Over the years, Need For Speed saw a large number of sub-series with different gameplay modes, driving styles, physics and style. Executive producer Marcus Nilsson admits that this didn't do the brand good and promised that the upcoming Need For Speed reboot should mark a fresh start that avoids this mistake.
The last Need For Speed, NFS: Rivals, was released in 2013. According to Nilsson, this 2 years hiatus was used to figure out how to take the series forward while avoiding past mistakes.
"Taking the year off is obviously an answer to that, right? We used it to figure out who we are and what we should be," he said. "Was it confusing to have Need for Speed: The Run [six months after having] Shift 2? Absolutely. It is – not only does it saturate Need for Speed, but it also confuses you, ‘What is the experience I get from Need for Speed?’"
"So, this reboot of the franchise is about getting our foundation correctly laid out – what you see here is what the Need for Speed experience will be for the foreseeable future."