The Need For Speed Beta Test Is Over — Here’s What Ghost Games Learned

Recently Ghost Games, the dev team that’s currently putting together EA’s Need For Speed reboot, held a closed beta for the game to debug the online functions and make sure everything built up to that point was running smoothly. It’s rare that any studio discusses the results of a beta test this publicly, but Ghost Games did just that in their most recent blog post….

The Closed Beta marked a big moment for everyone at Ghost Games as not only was it a major test on our hardware infrastructure and game systems but it was also the first time many of you will have experienced Need for Speed.

The main focus of the Closed Beta was on a number of technical tests that we wanted to carry out prior to the game launching this November. These tests gave us valuable insight into how our systems would work in a live environment, with so many of you playing at the same time.

Simulations and predictions will only tell part of the story and the feedback we received will be, and already is proving to be incredibly valuable as we prepare for launch, and beyond.

While the technical tests remained our primary focus of the closed beta it was great to read the passionate feedback you were providing. We wanted to take a brief moment to discuss some of the points you raised during the beta and how we’re looking to act upon them.

We’re continuing to dive into and analyse all the feedback, thoughts and opinions from the closed beta but the above changes are just the beginning. As a Living Game, your feedback will continue to change and shape the future of Need for Speed so please do keep it coming.

We recently sent out a survey to each and every participant of the Closed Beta so if you’ve already completed it, thank you! If you haven’t had time yet, please do take five minutes to fill it out and let us know your thoughts.

“Please can I mirror a design in the Wrap Editor” you asked, and a lot of you asked this! We’re pleased to confirm that this indeed a feature that’s coming to the Wrap Editor in a future content update. We’ll have more details on this a bit closer to the time.

The progression speed was an area some of you commented on, in particular how you felt you could quickly achieve a garage full of customized rides. The economy, both money and REP continue to be balanced and on launch you will find progression is now at a more normal pace.

A number of you mentioned the speed in which the AI drove and their competitiveness. This is also something that has been tweaked and improved upon for the full release. When you hit the streets of Ventura Bay at launch you’ll find AI competitors aren’t as propelled by rocket fuel as they were at times during the Closed Beta.

Thanks again for being part of our Closed Beta and we look forward to joining you on the streets of Ventura Bay in just a few weeks’ time.

Curious that no one seemed to have the complaint “I want to be able to have the game functional when it’s not online.” If EA isn’t getting that one now, they will soon. Need For Speed comes out November 3 for Playstation 4, XBox One and PC.