Need for Speed is on hold, but EA says it ‘will return in new and interesting ways’

Electronic Arts has confirmed that Need for Speed developer Criterion Games is currently fully engaged with the Battlefield series.

It seemingly means that plans for a new Need for Speed are on hold, although the publisher has said it’s planning to return to the racing series in the future.

EA announced in September 2023 that Criterion had moved divisions within the company to work on the Battlefield franchise.

At the time, Respawn co-founder Vince Zampella, who leads the EA studios responsible for Apex Legends, its Star Wars and Battlefield games, said a core group at Criterion would continue working on what’s next for Need for Speed.

That statement was followed by the launch of an additional year of content for 2022’s Need for Speed Unbound.

“The Need for Speed team at Criterion are joining their colleagues working on Battlefield,” Zampella said today in a statement issued to Eurogamer. “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.

“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.”

Zampella’s statement was shared to coincide the release of the first pre-alpha gameplay footage of the next Battlefield game, alongside details of a new community testing program, which players can register for now.

Criterion is one of four internal EA studios building a connected Battlefield universe set in the modern day. It’s mainly focused on single-player content for the next series entry.

EA announced in 2020 that it had handed Need for Speed development duties back to Criterion as it planned to restructure Ghost Games, which had made the last four entries in the series.

Best known for the Burnout series, Criterion had also developed two previous Need for Speed titles: 2010’s Hot Pursuit and 2012’s Most Wanted. It contributed to 2013’s Need for Speed Rivals too, and later to DICE’s Star Wars Battlefront II, Battlefield V and Battlefield 2042.

Its most recent game was Need for Speed Unbound, which was delayed after Criterion was moved into a support role on Battlefield 2042.