Need for Speed Developers Address Franchise Break

It’s been more than two years since the release of Need for Speed Unbound, and it doesn’t seem like a new series entry will be coming anytime soon. This morning, EA announced the creation of Battlefield Studios, a collective of developers focused on creating the next Battlefield game. Need for Speed developer Criterion Games was among the four teams listed, which didn’t come as a huge surprise, as the studio has predominantly focused on Battlefield since September 2023. However, many fans are wondering what this means for the future of the racing series. In a statement provided to Eurogamer, Battlefield boss Vince Zampella made it clear that Need for Speed has not been forgotten.

“The Need for Speed team at Criterion are joining their colleagues working on Battlefield. As a company, it was important to us to take the last year to listen to our Need for Speed community and use their feedback to create content for Unbound,” said Zampella. “With an increased understanding of what our players want in a Need for Speed experience, we plan to bring the franchise back in new and interesting ways.”

On the plus side, Zampella’s statement shows that Need for Speed isn’t going anywhere. However, as Eurogamer notes, it also makes it sound like a new game is not currently in development. That means it could be a long time before we see a new entry released. Hopefully the extra time will result in a strong follow-up to Need for Speed Unbound, and one that delivers on the expectations of the player community. From Zampella’s comments, it’s unclear if we’ll continue to see additional updates to Need for Speed Unbound in the meantime.

The Need for Speed franchise began life in 1994, and has seen a number of entries in the decades since. Sometimes a break is a good thing for an ongoing franchise, as the extra development time can result in a stronger overall product. Need for Speed Unbound was mostly well-received upon its release, and currently holds a Metacritic score of 77 on PS5, 76 on Xbox, and 73 on PC. Those aren’t terrible scores, but there’s definitely room for improvement.

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Zampella’s comments about listening to the fans and taking Need for Speed in “new and interesting” directions could bode well. From the reception to Unbound, it seems like fans have wanted EA to put more effort into the series, and offer something unique. Of course, fans have had the same complaints about Battlefield for years, so maybe it’s a good thing EA is focused on polishing up one franchise while giving another one some room to breathe. When we finally do see Need for Speed make a comeback, perhaps this downtime will have been for the best.

Do you think the break will be good for the Need for Speed series? Are you worried about Criterion working on Battlefield instead? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp, on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!