Need for Speed Heat on PS4, Xbox One, and PC won’t feature cars from Toyota. And last night, the official and cheeky Toyota UK account suggested it was because the game promotes “illegal street racing.” As would expect, the comment earned it a bit of criticism from the Need for Speed community, so much so that it has walked back the comment and issued a further explanation of the situation.
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The hooplah began when Twitter user Jacoja06 asked why the car maker was missing from the new Need for Speed game. The account then replied, noting you can find its cars in GT Sport, “which doesn’t promote street racing.” The tweet has since been deleted, but you can see the interaction below, courtesy of a screengrab.
As alluded to, this comment stirred the pot a bit, with lots of criticism following. Many took to social media to point out that Toyota has featured in previous installments in the past. In other words, it’s odd to draw a “illegal street racing” line now. Meanwhile, the brand has featured in The Fast and the Furious as well. In fact, the Toyota Supra MK IV was one of the main cars in the first movie back in 2001. That all said, today, the same account addressed the comment.
We love that you want to see our cars in all your favourite racing games, and honestly, we want the same thing. 1/5
— ToyotaUK (@ToyotaUK) August 21, 2019
Officially, Toyota Motor Corporation has no concrete plans to license its model range to any other games besides Gran Turismo Sport at the moment. 3/5
— ToyotaUK (@ToyotaUK) August 21, 2019
We’ll be really excited to share our future plans with you as soon as we’re able to. In the meantime, whether it’s Gran Turismo Sport, Forza or Need for Speed, keep on racing. 5/5
— ToyotaUK (@ToyotaUK) August 21, 2019
As you can see, it seems Toyota not being in Need for Speed Heat is more of a licensing issue than a moral one, which isn’t very surprising. I’m sure Gran Turismo paid a lot for that license.
Need for Speed Heat is poised to release on November 8 via the PS4, Xbox One, and PC. For more news, media, and information on the upcoming racing game, be sure to peep all of our previous and extensive coverage of the title by clicking right here.
Thanks, Game Revolution.
