More freedom is being given to the racers of "Need for Speed: Payback" after weeks of popular demand for an online free roam feature in the racing game.
Developer Ghost Games and publisher Electronic Arts (EA) have finally heeded the players' call for the feature, and for free nonetheless. The online free roam feature will now allow players to drive around the large game world while waiting in a queue for an online match.
It is worth noting that the previous title before "Payback" actually had this mode, which was why players were puzzled as to why the developers had not included it in the new title since it essentially was a downgrade to not have that feature. The said previous title was 2015's "Need for Speed" game and is the 22nd installment in the long-running franchise, making "Payback" the 23rd.
This is perhaps one of the many attempts of the developers and EA to rehabilitate the image of the racing game after a troublesome reception during its launch where the game was lambasted for its loot boxes and sub-par narrative and progression system. Some, however, have speculated whether this has always been in the game and was just disabled before release, while others wonder why the developers thought it was a good idea to remove a feature common in the previous games.
Players are advised though, that while the developers have indeed confirmed the implementation of the free roam mode in multiplayer, they shared no visual or gameplay details for it at all, meaning they will have to wait to see what it looks like and what it involves. The said multiplayer free roam mode will be available for the Xbox One, PlayStation 4 (PS4), and Microsoft Windows, but the exact date of its release or implementation has not been announced by the developers yet. Still, it is expected to arrive sometime in 2018.
