New Need for Speed reportedly has “anime elements”

There’s a new Need for Speed in the works, and while we’ve yet to see the game in action, we’ve heard a lot about it. The latest report says it’ll be taking some cues from the world of Japanese animation.

This comes from journalist Jeff Grubb, speaking on the latest episode of Grubbsnax on Giant Bomb. The game is “going to be photo-realistic, but it’s going to have anime elements on top of that,” he reports. “You know when you see a car commercial or something like that,” he asks. “The car’s driving around, but then cartoon flames and stuff are flying off it? That’s the aesthetic that they seem to be going for.” It’s easy to imagine that look, and it certainly sounds fun.

Grubb reported some additional details about the game’s setting and features as well. It’s apparently set in a fictionalized version of Chicago, dubbed Lake Shore City. This was done in an effort “to make it feel like a real city, even though it’s a fictionalized version of” one. The previous games’ Autolog social hub is also said to be back, along with car customization.

This isn’t the first time Grubb has spoken about the upcoming Need for Speed title. He previously reported that it would be releasing this holiday on current-gen consoles only, leaving the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One behind. The game changed hands back in 2020, with Criterion Games getting back behind the wheel of development. Given that shift and the radio silence since, these reports are both plausible and intriguing.