To celebrate the game’s ten-year anniversary, EA has announced that Need for Speed Hot Pursuit is making a comeback. Strap in and feel the thrill of escape this November 6th when Need for Speed Hot Pursuit Remastered launches on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC via both Steam and Origin. It’ll also be available on Nintendo Switch from November 13th.
Need for Speed Hot Pursuit was the first entry in the franchise from Criterion before handing over the reins to Swedish studio Ghost Games. This year, Criterion was once again nominated as the lead developer for Need for Speed as both studios were consolidated.
For those who missed it the first time of round, Need for Speed Hot Pursuit lets you get behind-the-wheel and feel the sense of speed as both an outlaw and a cop. Bust suspects in supercharged cop interceptors enhanced with tactical weaponry or level the playing field with counterattacks and defensive manoeuvres as an elite racer.
Hot Pursuit delivers all this across both its single-player career mode, which allows you to take on the action from both sides of the law, as well as its multiplayer experience which seamlessly links all race modes. Now updated for modern systems with cross-platform multiplayer, enhanced visuals and all downloadable content. EA is also promising an extra six hours of gameplay and more than 30 challenges new to this remaster.
There are also new achievements, car colours, reduced hard stops, an updated photo mode and gallery, and various quality-of-life updates to create “an even more well-rounded gameplay experience.” In addition, with the improved Autolog system, you’ll be able to set times on your friends’ Speedwalls regardless of which platform they’re playing on.
“Need for Speed Hot Pursuit was ahead of its time when it released in 2010 as we built an automatic comparison and friend recommendation system in the game before that type of thing became a norm in today’s world,” said Matt Webster, VP of Criterion Games. “Now, we’re delighted to be bringing that spirit of timeless racing competition back to new platforms and players where they can connect, compare and compete no matter what platform they’re on, even on the go this time with the Nintendo Switch. Fuelled by Autolog and some of the world’s most desirable and classic supercars, this will create the most heart-pumping socially competitive racing experience.”
EA has also revealed the technical upgrades players can look forward to in Need for Speed Hot Pursuit Remastered. The Nintendo Switch versions run at 1080p/30FPS in docked mode (720p/30FPS undocked) and includes higher-resolution models, more objects and props, longer draw distance, higher resolution shadows, and improved videos.
On PC, 4K/60FPS is naturally supported. Meanwhile, players on console can choose between 4K/30FPS or 1080p/60FPS on PlayStation 4 Pro and Xbox One X. Base Xbox One and PS4 machines will run the game at 1080p/30FPS. These platforms will benefit from the improvements listed for Nintendo Switch, as well as upressed UI, higher resolution reflections, boosted textures, more particles, and improved AA/SSAO.
Need for Speed Hot Pursuit Remastered is available for €29.99 on PC and €39.99 on consoles. You can pre-order the title beginning today.
In the meantime, checkout the trailer and the full car list below.
Alan is the co-founder and co-owner of FullThrottle Media. As someone who enjoys spending all his free time playing video games, he delivers the latest in news stories, reviews, and feature articles to the website, as well as videos on his YouTube channel and livestreams over on Mixer.