Before Ghost Games’ retooled and rebooted Need for Speed sped onto consoles and PC last year, EA ordered the prestigious franchise on a one-year hiatus in 2014 for the first time since ’97.
Carving out an extended development window for the Swedish studio, it facilitated a more significant overhaul of the series than the traditional annualized cycle would allow. It’s a tactic that both EA and Ghost will look to repeat in 2016, too, now that the developer has confirmed that the next Need for Speed title won’t be racing onto the scene until 2017.
Word comes by way of Ghost’s official blog, revealing that the creative team are beginning to “build upon the foundations” from last year’s release, which will continue to see post-launch support in the coming months.
We are now building upon the foundations that have been laid with Need for Speed and delivering our next game in 2017. That’s not to say that we’re going quiet between now and then… far from it. We’ll be working with our community and there will be multiple opportunities to bring many of you into the studio in the coming months to get your feedback on where we’re headed.
It’s official: Need for Speed won’t be jostling for a spot in EA’s crowded fall 2016 lineup now that Ghost Games has formally pegged the next entry in the series for 2017.