Need for Speed: Rivals is an upcoming open-world racing video game in development at Swedish games developer Ghost Games (formerly EA Gothenburg), the twentieth installment in the long-running Need for Speed series. The game is to be released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on 19 November 2013 and will also be released for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One later in 2013. It is a spiritual successor to 1999's Need for Speed: High Stakes.
Need for Speed: Rivals will feature similar gameplay to 2010's Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit title in the Need for Speed franchise with exotic cars and high-speed police chases. Players take on the role of a racer or a cop, with each side of the law offering its own set of challenges, risks and rewards. Rivals will feature eleven upgradeable gadgets such as EMPs, shockwaves and the ability to call in roadblocks. The game takes place in fictional Redview County, an open world area that's host to scraps between cops and robbers. The open world will feature a similar set-up to 2012's Need for Speed: Most Wanted, with several jumps, speed traps and unlockable cars.
The game uses Autolog, the competition-between-friends system developed by Criterion for Hot Pursuit, and since used in other titles in the Need for Speed series. It will let players compare stats and challenge friends anytime, anywhere and share the accomplishments with both friends and rivals. Rivals features a new social system called AllDrive, which allow players to seamlessly transition from playing alone, to playing with friends, described as "destroying the line between single player and multiplayer". This will allow players to in engage co-op gameplay as well as play against each other. The game also features a dynamic weather system, which is "going to make the world feel alive in a much bigger sense than any other Need for Speed game.
Rivals will also take on some gameplay styles of earlier Underground titles in the franchise with cues on aesthetic vehicle customizations, as performance upgrades, paint jobs, decals, rims and license plates can be modified. The customization confirmed so far seems limited to texture-based changes (essentially livery decoration). With the exception of the Aston Martin Vanquish, other vehicles will only be available in either racer or police variant. Ferrari will officially return to the franchise in full form for the first time in eleven years since Hot Pursuit 2 in 2002 (although they've appeared in 2009's Shift as Xbox 360-exclusive downloadable content) with the F12 berlinetta being the first Ferrari vehicle confirmed.