After the recent free weekend, Need For Speed: Heat has seen a massive surge of 5,500 percent of its player numbers on steam. This is the new all-time peak for the game on PC, and not only that, there have been some rumblings about the sequel to Need For Speed: Heat called Need For Speed: Unbound. Both of these things combined have resulted in a good day for Need For Speed fans.
According to SteamDB, Need For Speed: Heat players went up from around 1500-2500 on average to over 86,000 concurrent players this week. There are over 65,000 drivers in the game right now. In the past, the highest player numbers Need For Speed: Heat had was 13,000, which was around a year ago.
Obviously, the reason for this massive increase in popularity is the free weekend promotion by the developers. And then adding the huge 95% discount for the Deluxe version of the game, things start to make a bit more sense. The limited-time discount will be available until October 11, so if you haven’t gotten the game yet and are interested, the deal is still up for a little while on Steam. If you have enjoyed Need For Speed games in the past, this one will probably float your boat, since even most newcomers have reported positive reviews for Need For Speed: Heat.
The Sequel To Need For Speed: Heat
Another interesting factor is the rumored reveal of the sequel to the newly revived arcade racing game, reportedly called Need For Speed: Unbound. Some sources suggest that EA is getting ready to reveal the new project this weak, with the plan of launching the game in only a few months on December 2. The leaks also suggest that the game will be current-gen only with photo-realistic graphics and some anime elements.
The Need For Speed franchise has not exactly been doing well since Hot Pursuit in 2010. With most games afterward being considered disappointing or average at best. Maybe these anime elements are an attempt to reinvent the classic series in some form.