EA’s been in a strange place the last few years, with its premier non-sports titles ending up on the backfoot compared to similar titles.Battlefield5’s disappointment made way for games likeCall of Duty: Modern Warfare, and nowBlack Ops Cold War, at the mainstream first-person shooters.Need for Speedhas been supplanted by simulatory and arcade-like experiences such asForza HorizonorDirt 5. Ironically enough, EA even acquired Codemasters to expand its racing catalogue beyond justNeed for Speed. Yet, while Codemasters will continue with its own independent racing projects,Need for Speed’s developer will assist inBattlefielddevelopment this year.
As EA and DICE prepare a grand return forBattlefieldthis fall, the publisher has also tapped Criterion Games to assist with supplemental development onBattlefield. Set to debut this fall,Battlefield 6(or whatever the next entry is named) presumably aims to reignite the franchise afterBattlefield 5’s troubled release. Criterion, being the main developer of theNeed for Speedseries, has had to delay this year’s entry to 2022 because ofBattlefield’s development. If anything, devoting more development time toNeed for Speedcan only benefit the franchise, which has struggled with relevancy for nearly a decade.
RELATED:Criterion Assisting With Battlefield 6 Development, New Need for Speed Delayed
Battlefield Needs Redemption, Need for Speed Requires Reinvention
Even if both theBattlefieldandNeed for Speedfranchises are primed for a comeback during this new console generation,Battlefieldalready has the advantage. Unlike EA’s iconic racing series,Battlefield’s had a minor misstep in an otherwise very successful tenure as EA’s flagship first-person shooter.Battlefield 5is only a relatively recent failure in the wake of successful entries likeBattlefield 1,Battlefield 4,Battlefield 3,and evenBad Company 2.Battlefield’s redemption arc, so to speak, isn’t a long time coming.Battlefield5was relatively slow on the uptake when it came to balance changes and post-launch content, something the next game presumably won’t repeat.
As forNeed for Speed, it’s a completely different story. The franchise’s overall decline is attributed to multipleNeed for Speedgames that weren’t able to match previous successes like 2010’sNeed for Speed: Hot Pursuit,or any of theearlier titles likeUndergroundorMost Wanted. The most recent entry,Need for Speed Heat, made massive strides and improvements over previous iterations, but it still paled in comparison to games almost a decade old. Before that,Need for Speed Payback,Need for Speed2015,Need for Speed Rivals, 2012’sNeed for Speed: Most Wanted, andNeed for Speed: The Runwere all critically and commercially lackluster entries.
RELATED:Need for Speed Has to Go Forward, But Keeps Falling Behind
Time Can Only Benefit the Need for Speed Franchise
Need for Speed’s biennial release schedule has put the franchise into a perpetual state of fatigue that it hasn’t managed to escape since 2011. This most recent delay will be the first time in almost a decade whereNeed for Speedwon’t follow its typical release scheduleof every two years. Of course, this can primarily be attributed toBattlefield’s development necessitating additional support. However, extra time betweenNeed for Speedentries can only benefit the next installment, despite being delayed into 2022.Need for Speedneeds time to marinate and adjust the franchise, largely by looking back on past failures and learning from what was lacking.
Time can only provide that perspective toNeed for Speed. Gameplay-wise, the series has been all over the place, with each release betweenNeed for Speed: The RunandNeed for Speed Heatmaking significant changes to handling, sense of speed, and other pivotal gameplay aspects. Mechanics in the last four or fiveNeed for Speedgames have basically been a testing groundfor different gameplay styles, rather than a consistently improved driving model. Paired with narratives wildly differentiating from uninteresting to excruciatingly irrelevant,Need for Speedas a franchise has been anything but consistent in design, as well as critical/commercial reception.
Inspiration may not necessarily stem from working onBattlefield, even though adding destruction-style elements a laBurnoutwouldn’t be unwelcome. That being said,Need for Speedneeds to harken back to its glory days if it’s going to ever recreate similar success. There were hints of Criterion Games doing just that withNeed for Speed Heat, andtangentially so withNeed for Speed: Hot Pursuit2010’s remaster. Stronger influence from the critically-acclaimed titles ofNeed for Speed’s past can only help the series. 2010’sNeed for Speed: Hot Pursuitis a good start, but it pales in comparison to the heights of 2005’sMost Wantedand 2003’sUnderground.
Need for Speed 2022is in development.
MORE:EA’s Acquisition of Codemasters: The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly
