The game isn't called “Want for Speed,” or “Speed: Take It or Leave It.” It's Need for Speed , which is why we usually see a new game in the racing series once a year. This year, our need will go unsatisfied. I'm a fan of the series, so I'm a little bummed, but a letter from Executive Producer and GM at developer Ghost Games Marcus Nilsson makes it sound like a smart decision.
Similar to Activision's decision to switch the Call of Duty franchise to a three-year, three-developer cycle , Electronic Arts is giving Ghost Games until 2015 to come up with something that feels more innovative than iterative.
“We are already deep in development on our next game and want to make this promise to you: we will listen to you,” Nilsson said on the game's website . “We're going to give you the game you've been asking for. It will be the game you deserve, but to do that will take us some time. We've made the decision to not release a Need for Speed in 2014, so we can work towards a highly innovative Need for Speed in 2015. An experience built on a foundation we know you'll greatly look forward to.”
Good! I'd always rather see the best game a developer can make given enough time rather than the best game it can make while meeting an annual deadline. And it's not like we won't have other racing games to keep us busy until then. A good contender we're currently looking forward to is the beautiful Project CARS , which will start rolling out in November 2014.
