It appears that Electronic Arts (EA) has placed the Need for Speed (NFS) franchise on indefinite hold, signaling a major shift in the publisher’s priorities. This news comes via a trusted voice within the car culture community and longtime contributor to Speedhunters, a website closely linked to the NFS brand.
Speedhunters Confirms EA's Move to Shelve Need for Speed
The update comes from Matthew Everingham, a veteran contributor to Speedhunters, who recently shared an emotional update on Instagram:
“Speedhunters is on ice. EA shelved Need For Speed, and that means no more funding for the site. Grateful for everything the trips, the stories, the lifelong mates. I'm still shooting, just shifting gears into more video.”
Founded and funded by EA to complement the NFS franchise, Speedhunters served as a lifestyle and culture platform for motorsport fans. The website’s last update was posted on April 8, 2025, and it has remained silent ever since.
EA has yet to officially confirm the franchise’s shelving, but Everingham’s statement, paired with Speedhunters’ halt, strongly suggests NFS is no longer an active development priority.
The Rise and Decline of Need for Speed
The Need for Speed series, which began in 1994, was once the gold standard in arcade racing. With over 20 mainline entries, the franchise enjoyed massive commercial and critical success through the early 2000s with hits like Underground, Most Wanted, and Carbon.
However, the last decade hasn’t been kind to NFS:
• 2015–2019: Ghost Games released three entries that failed to recapture NFS’s former glory.
• 2022: Need for Speed Unbound, developed by Criterion Games and Codemasters, received a better critical response but didn’t perform strongly enough in sales to justify a direct sequel.
• 2023–2024: EA restructured Criterion, shifting its focus toward Battlefield 6 and other internal EA Entertainment projects.
This trend mirrors EA’s ongoing strategy to consolidate resources into its highest-performing IPs, and sadly, it appears NFS no longer fits that bill.
EA’s Focus Shifts to Battlefield and Bigger Projects
Following the tepid success of Unbound, EA reassigned Criterion Games to support the development of Battlefield 6, a title that aims to attract over 100 million players. Additionally, the studio is rumored to be working on another unannounced racing project, though it’s unclear whether this will be connected to the NFS franchise or something entirely new.
This shift comes at a time when EA is looking to maximize profitability across its portfolio, prioritizing live service titles and franchises with long-term player retention an area where Need for Speed has struggled compared to rivals like Forza Horizon.
Competitive Racing Market: Forza Dominates
Competing directly with Xbox Game Studios' Forza Horizon series, Need for Speed has faced increasing pressure in the racing game space. Forza Horizon 5 has surpassed 45 million players globally and is now available on PlayStation 5, further extending its reach.
This cross-platform success makes Forza a formidable opponent one that NFS has struggled to match in recent years in terms of player base, critical acclaim, and commercial performance.
Final Thoughts
While no official statement has been released by EA, all signs point to the Need for Speed franchise being quietly shelved, at least for now. The closure of Speedhunters and the reassignment of Criterion suggest that the publisher has shifted its priorities away from arcade racing and toward higher-performing franchises like Battlefield.
For longtime NFS fans, this news may come as a heavy blow but it also opens the door to new possibilities in EA’s racing portfolio. Until then, Need for Speed appears to be parked indefinitely.
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