An errant Amazon listing has started the rumor that Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit may be getting the remastered treatment sooner rather than later. As one may imagine, this is referring to Criterion's 2010 game and not 1998's Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit. This was the developers first outing with EA's signature franchise after working on the legendary Burnout Paradise, and many feel that the spirit of the Burnout games still burns in this entry. Shifting away from the simulator focus that had overtaken the series, Hot Pursuit is often ranked amongst the best in the series, so a return would be welcome.
Returning to the franchise's glory days would also be a welcome reinvigoration of the franchise in general. Last year's Need for Speed Heat barely registered as a game release for most players, and 2017's Need for Speed Payback was only saved from microtransactions infamy because EA also released Star Wars Battlefront II that year. The series arguably hasn't been fully on track since Criterion was at the helm with 2012's Need for Speed: Most Wanted, and that may just be why EA wants to prop up the ailing brand with one of its best examples.
Formerly listed on Amazon UK before being taken down, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Remastered has a November 13 release date and a roughly translated price of $45 USD. The listed platforms are Xbox One and Nintendo Switch, although it seems less than likely that EA would limit such a release to those platforms and not the wider array of game machines. There is no further information on the store listing, but it would be easy to extrapolate what EA's plans are should this rumor pan out based on their recent output with remastered products.
Two years ago, in lieu of a new racing game, EA released Burnout Paradise Remastered. A near perfect upgrade on the original game, it "filled the slot" so to speak in a year where Need for Speed was still in development. Criterion is currently hard at work making the next Need for Speed title, so this plan seems to be repeating itself with Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Remastered. EA also seems much more willing to dig into its catalog as of late, including re-releasing Crysis in a remastered form and porting its games from Origin back onto Steam after years of trying to build up a competitive service.
Any fan of Criterion and arcade racing games has to hope that re-releases of Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit and Burnout Paradise inspire some sort of change in the genre. Racing games have been in a rut for far too long, especially when it comes to the full bredth of the genre. Even so-called arcade racers nowadays feel like watered down simulations trying to catch up with the Forzas of the world. Whether its due to licensed car holders not wanting to see their babies damaged or some wildly offbase thinking that arcade racing is "old-school," the genre has been held down for far too long.
Source: Amazon UK