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'Need For Speed' Coming To PC March 17

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EA’s revered racing series, Need For Speed, made its return to the market last November after the company put the series on hiatus for a year while it worked on rebooting the series for “next gen” consoles. The game was originally set to release on PC along with the console release, but in September, developer Ghost Games announced that the PC version would be delayed until the spring of 2016, citing the need for extra time to provide the unlocked framerates and higher resolution desired by the PC gaming community. Today, EA and Ghost Games announced the new release date for Need For Speed on PC and revealed the extra features that this version of the game will include.

Need For Speed will be released on March 17, and it will include a host of improvements, some of which should probably have been included in the game in the first place. As Ghost Games mentioned, Need For Speed was delayed in part because of the locked frame rate. The PC version will come with completely unrestricted framerates. Ghost Games also included 4K textures for gamers with 4K displays.

When Need For Speed comes out on PC, the game will finally have a manual transmission option. The original release of the game didn't have one, and Ghost Games said that the feature was one of the additions that the community demanded the most. The developer said that the console versions of the game will also get the manual transmission option when the game launches on PC.

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Wheel support is another community-requested feature that Ghost Games has taken seriously. The company said that the PC version of the game will ship with support for select wheels from Logitech, Thrustmaster and Fanatec. It’s not clear if wheel support extends to the console versions of Need For Speed.

Ghost Games said that the PC version of Need For Speed will ship with all the improvements that have been made to the console versions, including the Icons and Legends updates. The Showcase update is scheduled for shortly after the PC release.

Need For Speed will be available on PC starting March 17, but if you have EA Access, you can start playing the game a week earlier, on March 10.

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Kevin Carbotte

 Kevin Carbotte is a contributing writer for Tom's Hardware who primarily covers VR and AR hardware. He has been writing for us for more than four years. 

16 Comments Comment from the forums
  • falchard
    Maximum pixel depth depends on viewpoint and monitor resolution. 4096 textures really doesn't say much without knowing the dimensions of the object and intended viewpoint.
    4096 pixels per meter is a much different level of detail than 4096 pixels per kilometer.
    Reply
  • Matt_550
    A racing game with only an automatic transmission? Man is that stupid. But wait it's a game that has become arcadey as can be and is made by EA. I wouldn't be surprised if traction control and stability control were always on too.
    Reply
  • eklipz330
    Why does all of that matter? Not every racing game needs to be realistic.
    Reply
  • Ja_52
    A racing game with only an automatic transmission? Man is that stupid. But wait it's a game that has become arcadey as can be and is made by EA. I wouldn't be surprised if traction control and stability control were always on too.

    "When Need For Speed comes out on PC, the game will finally have a manual transmission option. The original release of the game didn't have one, and Ghost Games said that the feature was one of the additions that the community demanded the most. The developer said that the console versions of the game will also get the manual transmission option when the game launches on PC."

    Reply
  • SchizoFrog
    I just want NFS: Most Wanted (original not the rubbish remake) and NFS: Underground 1 and 2 to get full modern revamps. Update the graphics and the cars if you wish but leave the games themselves as they were. That would make me and several million players quite happy.
    Reply
  • silversurfernhs
    A racing game with only an automatic transmission? Man is that stupid. But wait it's a game that has become arcadey as can be and is made by EA. I wouldn't be surprised if traction control and stability control were always on too.

    "When Need For Speed comes out on PC, the game will finally have a manual transmission option. The original release of the game didn't have one, and Ghost Games said that the feature was one of the additions that the community demanded the most. The developer said that the console versions of the game will also get the manual transmission option when the game launches on PC."
    It's amazing that they even need to be told this. It seems like this happens more and more.
    Reply
  • Max_x2
    I just want NFS: Most Wanted (original not the rubbish remake) and NFS: Underground 1 and 2 to get full modern revamps. Update the graphics and the cars if you wish but leave the games themselves as they were. That would make me and several million players quite happy.

    I think it was underground 2 that I installed couple years ago that had upgraded graphics. It was fan-made mods, but looked quite good at 1080p. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_ECIiQ3AZM
    Reply
  • Avus
    It is so sad that features like higher resolutions, unlock frame rate and even the fxxking manual transmission (more like the ability you can roll your own gear) are consider "special features" in 2016 racing titles.
    Reply
  • Avus
    17485251 said:
    Why does all of that matter? Not every racing game needs to be realistic.

    First, I am assuming you are talking about "manual transmission" feature. Having an "option" to roll your own gears is not about adding realism into a "racing/driving" title. It is one of the BASIC operation of controlling a car, specially a high performance car in a racing environment. Just having 2 buttons to able to shift up and shift down is not rocket science and not even a "realistic" action for operate a "manual transmission". But saying it does not matter is just naive. Are you ok the next version of NFS auto brake and accelerate for you as well? It doesn't matter, not every racing game need to be realistic... The game is about driving a real world cars not Mario carts. So you mind the graphics need to be nice, a BMW in the game need to look as realistic as the real thing, but it is ok the game won't give you option to change gears in race? May be you don't need this option but it doesn't mean this option is not matter.
    Reply
  • falchard
    Need for Speed franchise was never a simulator. There are already superior vehicle simulators on the PC where you can use your steering wheel with feedback, pedals, and VR. When it comes to arcade racing, it's about the thrill of racing and not so much the precision.
    Reply