A Need for Speed mobile entry from Tencent and EA might be drifting onto phones soon if a recent leak is to be believed. Footage that appeared on Reddit earlier today suggests that this phone title will adapt Need for Speed Heat’s open world into a racing experience on the go. Surprisingly, this version of Palm City looks shockingly impressive, with top-notch graphics and enough side activities to keep players spinning their wheels.
However, this version of the unofficially revealed Need for Speed mobile game almost certainly comes from an early build of what we will eventually see. The leaked video only shows three cars so far and city streets to race through but little else. Unlike Need for Speed Heat, there doesn’t seem to be cops hunting the player down, and while a few side objectives can be seen in the mini map, there’s no sign of whether this game will feature a story.
This isn’t the first time a Need for Speed mobile game was spotted. A few months ago, a Redditor spotted a Tencent job posting for a game codenamed “Need for Speed Online Mobile.” The post comes from Call of Duty: Mobile developer TiMi Studio and calls for developers to join the studio and create a new, online entry in the racing series using Unreal Engine 4. If the title mentioned in the TiMi post and the game seen in today’s leak are one and the same—and it sure looks like they are—expect an experience that favors online progression over story.
Meanwhile, Need for Speed is likely heading for a more traditional return later this year. Reliable leaker and reporter Tom Henderson shared more in February, saying that EA’s Codemasters Cheshire was supposedly already hard at work on the next mainline entry in the franchise. Journalist Jeff Grubb went on to share more of his findings soon after, saying that Need for Speed’s next major entry may be a next-gen-exclusive title with graphics that combine realistic looks with an anime style.
