EA Reveals Next-Gen Need for Speed Release Window

EA has revealed when its next-gen Need for Speed game will hit PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and PC, or at least the window of when it will arrive. The reveal comes courtesy of EA's new earnings call with investors, which also revealed the release window for Battlefield 6. According to EA, the new Need for Speed game from Criterion will arrive during the fiscal year of 2022, which is to say sometime between April 1, 2021 and March 31, 2022. Of course, this is a pretty wide window, however, traditionally Need for Speed games have released during the holiday season. In other words, a bet on this new Need for Speed game releasing sometime between October 1 and December 1 is probably a very safe bet.

According to EA, the new Need for Speed will accompany six other EA games releasing during the aforementioned fiscal window. Beyond this, EA notes it will come packing "astounding visual leaps," which will presumably be made possible by the next-gen tech it will be running on.

"We plan to launch at least six new games on the next-gen consoles in fiscal year 2022," said EA. "These will include a new Need for Speed game that is bringing some astounding visual leaps, developed by the Criterion team, who have launched some of the most highly-rated games in franchise history."

For now, EA hasn't clarified if this new Need for Speed game will be a next-gen-only release. That said, for now, a cross-gen release looks likely, not only because the release window facilitates a cross-gen release, but because EA would have likely specified if it was a truly next-gen game.

Whatever the case, it will be the first Need for Speed game since 2019's Need for Speed Heat. Following 2017's underwhelming Need for Speed Payback, Heat helped get the series back on track, but it's still seemingly a ways off from its heyday.

For more coverage on Need for Speed and all things gaming -- including all of the latest news, all of the latest rumors, and all of the latest leaks -- click here. Meanwhile, as always, feel free to hit the comments section with your thoughts or hit me up on Twitter @Tyler_Fischer_ and let me know over there. What do you want to see from the next Need for Speed?