Need For Speed: Rivals online servers will shut down in October

There’s been a great deal of discussion in recent weeks about the long-term health of the video games industry and the art it creates. Thanks to the ever-increasing growth in digital adoption and the rising reliance on online services, many games operate on a limited shelf life. Unfortunately, the next game to have some of its lights snuffed out is Need For Speed: Rivals – with all of its online services ceasing in a few months’ time.
Updating the ‘About’ section on its Steam page, EA has now announced that 2013’s Need For Speed: Rivals’ “Online servers will be retired on October 7, 2025.”
Though currently still available to purchase, it seems only a matter of time before the game is delisted from storefronts (as is the case with pretty much all racing games featuring licensed vehicles).
While we’ve not gotten a comprehensive explanation of what ‘online servers’ shutting down means exactly, NFS: Rivals should (hopefully) remain playable after this date due to it already having an offline mode.
Still, while it is unlikely that many were playing Need For Speed: Rivals online in 2025, it is a shame none-the-less to see yet another game lose access to part of itself.
KitGuru says: What do you think of this announcement? Are you bothered by such moves assuming the game has a functioning offline mode? Let us know down below.