Need for Speed Rivals brings cops and racers to an open world, launches this year on current and next-gen

Need for Speed Rivals, the next installment in the nearly two-decade-old series in development at EA's new studio Ghost Games, will launch on current generation platforms Nov. 19, and Xbox One and PS4 sometime this year, EA announced today.

Those current-gen platforms include Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Windows PCs. The title is not planned to launch on Nintendo's Wii U, an EA representative confirmed to Polygon.

The new game will feature an open world with challenges and collectibles to uncover — similar to last year's Need for Speed Most Wanted from Criterion Games, a studio which will collaborate on developing this new title. However, Rivals has a bigger emphasis on the series' staple Cops vs. Racers modes, letting players play either side and move their respective ranks, unlocking new cars, customization options and pursuit or escape technology to use against their opponents.

Rivals, which is being developed in EA's Frostbite 3 engine, will also feature seamless drop-in, drop-out racing with online friends using a feature called AllDrive, letting friends appear in your open world to race, chase or evade either alongside or against you. Players will unlock new aesthetic and performance boosts as they earn "Speedpoints" by running down racers or eluding the fuzz, depending on which of the two roles they decide to fill.

The game's multiplayer component will also be powered by Autolog, letting players compete on live leaderboards and issue challenges to one another.

For more on what the recently formed Ghost Games is doing to revitalize the Need for Speed franchise, check out our interview with executive producer Marcus Nilsson, who also filled that role on Need for Speed Shift 2: Unleashed.