Due to its latest free weekend, Need For Speed: Heat sees an impressive 5,500 percent player number rise on Steam, setting the game's new all-time peak on PC. Moreover, there's a rumored reveal for the next entry called Unbound approaching, that just might play its part.
According to SteamDB, NFS: Heat player count increased from 1,500-2,500 on average in recent months to over 86,000 simultaneous players this Sunday. There are also more than 65,000 drivers in the game at the time of writing. Previously, the highest Heat has ever reached on Steam was 13,000 players a year ago.
The reason for such a surge in popularity is obviously a free weekend promotion held by the publisher recently. Now add a solid 95 percent discount for the Deluxe version of the game, and everything falls into place. The limited-time offer will be available until October 11, so you still have the chance to grab the full game almost for a penny at Valve's store. Considering the new players seem to enjoy the title quite a bit (mostly positive recent reviews), it surely looks like a good deal.
Another thing worth adding is the rumored reveal for the next chapter in the arcade racing series, supposedly titled Need for Speed Unbound. According to sources, EA is gearing up to introduce the project already this week, with the idea of launching the game just two months later, on December 2. It is expected to be a current-gen racing only, featuring photo-realistic visuals with a sprinkle of anime elements.
Need for Speed arguably hasn't really shined since 2010's Hot Pursuit, with the latter titles by Ghost Games being widely considered among the most disappointing for the series by critics and players alike. Could the anime elements be the exact game-changer the series was missing in recent years? Only time will tell, but it surely sounds intriguing. With Heat experiencing a renaissance right now, it's probably the best moment for EA to make an impression of what's coming next.