According to a new job listing, developer Criterion Games may be working on a brand-new Need for Speed. The original Need for Speed stormed into the gaming scene in the mid-1990s, spawning one of the best street racing games of all time with multiple sequels, a tie-in Hot Wheels line, and even a live-action film version in 2014. The series would progress from simple racing in earlier chapters to heart-pounding police chases in later entries.
Need for Speed future game might already be in development
The Need for Speed franchise has also changed developers several times over the years, with the first several games developed by Distinctive Software before Black Box Games was bought in 2002 to develop Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2. Slightly Mad Studios would take over for the regrettably delisted Need for Speed: Shift and its 2011 sequel, while Criterion produced the critically acclaimed Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit and 2012’s Most Wanted. However, due to a reduction in Criterion Games’ production personnel, Swedish firm Ghost Games became the de facto Need for Speed developer throughout most of the 2010s.
Criterion would eventually return to produce last year’s Need for Speed Unbound, and a recent report suggests that it is already planning the next installment in the long-running racing genre. The developer recently posted a job listing on LinkedIn for an experienced world artist who will “help [Criterion] on [its] new and exciting endeavor to create an open world offering the player a fast, visceral, and authentic experience.” The offer also indicates that Criterion intends to challenge racing genre standards to take Need for Speed “to the next level.”
While Criterion’s first Need for Speed game received mixed reviews, many felt that Need for Speed Unbound’s gameplay and street-art visual aesthetic held enough promise for a promising sequel. This appears to be a reoccurring theme for the series’ overall state in recent years since Ghost Games’ different releases have all fallen just short of the acclaim of entries like Hot Pursuit or Most Wanted. Despite the diverse reactions to these games, the Need for Speed series has sold well this decade.
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