EA Ends Support for Need for Speed Unbound to Prioritize Battlefield

EA officially announced that Need for Speed Unbound will no longer be receiving any new content updates. Released over two years ago serving as the twenty fifth installment to the franchise, Need for Speed Unbound received its last content update on November 26, 2024.

Vince Zampella, Head of Respawn & Group GM for EA Studios Organization, told IGN, “the Need for Speed team at Criterion are joining their colleagues working on Battlefield.” 

Electronic Arts (EA) announced the formation of Battlefield Studios, a collective of four development teams that will take over the future of the Battlefield franchise. Their goal is to reprioritize the studios’ efforts with the goal of creating higher quality games by utilising community feedback provided through testing. 

“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 said, indicating plans to improve the franchise and likely indicating a potential future Need for Speed release.

Though not officially confirmed by EA, the next entry could very well be coming in the near future. The previous entry, Need for Speed Heat, was released on November 8, 2019. Need for Speed Unbound debuted November 29, 2022, around three years after its predecessor. 

Need for Speed, the twenty fifth entry to the franchise, hit 200,000 copies sold on Steam during its first month. The game’s reviews and sales were on average lower than its predecessors’, with the franchise reaching its heyday during the early 2000s and late 90s. During this time period, Need for Speed released industry defining games on a yearly basis.

With no official news of new content, fans are waiting for the series to make a resurgence.