The sun is setting on these Need for Speed classics.
Electronic Arts has made the decision to delist selected Need for Speed titles from digital stores. Need for Speed Carbon, Need for Speed Undercover, Need for Speed Shift, Need for Speed Shift 2: Unleashed and Need for Speed: The Run were removed from the stores today. All of the affected titles will also lose their online capabilities in the coming months.
Reddit user and Need for Speed Community Manager Max_Joker posted about the decision to delist certain titles stating:
“Decisions to retire games are never made easy, but we are now shifting gears to focus on the future of Need for Speed.”
That future is likely in the as-yet-untitled Need for Speed game which was pushed back until 2022. The post goes on to highlight that declining player bases and server maintenance resources contributed to the decision.
If you have a copy of these games – be it digital or physical – you will still be able to play online with friends until August 31, 2021. After that point, servers will shut down on all of the affected games. Offline capabilities, however, will still be available.
Despite these closures, Need for Speed fans will still have access to Need for Speed Most Wanted, Need for Speed Rivals, Need for Speed Hot Pursuit Remastered, Need for Speed (2015), Need for Speed Payback and Need for Speed Heat. That is a lot of Need for Speed to fit in a single sentence.
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