Need for Speed

Need for Speed (NFS) is a racing game franchise published by Electronic Arts and
currently developed by Criterion Games, the developers of Burnout.[1] The series
generally centers around illegal street racing and tasks players to complete various
types of races while evading the local law enforcement in police pursuits. The series
is one of EA's oldest franchises not published under their EA Sports brand. The
series released its first title, The Need for Speed, in 1994. The most recent game,
Need for Speed Unbound, was released on December 2, 2022. Additionally, a free-
to-play mobile installment released in 2015, Need for Speed: No Limits, is actively
developed by Firemonkeys Studios, the developers of Real Racing 3.

The series has been overseen and had games developed by multiple notable teams
over the years including EA Canada, EA Black Box, Slightly Mad Studios, and Ghost
Games. The franchise has been critically well-received and is one of the most
successful video game franchises of all time, selling over 150 million copies of
games.[2] Due to its strong sales, the franchise has expanded into other forms of
media including a film adaptation and licensed Hot Wheels toys.[3]

History
The Need for Speed series was originally developed by Distinctive Software, a video
game studio based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Prior to Electronic Arts'
purchase of the company in 1991, it had created popular racing games such as
Stunts and Test Drive II: The Duel. After the purchase, the company was renamed
Electronic Arts (EA) Canada. The company capitalized on its experience in the
domain by developing the Need for Speed series in late 1992.[4]

EA Canada continued to develop and expand the Need for Speed franchise up to
2002, when another Vancouver-based developer, named Black Box Games, was
acquired by EA and contracted to continue the series with Need for Speed: Hot
Pursuit 2.[5]

Later, Slightly Mad Studios was brought in, releasing Need for Speed: Shift in 2009,
followed by a sequel, Shift 2: Unleashed, in 2011. UK-based company Criterion
Games would release Hot Pursuit in 2010. The game introduced a social platform,
titled Autolog, which allows players to track game progress, view leaderboards,
share screenshots with friends, among other features.[6]

At E3 2012, Criterion Games vice president Alex Ward announced that random
developers would no longer be developing NFS titles. Ward wouldn't confirm that all
Need for Speed games in the future would be developed entirely by Criterion, but he
did say the studio would have "strong involvement" in them and would have control
over which NFS titles would be released in the future.[1][7]

In August 2013, following the downsizing of Criterion Games, Swedish developer

Ghost Games would become the main studio for the franchise and oversee future
development.[8][9] At the time, 80% of Ghost Games' work force consisted of former
Criterion Games employees.[8][9] Ghost Games would develop Need for Speed
Rivals, Need for Speed reboot, Need for Speed Payback, and Need for Speed Heat
(2013-2019).
In February 2020, Criterion regained oversight of the franchise.[10]

As of 2021, several entries in the franchise such as Carbon, Undercover, Shift, Shift
2: Unleashed and The Run became no longer to purchase from any online stores
except for Hot Pursuit (2010) and Most Wanted (2012), and their online servers were
shut down on August 31. Hot Pursuit and Most Wanted are unaffected.[11][12]

Gameplay
Almost all of the games in the NFS series employ the same fundamental rules and
similar mechanics: the player controls a race car in a variety of races, the goal being
to win the race. In the tournament/career mode, the player must win a series of races
in order to unlock vehicles and tracks. Before each race, the player chooses a
vehicle and has the option of selecting either an automatic or manual transmission.
All games in the series have some form of multiplayer mode allowing players to race
one another via a split screen, a LAN or the Internet. Since Need for Speed: High
Stakes, the series has also integrated car body customization into gameplay.

Although the games share the same name, their tone and focus can vary
significantly. For example, in some games the cars can suffer mechanical and visual
damage, while in other games the cars cannot be damaged at all; in some games,
the software simulates real-car behavior (physics), while in others there are more
forgiving physics.

With the release of Need for Speed: Underground, the series shifted from racing
sports cars on scenic point-to-point tracks to an import/tuner subculture involving
street racing in an urban setting. To date, this theme has remained prevalent in most
of the following games.

Need for Speed: Shift and its sequel took a simulator approach to racing, featuring
closed-circuit racing on real tracks like the Nürburgring and the Laguna Seca, and
fictional street circuits in cities like London and Chicago. The car lists include a
combination of exotics, sports cars, and tuners in addition to special race cars.

Most of the games in the franchise include police pursuits in some form or other. In
some of the games featuring police pursuit (e.g. Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit), the
player can play as either the felon or the cop.[13] The concepts of drifting and
dragging were introduced in Need for Speed: Underground. These new mechanics
are included in the tournament/career mode aside from the regular street races. In
drift races, in games like Underground and Need for Speed (2015), the player must
defeat other racers by totaling the most points, earned by the length and timing of
the drift made by the player's vehicle.[14] In drag races, the player must finish first to
win the race, though if the player crashes into an obstacle or wall, the race ends.[14]
In Need for Speed Payback, the player has to earn a certain number of points to win;
increase their multiplier based on how many points they get, whilst passing through a
limited number of checkpoints.[15]