EA to End Online Support for Need for Speed: Rivals in October 2025, Sparking Fresh Debate on Game Ownership
EA has officially confirmed that Need for Speed: Rivals will be losing its online functionality on October 7, 2025, ending over a decade of online racing for one of the franchise's most memorable entries. The announcement was spotted by Delisted Games after the title was added to EA's official service updates list, alongside other games that are set to lose online support.
Need for Speed: Rivals originally launched on November 15, 2013, for PS3, Xbox 360, and PC, and saw its next-gen console debut a year later in October 2014 for the PS4 and Xbox One. EA’s update impacts the PS4 and Xbox One versions specifically, which includes backward compatibility play on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S, effectively shutting down all online modes for these platforms.
While the game does feature a single-player mode that remains accessible after the servers are deactivated, the central appeal for many players—its online multiplayer racing—will be gone. This is yet another example of how even legacy titles with a loyal player base are increasingly vulnerable to server-dependent infrastructure, regardless of their historical impact or ongoing appeal.
This decision also follows EA’s recent announcement that Anthem will be losing its online functionality in January 2026, rendering the game completely unplayable, since it lacks an offline mode. That move, among many others, has fueled the growing Stop Killing Games movement a campaign aiming to push for legislation that prevents publishers from removing access to games that consumers have paid for, especially those tied to server-side features.
The campaign, which began in 2024, has surged in popularity and recently surpassed 1 million signatures, underscoring widespread gamer concern regarding digital ownership and game preservation. Despite this momentum, many major publishers have countered that proposals like those supported by Stop Killing Games would make sustaining online games “prohibitively expensive.”
The debate has recently reignited following remarks from Minecraft creator Markus “Notch” Persson, who controversially stated: “If buying a game is not a purchase, then pirating them is not theft.” His remarks echoed on social media and further stirred public discourse on the ethics and legality of digital game sales, where ownership is often reduced to a temporary license, revocable at the publisher's discretion.
In this context, Need for Speed: Rivals becomes yet another example fueling the conversation around digital rights and the impermanence of online games. For players hoping to keep their nostalgic experiences intact, October 7, 2025, now stands as a ticking clock.
Should laws be introduced to prevent publishers from shutting down paid games? Or is it fair game for evolving technology? Let us know what you think.
