EA is shutting down hugely popular racing game after 13 years with fans saying it ‘breaks my heart'
Rivals, part of the iconic Need for Speed franchise, will have its servers shut down in October 2025 — meaning some online features and achievements will soon be lost forever.
The game's servers will be shut down in October 2025, meaning some features and achievements will soon be out of reach for good.
Gamers in the UK and around the world have until 7 October 2025 to enjoy Need for Speed Rivals online.
The shutdown will end access to multiplayer features and discontinue two Xbox achievements — Friendly Race and Buddy Bust — which both require online play with friends.
Currently, only the Xbox One version has been listed for shutdown, but it's highly likely the Xbox 360 version will follow suit.
EA hasn't confirmed it officially, but given past closures, the odds aren't good for the older console version.
Players hoping to secure a full 1,000G completion should act fast. Friendly Race asks gamers to win a race against someone on their Friends list, while Buddy Bust requires busting a friend playing as a racer.
These can only be done online — and time is running out.
For those who don't have a friend still playing Rivals, groups on gaming forums like TrueAchievements are setting up sessions to help others complete the achievements before the cutoff date.
But once the servers go down, those opportunities vanish.
One fan wrote online: 'It breaks my heart.
"This was one of the best NFS games for multiplayer fun.'
Others called it 'the end of an era' and said it would be missed for its intense cops-vs-racers gameplay.
Need for Speed Rivals, released in 2013, was praised for blending single-player and multiplayer experiences seamlessly — a major innovation at the time.
It remains playable offline, but the full experience, including crossplay events and leaderboards, will be gone.
The game is currently available on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate through EA Play, but once servers are shut, subscribers will no longer have access to the full online experience.
The Xbox 360 version, meanwhile, is not backwards compatible, so players will need an original console to finish up any online trophies.
EA has been gradually retiring older titles to focus on new projects.
Just this year, Mirror's Edge Catalyst, Crysis 3, and NBA Jam: On Fire Edition all had their servers closed.
Anthem, the live-service sci-fi shooter, is also scheduled to go offline in early 2026.
While the move makes sense from a business point of view, longtime players say it's frustrating when games with active fanbases are taken offline.
Some have even called for EA to open peer-to-peer options or private servers to keep these titles alive.
The shutdown of Need for Speed Rivals is a reminder that online features, no matter how beloved, don't last forever.
If you're planning one final ride, you'd better hit the gas — the finish line is in sight.
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