Rumor: EA May Have Shelved Need for Speed

EA has reportedly put its long-running Need for Speed franchise on hiatus, raising doubts about the future of the iconic racing series. While no official announcement has been made at the moment, clues from within the Need for Speed community and EA's recent business moves suggest the gaming giant is shifting gears - possibly for good.

Need for Speed has stood among EA's tentpole franchises for decades. First launched with 1994's The Need for Speed, the series has earned a reputation for fast-paced arcade racing, open-world exploration, extensive customization, and a distinctive visual style. Over the past decade, though, the Need for Speed franchise has lost some momentum, with its latest entry - 2022's Need for Speed Unbound - initially showing promise but ultimately recording a lukewarm commercial performance.

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Concerns surrounding the future of Need for Speed began arising when franchise developer Criterion Games was fully drafted into Battlefield 6 development earlier this year. At the time, Criterion did promise that the Need for Speed franchise would live on, but some new evidence suggests otherwise. Matthew Everingham, a longtime contributor to EA-funded car culture website Speedhunters (closely affiliated with Need for Speed), revealed in a recent Instagram post that Speedhunters is "on ice" because "EA shelved Need for Speed." The site hasn't been updated since April 2025, lending further credence to Everingham's claim.

Need for Speed and Speedhunters May Be in Trouble

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Moreover, given the close ties between Speedhunters and Need for Speed, one can imagine that shelving one of them would entail a knock-on effect on the other. EA has yet to comment on this rumor, but the latest NFS-related announcement from the gaming giant was the upcoming shutdown of online services for Need for Speed Rivals on October 7, 2025. While Need for Speed Rivals' inbound server closure is hardly a barometer for the franchise's future plans, Criterion's entire workforce helping develop Battlefield 6 likely means that even if a new NFS entry is on the way, it'll likely launch by 2030 at the earliest.

The past few weeks have been quite turbulent for fans of racing games. Following the mass layoffs at Xbox last week, Forza Motorsport developer Turn 10 was left gutted with 120 purported job cuts, effectively dooming the circuit racing franchise's future. The prospect of Need for Speed possibly going down the same route is rather unfortunate, and hopefully, EA will see the potential in the franchise - especially in light of the massively popular open-world racer Forza Horizon 5.