EA and Ghost Games have revealed that the PC version of the next entry in the Need for Speed franchise has been pushed back to next year. The game was originally expected to race onto the scene in early November alongside PlayStation 4 and Xbox One variants.
Developer Ghost Games said feedback from fans has been extremely important as the game progresses. One of the things they've heard time and time again is that fans want an unlocked frame rate. Ghost is happy to oblige but in order to deliver, they've had to push the game's launch back until spring 2016.
The decision allows the developer to increase in-game visuals accordingly, we're told. When the PC version does finally race onto the scene, it'll include all the content updates that have been released on the console variants up to that point.
Ghost added that since this will be a connected game, server stability is of the utmost importance. As such, they'll be launching a closed beta for the console games in the coming weeks to help test the backend infrastructure. Call me a cynic but when was the last time a high-profile game that relies on remote servers had a smooth launch?
The popular racing franchise got its start way back in 1994 with The Need for Speed for the 3DO, a title that was ported to the PlayStation roughly two years later. The first six games in the franchise focused on racing exotic vehicles with later entrants adding police evasion to the mix.
With 2003's Need for Speed: Underground, EA rebooted the series with an emphasis on the underground racing scene and arcade-style handling. That's more or less been the recipe ever since, much to the dismay of true racing simulation fans.
The upcoming game is also a complete reboot of the series although based on what we've seen thus far, it doesn't appear to deviate far from the Underground formula.