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A new trademark application suggests something Need for Speed related is on the horizon.
VG247 reports that EA has filed a trademark registration for Need for Speed Arena with the European Union Intellectual Property Office.
The filing pertains to computer game software; downloadable computer game software via a global computer network and wireless devices; video game software” and entertainment services, namely, providing an on-line computer game”, as per the documentation.
Beyond that it’s purely speculation. The ‘arena’ part of the moniker and the emphasis on online could maybe lend itself to a mobile title, or perhaps something more eSports focused.
Need for Speed is an IP that EA has always been more than happy to apply to new markets – Google Daydream VR, for instance, launches tomorrow alongside a new EA title called Need for Speed: No Limits VR. There is also a F2P Korean title called Need for Speed: Edge in the works at EA Spearhead.
The IP’s future on console looks less certain. After a long-running spell of annual console releases, Need for Speed has now skipped two of the last three years on console (2014 and 2016). There is, however, reportedly one on the way in 2017.
