Need for Speed

Need for Speed rebooted on StreamerHouse in 2015, though the always-online requirement and inability to pause killed any marathon stream potential. Ghost Games launched their franchise revival November 2015 for PS4/Xbox One ($59.99), with PC following March 2016—a "back to roots" attempt after the action-heavy Rivals. StreamerHouse quickly encountered the dealbreaker: EA's mandatory internet connection meant no pausing even in solo play, justified by Autolog's snapshot feature that awarded Rep/XP/money for liked photos. Critics praised stunning visuals and deep customization but slammed performance issues tied to unstable servers, drawing comparisons to SimCity's disastrous 2013 always-online launch. Reviews gave mixed scores—Butterworth lauded the beautiful city and rewarding progression while panning rubber-banding AI and the draconian drift scoring system. TrustedReviews awarded 4.5/5 for gorgeous night racing but called live-action cutscenes "insufferable" and the online mandate inexcusable. The game hit seventh in November 2015 US sales (67% PS4, 33% Xbox One) and earned a D.I.C.E. Awards nomination, but StreamerHouse learned that always-online requirements and 24/7 streaming were fundamentally incompatible.