New Need For Speed reveal adds weight to leaked Burnout Paradise twist

The next Need for Speed title from Criterion Games is reportedly still on track to hit PS5 in December, with leaked details suggesting the game will have multiplayer that feels reminiscent of Burnout Paradise.

Update 2: The name of the next Need for Speed game has been accidentally confirmed as Need for Speed Unbound by EA via its website. The publisher uploaded some key art for Criterion Games' latest Need for Speed title ahead of its recently announced reveal trailer, all of which seem to corroborate much of our previous reporting on this story.

The NFS Unbound art, including the much-touted anime-inspired art style.

Need for Speed Unbound art was spotted on EA's website by Twitter users, and while the publisher has since removed the art from its website, it was up long enough for social media to spot it and disseminate it across the internet. We'll have to wait until the Need for Speed Unbound reveal trailer premieres later this week before we can verify much more about the game, but we feel confident that fewer grains of salt will be needed with all of the below when it does.

Let us know in the comments what your thoughts on this latest reveal are, and if you're excited to learn more about the upcoming Need for Speed Unbound, which is still reportedly on its way later this year.

Update 1: The upcoming Need for Speed game for PS5 has leaked a supposed release date of December 2nd, 2022, with EA reportedly set to make an official unveiling in early October. We also have a few more details about the upcoming Criterion Games title, with sources suggesting the game is called Need for Speed Unbound and it will feature multiplayer reminiscent of Burnout Paradise.

Hoping our Burnout prayers have been answered.

Need for Speed Unbound teases Burnout Paradise-like multiplayer

The new report comes once more from Tom Henderson via Insider Gaming, whose original concerns were the basis of our original story. Now, Henderson reports that various sources have reached out to say the upcoming Need for Speed game is still on track for a 2022 release — however, the title will be skipping PS4.

Henderson also relayed new details about the game, including how the multiplayer will work. Apparently, the game will feature various 'meetups' — locations at which players can gather and then launch into races. To our minds, it sounds a lot like how multiplayer was handled in Burnout Paradise, with players racing through portions of the game's titular Paradise City by first gathering at certain spots on the map. Given that Criterion Games were the developers of the Burnout series, we're willing to bet the team has carried over a number of its former series' hallmarks, much like they did in Need for Speed Most Wanted.

When you think about it, the cover of Burnout was already pretty anime.

Apparently, the game will feature a more anime-inspired art style too, so we're excited to see whether Criterion will once again inject the Need for Speed series will a much-needed dose of fun. Let us know in the comments if this game is suddenly on your radar, and whether the PlayStation Chart-climbing popularity of Need for Speed Heat after being given away as a PS Plus monthly game in September has turned your eye towards the series.

Original Story: The upcoming PS5 Need for Speed game, a co-development between Criterion Games and Codemasters (F1 series), was originally slated for release by publisher EA before 31st December, 2022. However, despite an avalanche of leaks, the next Need for Speed game has seemingly gone MIA.

The leakers seem baffled.

The latest update on the PS5 Need for Speed game comes from Insider Gaming's Tom Henderson, who after seemingly having the inside track on an upcoming Need for Speed showcase, has admitted to being "worried" about the game on Twitter. Henderson and fellow gaming insider Jeff Grubb have placed the game's reveal as far back as December 2022 now — a date that puts the game's announcement near the end of the quarter publisher EA stated it would release in.

EA's fiscal report lines the game up for the end of 2022.

Like seemingly every game we heard about this year, from GTA 6 to God of War Ragnarok, and from Diablo 4 to every Assassin's Creed game, we learned a lot about the upcoming PS5 Need for Speed thanks to a series of leaks. The game has already leaked its map and some gameplay over on Reddit, with a ton more clips of gameplay and the game's UI scattered across various spots on the internet. Yet, despite how far along in development the game seems, we've still not received official word from EA on the game's release.

Does that mean Need for Speed on PS5 has been delayed? Well, it would appear so, but it's not necessarily the case. After all, EA is the publisher that surprised PS4 players with the release of Apex Legends — a spin-off from Titanfall 2 that hit digital shelves the same day as it was revealed. Perhaps all these cloak and dagger tactics are an attempt by EA to catch NFS fans off-guard and have them frantically scrambling to their PlayStation to download the long-awaited follow-up to Need for Speed Heat.

Our first glimpse of the game's map.

Or perhaps Need for Speed on PS5 is just delayed — after all, Henderson and company sure seem surprised, and no leak has ever suggested the game would be a free-to-play title. At least PS Plus subscribers can check out the last NFS game as it's one of the monthly PS Plus games for September 2022. Plus, we're excited to see Codemasters take that talent we saw in our F1 22 review over to the Need for Speed canon — let us know in the comments below if you're also feeling the need.

PlayStation 5

Written by Lee Brady

Staff Writer Lee keeps one eye on the future (Marvel's Spider-Man 2, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth), one eye on the past (PS Plus Premium, recent Sony news), and his secret third eye on the junk he really likes (Sonic Superstars, Final Fantasy XVI). Then he uses his big mouth to blurt out long-winded opinions about video games.