There comes a point in every video game’s life cycle where there’s just no more than can be done to keep the game alive at a contemporary level. Whether it’s in the form of shutting down online servers, ending content updates, releasing newer games or just removing the game from the shelves, nothing lasts forever, and the same is true for five once popular Need For Speed titles from yesteryears.
From a reddit post on the Need for Speed subreddit by community manager Max Myrus, the five older Need for Speed titles were delisted from digital stores on 31st May in preparation to close those same games’ online servers. The in-game stores were also shuttered when they become playable offline only when the servers close on 31st August.
The five titles are:
- Need for Speed Carbon
- Need for Speed Undercover
- Need for Speed Shift
- Need for Speed Shift 2: Unleashed
- Need for Speed The Run
In the arcade realm of racers, Forza’s Horizon series of games have also had similar endings. Only Forza Horizon 4 is still widely available while 1, 2, and 3 are all only obtainable by purchasing a physical disc to play offline. Likewise, a used physical PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360 disc will be the only ways to enjoy these Need for Speed titles going forward if a digital copy isn’t already in your possession.
There are still plenty of Need for Speed games that are still getting love from the developers, namely Need for Speed Most Wanted (2012), Need for Speed Rivals, Need for Speed (2015), Need for Speed Payback, Need for Speed Heat and Need for Speed Hot Pursuit Remastered.
Myrus stated in the post that “decisions to retire games are never made easy, but we are now shifting gears to focus on the future of Need for Speed.” Hopefully this means that a new Need for Speed game is soon to be arriving just around the corner, as the last new game, Need for Speed Heat, was released in 2019, and the last release in general, Need for Speed Hot Pursuit Remastered, came in November last year.
We’ll keep our fingers crossed. While you’re here, check out our recent upload on the Traxion.GG YouTube channel about the history of Need for Speed, and let us know what you think in the comments about the latest news about these older titles getting shelved permanently.
