The Need for Speed (NFS) franchise, long a staple in the racing game world, may be on its final lap. A recent report suggests that Electronic Arts (EA) has put the brakes on the NFS series, leading to speculation about its future. This news comes from an unexpected source but one that carries weight. Matthew Everingham, a contributor to Speedhunters, a platform for car culture enthusiasts, posted a cryptic message 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.’
For those who may not be familiar, Speedhunters is a global collective of photographers, writers, and car enthusiasts who document car culture around the world. It had been funded by EA for reasons that remain unclear, and it hasn’t posted any updates for over three months, with the last post dating back to April 2025. This sudden freeze on Speedhunters hints at EA’s decision to shelve NFS, a move that follows years of mixed releases.
The decline in the series has been evident, especially from 2015 to 2019, when Ghost Games, a studio within EA, produced three lackluster NFS titles. The games failed to capture the attention of fans or generate significant sales. However, 2022’s Need for Speed Unbound, co-developed by Criterion Games and Codemasters, showed some promise, but not enough to spark a full revival of the series. Despite being a better release, it didn’t generate the necessary sales to justify a follow-up.
The latest development came in September 2023 when EA moved Criterion Games into the EA Entertainment group to focus on the next Battlefield and a new entry in the racing genre. This shift left many fans wondering if NFS was simply a casualty of EA’s larger ambitions, especially with Battlefield 6 on the horizon. EA has set an ambitious target of 100 million players for the game, while NFS, a niche genre in comparison, has struggled to match the mainstream appeal of shooters. Even the highly successful Forza Horizon 5 has only reached 45 million players to date, highlighting the difference in scale.
Adding to the somber news, EA also announced that online support for NFS Rivals, the 2013 game co-developed by Criterion and Ghost, will be discontinued on October 7, 2025. While this may not come as a shock to NFS fans, it is a sad reminder of the franchise’s decline over the years.
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