Electronic Arts has confirmed the indefinite hiatus of the Need for Speed franchise, a once-dominant force in racing games, following underwhelming commercial performance of its latest release, Need for Speed Unbound, developed by Criterion Games. EA's focus has shifted to other properties, specifically Battlefield, as stated by Rebecka Coutaz, Vice President and General Manager of Battlefield Studios Europe, signaling no current plans for new Need for Speed or Burnout projects, the latter also being a Criterion title with a dedicated fanbase.
Anything after ProStreet may as well not exist IMO. And I didn’t like ProStreet as much as previous entries. Still better than anything by Criterion though. Their racing games were fine as their own thing, BurnOut was a fun series, but they should never have been allowed to touch Need for Speed in the first place.
Thats like having Psygnosis, the Wipeout developer, work on a new Gran Turismo. Or having Treyarch make the next Battlefield. Its going to feel wrong unless the developers are skilled at replicating the previous studios feeling, or they dont have employees that feel the need to touch everything that already worked and was loved.
Anything after ProStreet may as well not exist IMO. And I didn’t like ProStreet as much as previous entries. Still better than anything by Criterion though. Their racing games were fine as their own thing, BurnOut was a fun series, but they should never have been allowed to touch Need for Speed in the first place.
Thats like having Psygnosis, the Wipeout developer, work on a new Gran Turismo. Or having Treyarch make the next Battlefield. Its going to feel wrong unless the developers are skilled at replicating the previous studios feeling, or they dont have employees that feel the need to touch everything that already worked and was loved.