EA is pulling the plug and delisting a number of older Need for Speed titles today. This means that the games will no longer be available for sale, their in-game stores closed, and their online services will be shuttered. EA says that this decision was made as it is "shifting gears (GET IT?!) to focus on the future of Need for Speed." These removals seem to have come without any advance warning that we've seen.
The titles, listed below, have already been pulled from Origin. Steam still has a few of them available, but I wouldn't count on them lasting through the end of the day.
The games that are getting delisted from all storefronts today include:
- Need for Speed Carbon
- Need for Speed Undercover
- Need for Speed Shift
- Need for Speed Shift 2: Unleashed
- Need for Speed The Run
EA's announcement comes via Reddit from community manager Max_Joker.
Starting May 31st 2021, Need for Speed Carbon, Need for Speed Undercover, Need for Speed Shift, Need for Speed Shift 2: Unleashed and Need for Speed The Run will be removed from digital storefronts and you will no longer be able to purchase them. In-game stores will also be closed from May 31st. This is in preparation for the retirement of the online services for these titles which will happen on August 31st 2021. Until that date, you will be able to play and race your friends (and rivals) online. From September 1st 2021 onwards, you can still play the games and use the respective offline features of these titles.
Decisions to retire games are never made easy, but we are now shifting gears to focus on the future of Need for Speed. The development teams and operational staff have put a lot of time and passion into the development, creation, release and upkeep of the game over the years, and we love to see you play. But the number of players has come to a point where it's no longer feasible to continue the work behind the scenes required to keep Need for Speed Carbon, Need for Speed Undercover, Need for Speed Shift, Need for Speed Shift 2: Unleashed and Need for Speed The Run up and running. We hope you have gotten many victories, satisfying drifts, moments of friendly rivalry, and hours of joy over the last few years out of these games. And we hope you'll keep driving with us in one of our newer titles - 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 - many of which are available via our EA Play subscription.
Decisions to retire games are never made easy, but we are now shifting gears to focus on the future of Need for Speed. The development teams and operational staff have put a lot of time and passion into the development, creation, release and upkeep of the game over the years, and we love to see you play. But the number of players has come to a point where it's no longer feasible to continue the work behind the scenes required to keep Need for Speed Carbon, Need for Speed Undercover, Need for Speed Shift, Need for Speed Shift 2: Unleashed and Need for Speed The Run up and running. We hope you have gotten many victories, satisfying drifts, moments of friendly rivalry, and hours of joy over the last few years out of these games. And we hope you'll keep driving with us in one of our newer titles - 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 - many of which are available via our EA Play subscription.
