Need for Speed Heat is EA’s First Title to Support Cross-Play

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Need for Speed Heat brings the power of choice to the people with tomorrow's cross-play update.

Need for Speed Heat launched late last year as the twenty-fourth installment in the long-running NFS franchise. At the time, racers were only able to compete against other players on their console. With its final update, developer Criterion is opening the world up to everybody. Starting tomorrow, racers will enjoy cross-play support on PC, PS4, and Xbox One. Letting you play with your friends, regardless of what console they own.

This is the first EA title to support cross-play, making you wonder if this will soon become the new normal for the publisher. We’ve seen games like Call of Duty starting to incorporate it, so it only seems like a matter of time before it comes to other major games. It is worth mentioning that the game’s been out for more than half a year, meaning the player base has likely dwindled from the first few months. That said, if this is the company’s first “test” before they start rolling it out early in a game’s life-cycle then it makes a lot of sense.

Along with the update, Criterion and EA revealed that the team is moving onto the next Need for Speed game. That means this is the final update for Heat, which isn’t too surprising. The NFS team has been on an every-other-year release cycle, but with new consoles on the horizon, they could be looking to have something ready for that launch window. That said, even an early 2021 release would likely do well for EA’s presence on next-gen consoles.

Need for Speed Heat is available now on PC, PS4, and Xbox One. EA is holding its annual EA Play on June 18. Maybe we’ll hear more about the next Need for Speed or even EA’s plans for cross-play at that event.