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Need for Speed PC reboot release pushed back for FPS tinkering

Since the Need for Speed movie didn’t’ exactly set the world on fire, perhaps it makes sense that the next Need for Speed video game is going to be a reboot; whatever that means for a game series without a continuing plot. It certainly means the game is good looking, as early pre-release footage blew people away when revealed at E3, but unfortunately it’s going to be a little longer until PC players can get their hands on it.

Announced as part of an update on the game’s status by developer Ghost, the delay will be hitting the PC version of the game only. The Xbox One and PS4 version of the game will be landing on Nov. 5 as planned, but the PC version won’t be arriving until spring 2016.

“Part of the conversation includes hearing from our PC community that an unlocked frame rate in Need for Speed is a massive priority for you, and we fully agree,” Ghost said, highlighting one of the biggest concerns that PC gamers have had with current-gen console ports since the very earliest days of this generation. Indeed a 30FPS locked frame rate was one of the biggest perceived problems with Need for Speed: Rivals, the last entry in the series.

Unfortunately, taking the time to make it so that the frame rate is unlocked and limited only by your graphical hardware or monitor refresh rate means lots of extra development time, hence the delayed release.

However higher frame rates aren’t all PC players can look forward to. Much like the release of GTA V on PC, the new Need for Speed on PC will have more impressive visuals and dedicated servers, so perhaps the wait will be worth it.

PC gamers can also expect to have all of the interim-released free content updates at launch, with the base game.

Jon Martindale
Jon Martindale is the Evergreen Coordinator for Computing, overseeing a team of writers addressing all the latest how to…
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