In a statement given to Eurogamer, EA's Battlefield boss Vince Zampella says: "The Need for Speed team at Criterion are joining their colleagues working on Battlefield. As a company, it was important to us to take the last year to listen to our Need for Speed community and use their feedback to create content for Unbound ."

All Need for Speed developers are now helping develop the upcoming Battlefield 6, with Vince Zampella promising a return to the franchise soon.

EA has confirmed the end of support for Need for Speed Unbound just over two years after the game came out as its developer goes all in on the next Battlefield. UK studio Criterion Games, best-known for the much-loved Burnout series,

EA then confirms that "we plan to bring the franchise back in new and interesting ways", but since Criterion doesn't have anyone working on the series currently, any new game is a significant number of years away. In September 2023, Vince Zampella said a "core group" of developers within Criterion was working on "what's next for the franchise".

EA has put out a new statement (via Eurogamer) on the future of its Need for Speed series, as it ends support for 2022's Need for Speed Unbound. The last NFS entry had an extended life cycle, where EA went on to "use their [fans] feedback to create content for Unbound", but developer Criterion Games is now fully working on Battlefield 6.