[UPDATE] Tom Henderson has now leaked the release date of Need for Speed: November 4th.
[ORIGINAL STORY] According to top-tier leaker Tom Henderson, the new Need for Speed game in development at Criterion will be revealed next month, when Electronic Arts also plans to unveil Skate 4 and FIFA 23.
It's been three years since Need for Speed: Heat, the last installment in the racing franchise. However, that game was mainly developed by Ghost Games, while the new entry is the first one to be developed by Criterion since 2012's Most Wanted. As you may recall, the British studio was forced to suspend work on the game last year as it had to help DICE ship Battlefield 2042.
According to the report, the new game could be titled Need for Speed: Unbound, even though it could be just the codename. Interestingly, Henderson confirmed some earlier comments from fellow journalist Jeff Grubb, who said in April that the game would feature a stylized graphics style that combines photorealism with cartoon or anime-like elements.
Character designs were likened to The Boondocks animated TV series, while cars will have exaggerated effects like flames, wind, and smoke coming out of them when doing feats like drifting, reaching certain speeds, et cetera.
Henderson also confirmed a feature called Meetups, where online players will supposedly be able to meet up somewhere on the map and start racing right away. Lastly, the anonymous sources said the tracks in the new Need for Speed will somehow be unique.
Stay tuned for all the latest rumors ahead of the official reveal for the 2022 Need for Speed game, believed to be targeting a November release window.
About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief. In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech's gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews. Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications. His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.
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