During today’s EA Play Live 2020 presentation, the company revealed a small glimpse at some of the projects it has in the works for next-gen consoles. While the newest game in the Need for Speed franchise was not officially revealed, some early footage was showcased from series developer Criterion. In the brief video, EA teased that the game will boast “seamless immersion” for getting players into the race. The models of the cars shown look absolutely stunning, and it’s clear that the game will push the hardware of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X in a very big way.
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Criterion had previously revealed its plans to begin development on the next game in the series, so the announcement of a new Need for Speed isn’t all that surprising. When the game does see release, it will mark the 25th entry in the franchise. Since Need for Speed kicked off in 1994, EA has not released a new game every year, but the company has come close, and some years have actually featured two series entries. Need for Speed Heat released in November 2019, so it’s entirely possible that the next game might even see release this year. In fact, it would make a lot of sense for EA to release a new Need for Speed at launch for the next generation of video game hardware. Whether or not that will be the case, however, remains to be seen.
The snippet of footage showed a Porsche GT3 RS, so fans can likely expect to see the manufacturer’s vehicles return for the next iteration in the series. Of course, the series is known for offering a large number of licensed vehicles; Need for Speed Heat featured 127 cars from 33 different manufacturers. It will be interesting to see if the next series entry can offer a similar number of options for car buffs!
As of this writing, no further details have been revealed regarding the future of the franchise. Whatever the future might bring, however, it’s clear that EA and Criterion have major plans for Need for Speed heading into the next console generation. Fans shouldn’t have to wait too much longer to find out what those plans might be.
What did you think of the footage shown of the next Need for Speed game? Are you excited for the future of the franchise? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk about all things gaming!
