A new report claims this year's Need for Speed installment will only launch on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, effectively leaving the last-gen versions behind. Publisher Electronic Arts has yet to formally announce the new racing title, though it's understood that the next Need for Speed originally bore a 2021 launch window. Such release plans were pushed back a year in early 2021 when EA shifted resources, placing the likes of Criterion on support duty for Battlefield 2042's development.
Need for Speed has undergone a bit of restructuring in recent years, especially with regard to behind-the-scenes happenings. In February 2020, just months after NFS: Heat hit store shelves, Electronic Arts revealed that Burnout developer Criterion Games would once more serve as the steward of its flagship racing series. This decision forced NFS: Payback and Heat studio Ghost Games back into a support team role, where it reverted to its original name of EA Gothenburg. Apparently, though the next major Need for Speed installment supposedly remains on track for a 2022 rollout, EA continues to make pretty transformative changes regarding development.
As relayed by VGC, VentureBeat journalist Jeff Grubb alleged in Episode 41 of Giant Bomb's GrubbSnax podcast that a new Need for Speed game will hit stores this holiday season, likely in the month of November. Not all fans of the racer will take to the streets, however. According to Grubb, the upcoming NFS title is "...next-gen only. They are shifting to next-gen only." Should this prove true, only console players who own a PS5 or Xbox Series X/S platform will get to enjoy Criterion Games' return to the long-running racing series.
Need for Speed faithful shouldn't take the above information at face value, though Grubb has proven a reliable source in the past. But regardless of where the claims stem from, it makes sense that EA would want to begin shifting focus to PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. The question, of course, is when the publisher's other flagship franchises will start doing the same. Madden NFL, for instance, continued to release on PS3 and Xbox 360 through 2018's Madden NFL 19. Reason suggests history will repeat itself to some degree.
The last Need for Speed entry, Heat, launched on PC, PS4, and Xbox One platforms in October 2019, inviting players to take to the streets in the Miami-inspired Palm City. An open-world experience packed with content, NFS: Heat featured the novel premise of racing proving most dangerous at night because of an overzealous task force within the local police. There's no telling what hook Criterion has in store for the IP's next major outing.
Source: Giant Bomb/GrubbSnax (via VGC)