Cross-platform support is gaining momentum as the new feature most wanted by players and it appears that EA is dipping its toes into those waters at last. 2019’s Need For Speed Heat is the first EA title to gain cross-platform multiplayer support. Developer Criterion Games–who you may remember took over development of Heat from its previous team at Ghost Games—announced in a blog post today that tomorrow’s update for the game not only adds the cross-platform support but will also be the final update for Need For Speed Heat.
“At Criterion, we’ve always believed that games are better with friends. We don’t want your platform of choice to be a barrier for that experience. So we’re thrilled to let you all know that on June 9, Need for Speed Heat will be the first EA title to offer cross-play, meaning that players – regardless of their platform – can jump into Palm City together as one, united community,” said Matt Webster, General Manager at Criterion. The move comes along with the recent addition of a bunch of EA titles to Steam, along with a rededication to EA Access (which Need For Speed Heat will be added to on June 16.)
Webster also confirmed that this would be the game’s final updating, saying “As we at Criterion shift gears into the future with full focus on developing the next Need for Speed game, this will be the final update for Need for Speed Heat.” He closes the post by mentioning EA Play Live 2020, all of which leads to believe that there will be more Need For Speed in our futures. At the least, providing cross-platform play for this and potentially other titles goes a long way towards extending the longevity of their multiplayer games that seem to just sort of drift off and die–I’m looking at you Plants vs. Zombies.
The final Need For Speed Heat update will be available starting tomorrow, June 9th.
