According to Engadget, Electronic Arts has decided to put the Need for Speed series on hold. According to photographer Matthew Everingham, who worked with the EA-funded website Speedhunters, the company is "postponing" and "quietly parking" the development of the Need for Speed franchise. As a result, the Speedhunters website, which was last updated in April, is also shutting down.
While EA hasn't officially confirmed the future of the series, some internal decisions suggest changes. In particular, the online servers for Need for Speed Rivals will be shut down on October 7th of this year. Previously, Criterion Games, the studio that developed Need for Speed games, transferred most of its staff to the Battlefield project, leaving only a small team to work on the car simulators.
However, according to Battlefield franchise head Vince Zampella, the remnants of the Need for Speed team will also join the work on the shooter. The last part of the series was Need for Speed Unbound, which was released in December 2022. The game has mixed reviews on the Steam platform.
Currently, Electronic Arts is investing all its efforts in the new action game Battlefield 6, which is scheduled for release by March 2026. It is reported that the game's budget already exceeds $400 million and the studio's management expects Battlefield 6 to attract 100 million players over a certain period of time.