Games journalist Jeff Grubb recently revealed on his popular podcast, Grubbsnax, that EA plans to release the next Need for Speed game exclusively on next-gen consoles later this year. The most recent game in the franchise was Need for Speed Heat in 2019, developed by Ghost Games. The next game in the series will mark a momentous occasion for the franchise as it will be the thirtieth installment. EA has brought on Criterion Games to develop the racing game after moving the studio to a support role on Battlefield 2042.
Grubb said on his popular podcast, “Need for Speed is still coming this year… that’s true, 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.” This news comes after EA previously delayed the game by a year in 2021. At that time, Polygon reported the next Need for Speed game would release in March 2023 for current and next-gen consoles. Now, it looks like developers have scrapped a current-gen release altogether.
The two previous installments in the racing series, 2017’s Need for Speed Payback and 2019’s Need for Speed Heat both released on PS4, Xbox One, and PC simultaneously. Although, Grubb made no mention of a PC release for the game launching later this year. The games journalist did share that the next game could take place in Miami, however, he wasn’t 100% certain about that.
While Ghost Games has developed four previous Need for Speed games, EA announced in February 2020 that going forward, Criterion Games would take on development duties once again while the company plans to restructure Ghost Games. Criterion has been most well-known for the Burnout series, as well as two previous Need for Speed games.
Only time will tell if Grubb’s news is correct but hopefully Need for Speed fans can expect a new game this coming November!