There's been a lot of talking through the grapevine about the upcoming unannounced Need for Speed game, but hard, verified information is still pretty difficult to come by. Aside from the fact that it is being made, virtually everything else heard about this new NFS has been hearsay, though it does seem that Jeff Grubb might have a bit of insight into the game's development.
Namely, Grubb recently came out claiming that the new Need for Speed game would be a next-gen exclusive while discussing the topic on his show, Grubbsnax. Now, he seems to have learned gathered more information about it and seems to believe that the game will have an anime-like aesthetic to underline its visual style further than ever before.
Now that it seems all but guaranteed that there's no Need for Speed: Most Wanted 2 in development, Grubb's assertions about the up-and-coming NFS may seem particularly interesting. He claims that the game would stick with a tried-and-true photo-realistic visual style for the most part, but that it would also feature anime-style highlights, citing car commercials where "cartoon flames and stuff are flying off it." This would likely be the most notable visual revamp in the series' history, and could look downright stellar if Criterion Games pulls it off right.
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Further, Grubb also said that the game would be set in Lake Shore City, which is effectively the in-universe version of Chicago, and could propel the new Need for Speed among the best open-world racing games of all time if the developers pull it off. It's worth pointing out that Grubb previously believed that the game would be set in Miami once more, but seems to have been corrected since. With that in mind, it's still a good idea to keep a pinch of salt at hand - just in case.
Grubb also specified that one of the classic delisted Need for Speed games' most beloved features, the multiplayer Autolog system, should be making a return. This would allow players to fully customize and tweak their multiplayer vehicles before every given race, and integrate all the game's core gameplay features with a unified social networking system that they could use to interact with one another and set up matches.
While there's no telling whether Grubb is right on the topic right now, the game should be coming out towards the end of the year, in November, and more information about it should be coming in relatively short order. The claims are pretty bold, that's for sure, and this new Need for Speed game's rating against other titles in the franchise will depend purely on how competent Criterion proves itself to be.
Source: VGC