back to 1994, with the first game released on the PlayStation and Sega Saturn. Over 20 subsequent installments have made it one of EA's longest-running and most recognizable franchises. Whether it's the high-speed cop chases of Need for Speed Hot Pursuit, the street-tuning craze kicked off by Need for Speed Underground, or the iconic open-city driving experience of Need for Speed Most Wanted, Need for Speed has repeatedly set trends in racing games.
However, the series' performance in recent years has been less than ideal. Need For Speed: Unbound, released at the end of 2022, attempted to enhance its visual recognition by adopting an American comic book style and next-generation console graphics, but ultimately received only mixed reviews on Steam. Approximately 4 player reviews reflected players' complex emotions regarding gameplay innovation and content depth.
As EA shifts resources to the more strategically valuable Battlefield and its original content, the Need for Speed series faces not a simple development delay but a potentially long-term strategic hiatus. While a permanent halt to new game development hasn't been confirmed, it will be a significant shock to many nostalgic fans and racing enthusiasts.
