Why New Need for Speed for Xbox One/PS4/PC Is Always-Online

Ghost Games, the EA-owned developer of the new Need for Speed game coming to console and PC this year, has spoken out to explain why the racer will require a constant Internet connection.

Executive producer Marcus Nilsson told Official Xbox Magazine (via GamesRadar) that the game's heavy online focus allows it to deliver a number of exciting and innovative features.

This includes the next evolution of Autolog.

"We've been pretty big with Autolog throughout the years and, as we know, it's a really powerful feature," he explained. "This time around we're going to give it more of a human voice. It will treat your friend's play as if it is part of the narrative experience."

The new game, which is simply titled Need for Speed, also has an in-game image capturing system. This, too, benefits from an always-connected environment, Nilsson said.

"We also have a new snapshot system as well," he explained. "Which is taking pictures of a lot of different moments--[they go] out to the Need for Speed network where people can 'like' them, and those likes are being pushed back into the game as currency. So you get progression from sharing your photos. The Xbox One has really good built-in systems to make videos and stream them, which we are also going to use."

Need for Speed launches November 3 for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC. Last week at Gamescom, EA released a new trailer for the game that highlights how the game will blend gameplay with live-action.

“We wanted to create a powerful story that's emotional but also pushes the boundaries of technology by adding real-time compositing to the power of Frostbite," Nilsson said at Gamescom. "This allows us, for the first time ever, to blend live-action film seamlessly with your in-game car and garage."