Video game insider and Games Beat reporter Jeff Grubb has commented on this holiday’s expected entry in publisher Electronic Arts’ Need for Speed franchise. The game is still unannounced, but the reporter stated that it may only be available to Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5 (and presumably PC) owners.
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The news comes via Video Games Chronicle, who transcribed the premium Giant Bomb podcast Grubbsnax where Grubb revealed the news.
“Need for Speed is still coming this year… that’s true,” he said. “That game should be coming in November. If you are a Need for Speed fan who has bought a next-gen console, here’s some news; it’s next-gen only. They are shifting to next-gen only.”
EA has previously stated that the game would arrive on older consoles and PC as well as the latest machines, but it’s entirely possible that this changed over the course of development. The PS5 and Xbox Series X|S systems were released in late 2020, but most new releases since then have remained cross-compatible with older systems, including EA’s Battlefield 2042 and suite of sports games. However, EA’s upcoming Dead Space remake is also slated for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC, which is more evidence showing that the publisher is ready to ship current-gen-only games.
Criterion Games will be the developer behind the helm of the new racing game, which is now expected in November of this year. The developer previously worked on the Burnout franchise as well as two Need for Speed games in the early 2010s.
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The most recent Need for Speed games were developed by Ghost Games, a company that was restructured into EA Gothenburg when development duties shifted back to Criterion. The makers of Need for Speed Heat and Need for Speed Rivals are now an engineering support studio, the same role it was initially founded for in 2011.