Need for Speed Won’t Be Joining EA Sports Label (Updated)

UPDATE: EA reached out to us clarifying that Need for Speed would not become a part of the EA Sports brand as the Polygon report suggested. Patrick Soderlund's comments were misrepresented, so Polygon revised their original headline. We apologize for the confusion.

*END UPDATE*

Speaking to Polygon, the Executive Vice president of EA Studios Patrick Soderlund revealed that EA's driving franchise Need for Speed will now be under the EA Sports banner amidst several other changes in the company. 

"When you've had a franchise that's been going on for 20 years like Need for Speed, I think it was time for us to get a different pair of eyes on it, a fresh look and feel on it. If something can come in and make take it to the next level, take it to a different direction," Soderlund noted.

He also said that driving games can learn a lot from sports games. The flagship racing franchise will continue under the direction of Matt Bilby who ran FIFA, UFC, and NHL. 

It is still unknown what the change means for the franchise. Would Need for Speed adopt the same engine as all the EA Sports games? Soderlund also noted that while there's room for realistic simulation in the racing genre like Forza and Gran Turismo, that doesn't mean it's the same for their franchise. Maybe this means we will get to see games in the Underground era again?

Yesterday, we reported that the latest entry in the franchise Need for Speed: Rivals will be bumped up to a November 15th release to coincide with PS4's release. However, other platforms would have to wait until November 22nd to get the game.