EA Finally Has A Cross-Play Game, Following Tomorrow's Need For Speed Heat Update

A new update for Need for Speed Heat is set to arrive on June 9, and it's a notable one--and not just because it'll mark the game's final update. The June patch for NFS Heat will introduce cross-play across all platforms--PS4, Xbox One, and PC--making it the first game from EA to offer the feature.

As detailed in the patch notes, which you can see in full below, after you grab the June update, you'll be asked to opt-in to cross-play. Doing so will allow you to play with players regardless of platform, and a newly added EA Friends tab will let you manage friends and see who is online across services. Proximity voice chat is enabled through cross-play, and an icon next to a player's name will let you know what system they're playing on.

Cross-play for Heat supports both the Origin and Steam versions, the latter of which was one of multiple EA games that hit the Valve storefront last week. EA Access and Origin Access Basic subscribers will be able to begin playing the game for free when it joins the Vault on June 16.

This update will be the final one for Heat, as Criterion--which will develop the series going forward--is shifting its focus to the next NFS game.

There's no word on further EA games getting cross-play support, so your Apex Legends, FIFA, and Battlefield matches will continue to be played only with those on your platform of choice. But the announcement does call attention to this being a first for EA, which hopefully indicates plans to do more of this in the future.

The news comes just ahead of EA Play, which was recently postponed. Originally scheduled to take place this Thursday, EA Play will now be broadcast on June 18, and there's a tease of Need for Speed news.

Need for Speed Heat Patch Notes For June Update

Cross-play

Added Cross-play functionality across all platforms.

Once you’ve installed the June update, you will be prompted with the option to activate cross-play, which you can later find in the privacy settings in the game menu. Opting in will allow you to race players across PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4 on the same server.

You can search for friends in the Find Players menu. Head over to the Party Menu and check the new EA Friends tab to see who’s online across all platforms. In order to create a party and invite them to your game, they naturally need to opt-in for cross-play as well.

In the game, you will see icons next to players' names, indicating which platform they’re playing on, and you can use the proximity voice chat to talk to them.

General Fixes

• Improved cop car logic to reduce occurrences where cop cars significantly reduced player car health in one hit.
• Some cops would behave very passive while in a pursuit and not perform maneuvers to stop your car. They should now be more motivated to take you down as long as they’re actively pursuing you. This is no overall buff or nerf of the cops, it just affected a small percentage of cop cars that were pursuing, but not engaging.
• We fixed an issue where some rewards didn't trigger correctly when hitting 100% of collectables. You should now receive the vanity items Rainbow Nitrous, Black Tire Smoke and the “If you’re happy and you know it” horn.
• Made a few tweaks so you should encounter error DR1005 less often.
• Similarly, the probability of inventory synchronization errors has been significantly reduced.

Visual

• When rushing through the tunnel in Mendoza Keys, you should no longer encounter solid walls popping in.
• Fixed an issue that could cause vegetation to appear on roads when choosing low and medium graphic settings and using a specific video card.
• The ‘Racer Challenges’ in the garage should no longer be displayed after reaching Rep level 50.
• The ‘Rival Crews’ menu is no longer visible in the main menu when you boot the game while offline.
• Fixed an issue where a time trial wouldn’t show any ghost car when you started it.
• After driving to a time trial starting point, looking at the leaderboard panel should no longer be blank.
• A specific beanie was only visible from close range, now it can also be seen from afar.

Audio

• Cops will now refer to the McLaren P1 GTR correctly in cop chatter.

World

• Reworked train wagon collision models in Fort Callahan to prevent your car becoming stuck under them.
• We took a closer look at a few spots where cop cars could drive on the bottom of the ocean or riverbed. Their cars should now get wrecked as intended, and while they’re busy with their own cars, they should no longer be busting you.

Cars

• Added a sound system interaction point for the Aston Martin Vulcan ‘16.
• All colors should now be displayed correctly when using specific paints on the side of the Chevrolet Camaro Z28.
• Decal interaction points for the Lamborghini Aventador S ‘18 and the Roadster variant now work as intended.
• The second set of stock rims now is aligned with the tires of the Land Rover Defender 110 ‘15.
• Added a sound system interaction point for the Land Rover Defender 110 ‘15.
• When using the wide Porsche rear fender on the Porsche 911 Carrera RSR 2.8, aftermarket tail light tints should now be displayed correctly.
• The Alchemist rear bumper for the Ford Mustang ‘65 is now displayed correctly.
• Decals applied to the Varis front bumper of the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX ‘07 will no longer vanish when accelerating.
• You can now purchase the stock spoiler for the Nissan 180SX starter car.
• The model of the Porsche Cayman GT4 2015 now has the spoiler equipped that is displayed in the dealership icon.
• Added missing sound system interaction point to the Volkswagen Golf GTI ‘76.
• Added missing sound system interaction point to the Volkswagen Beetle ‘63.

Events

• The AI drivers would follow interesting routes in a handful of races. We took a look and they should now stick to the racing line.
• Fixed an issue that could occur when you restarted a time trial after finishing it for the first time and beating the ghost’s time. The UI could behave in a way that would display the ghost from the first time trial run, while you were actually competing against the next best time. That could lead to situations where you thought you beat the opponent, but you also didn’t. This should no longer occur, and the ghost that you see is the one your time will be measured against.
• When completing the ‘Picknick’ time trial and coming in second, you should now receive the correct amount of Bank.
• You should now be able to restart the ‘Upload’ mission as intended.

We also improved overall stability and fixed rare instances where the game would crash or hang.