Two years plus a few days ago, Ghost Games told the world that there would be no new Need for Speed in 2014. Skipping the year, it explained, would allow it to create a “highly innovative” addition to the series for 2015—which ultimately turned into 2016 for the PC. Today the studio put forth a very similar message, saying that it's “taking stock," and that the follow-up won't be out until sometime in 2017.
“Since we released Need for Speed last November, we’ve been humbled by the support from our players and the ongoing collaboration with you,” the studio said. “We have learned so much from your feedback, and much of that has gone on to shape the free content updates to NFS. Features such as Manual Transmission, Wrap Sharing, Snapshot Pro, SpeedLists, Customization items, bigger garage and more came directly from your suggestions. We’ve also introduced Hot Rods, saw the return of Drag Racing, and you once again went toe-to-toe with the infamous Eddie.”
Ghost Games emphasized that it won't be “going quiet” between now and the announcement of the next game. “The feedback our Community has already given us is already shaping the future of Need for Speed, and it will continue to do so as we move further into development of the next game, so please do keep it coming,” it said.
To be fair, I don't think anyone had committed to a new Need for Speed in 2016, but a quick look at Wikipedia reveals that, since the release of Need for Speed 2 in 1997, it's been awfully close to an annual franchise, having missed only 2001 and 2014. In that context, the pause is unusual; in light of what we got from the reboot, on the other hand (which, for the record, didn't fare much better on consoles), it's probably not a bad idea to back it down a bit.
