Game infoNeed for Speed (NFS) is a series of racing video games published by Electronic Arts (EA) and developed by several studios including the Canadian company EA Black Box and the British company Criterion Games.
The series released its first title, The Need for Speed in 1994. Initially, it was designed exclusively for use on fifth generation video game consoles, but later on was reworked to be able to be used on all seventh generation consoles by 2008. All members of the series consist of racing cars on various tracks, with some titles including police pursuits in races. Since Need for Speed: Underground, the series has integrated car body customization into gameplay.
Need for Speed is the most successful racing video game series in the world, and one of the most successful video game franchises of all time. Over 140 million copies of games in the series have been sold to date.
In June 2012, following Black Box's restructuring, British developer Criterion Games announced that it was in full control of the Need for Speed franchise. However, in August 2013, Swedish and British developers Ghost Games, Ghost Games UK and Criterion Games joined forces for the foreseeable future of the Need for Speed series. At the time, Ghost Games UK staff consisted of 80% of former Criterion Games employees.
