Sorry, racing fans! It looks like we might be losing out on one particular franchise, at least for a while. Of course, this is nothing official just yet, so take this with a grain of salt for now. However, I can confirm that a report online suggests EA is currently putting the Need for Speed franchise on the shelf. How long it will remain there is anyone’s guess. Again, that’s just from one report, and nothing has been released from EA on the future of this IP.
This all stems back to Matthew Everingham. If that name doesn’t sound familiar, Matthew is an automotive photographer. They travel around capturing some incredible vehicles either on the road, at a scenic location, or just some general shots for products. What ties him to the Need for Speed franchise is the online publication called Speedhunters.
Speedhunters is a website that offers a collection of different photographs and articles all based around car culture. EA was the company fronting the website and funding the authors behind the project, which included Matthew. Taking to their Instagram account, Matthew noted that Speedhunters is now on ice as EA decided to shelve Need for Speed.
So while Speedhunters went under, it’s also looking grim for fans of Need for Speed. The franchise has been around for decades, with its first appearance in the market dating back to 1994. With that said, its latest release was Need for Speed Unbound, which came out in 2022. The developers who brought that game out into the marketplace were Criterion Games and Codemasters, both of which have been actively busy.
For Criterion Games, we know that they are lending a hand with the next Battlefield game. More specifically, they are developing the single-player campaign aspect for that title. Meanwhile, Codemasters just saw one of their latest games release, that being F1 25.
Ultimately, we’ll have to wait and see if there’s any statement released from EA about the future of Need for Speed. As it stands, we might be waiting a good long while before that franchise is given another shot in the market.
