Stalled in the Rear-View Mirror – The Condition of Need for Speed
For numerous gamers, Need for Speed represented the pinnacle of digital liberation: Igniting the engines after classes, diving into the tuning options, or evading the police – legendary moments that defined the genre. However, these recollections now carry a sour note. Internally at EA, all signs suggest that the racing game franchise is in a state of indefinite suspension – and may never make a comeback.
The catalyst appears to be a strategic shift: Speedhunters, the automotive platform closely associated with NfS, is set to be terminated. Concurrently, EA is initiating the shutdown of older offshoots like Rivals, with servers going offline in October. Developer Criterion, previously overseeing the series, is now focusing predominantly on Battlefield. A clear indication that Need for Speed has temporarily lost its significance in EA’s future agenda.
In the Balance – What Remains Possible
Indeed, all efforts are presently directed towards Battlefield 6 – even the remaining NfS team is currently contributing to the shooter franchise. This implies that a new installment is unlikely to materialize until post-BF6 release at the earliest. What may seem like a regression could, however, prove beneficial in the long run: In Battlefield, EA experiments with innovative gameplay concepts through so-called “labs” – also taking into account community feedback from other genres.
A glance at the sales data also indicates that Unbound, the latest NfS offshoot, was not only a financial letdown – the aesthetics and open world design appeared outdated as well. A reboot would need to be much more daring. Industry analysts speculate that it is plausible for EA to realign the racing game brand in the midterm – with a heightened emphasis on simulation, as successfully showcased by GT7 and Forza, for instance.
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