The next Need for Speed game is still on track to release later this year, but now we may have a release date as well as a potential title. In an update for his massive EA July announcements report, Tom Henderson stated that the next Need for Speed might be titled Need for Speed: Unbound and will release on 4 November 2022.
According to Henderson, Need for Speed: Unbound might not be 100% accurate as it could just be a codename or working title, though it has been floating around for some time now. Henderson also recently updated the article listing the racing game’s release date as 4 November 2022 (as well as FIFA 23‘s 30 September 2022 date, if you care about that). No platforms were listed.
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Some details about the next Need for Speed were also discussed in the article. Apparently, developer Criterion Games is adopting a “stylized aesthetic” which will combine photorealistic graphics with anime elements. Henderson compared the art style to the television series The Boondocks.
This unique visual blending extends to the actual gameplay itself, where cars seemingly have smoke, wind and fire coming off of them when going fast or drifting. A big feature coming to the game is called “Meetups”, which will allow players to meet up from anywhere on the game’s map and race. Some sources indicated that the map is quite large with a train going through it that will appear during races.
If Henderson is correct, EA and Criterion Games will reveal this new Need for Speed sometime next month. Criterion is also getting additional help from Codemasters, which integrated one of its studios, Codemasters Cheshire, into the developer back in May to work on the future of the Need for Speed franchise.
All of this sounds quite different to what we’ve seen in the popular racing series so far and we hope it sticks the landing when it launches later this year.
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Source: Tom Henderson
