Since Need for Speed: High Stakes, the series has also integrated car body customization into gameplay.Īlthough the games share the same name, their tone and focus can vary significantly. All games in the series have some form of multiplayer mode allowing players to race one another via a split screen, a LAN or the Internet.
Before each race, the player chooses a vehicle and has the option of selecting either an automatic or manual transmission.
In the tournament/career mode, the player must win a series of races in order to unlock vehicles and tracks. Gameplay Īlmost all of the games in the NFS series employ the same fundamental rules and similar mechanics: the player controls a race car in a variety of races, the goal being to win the race.
At the time, 80% of Ghost Games' work force consisted of former Criterion Games employees. In August 2013, following the downsizing of Criterion Games, it was announced that Swedish developer Ghost Games would gain control of the Need for Speed racing franchise and oversee future development of the main series. Ward wouldn't confirm that all Need for Speed games in the future would be developed entirely by Criterion, but he did say the studio would have "strong involvement" in them and would have control over which NFS titles would be released in the future. Īt E3 2012, Criterion Games vice president Alex Ward announced that random developers would no longer be developing NFS titles. Autolog provides social features for Need for Speed games via a mobile app and website it allows players to track game progress, view leaderboards, share screenshots with friends, and more. In 2010, EA introduced a social platform, titled Autolog, for Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit and future games in the series. In 2011, Slightly Mad Studios released a sequel to Shift, Shift 2: Unleashed and EA Black Box released The Run. In 2009, EA brought in Slightly Mad Studios, due to sagging sales, and they released Need for Speed: Shift, and EA's own UK-based company Criterion Games came with Hot Pursuit in 2010. EA Black Box has been the primary series developer on a yearly cycle from 2002-08. ĮA Canada continued to develop and expand the Need for Speed franchise up to 2002, when another Vancouver-based gaming company, named Black Box Games, was contracted to continue the series with Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2. The company capitalized on its experience in the domain by developing the Need for Speed series in late 1992. After the purchase, the company was renamed Electronic Arts (EA) Canada. Prior to Electronic Arts' purchase of the company in 1991, it had created popular racing games such as Stunts and Test Drive II: The Duel. The Need for Speed series was originally developed by Distinctive Software, a video game studio based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.