Electronic Arts will not release a Need for Speed game in 2014, the publisher revealed during its quarterly earnings call today.

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“Our concept of what makes a game today has changed,” EA CEO Andrew Wilson said. “We are designing games for long-term experiences.”Developer Ghost Games will release the next title in the franchise in 2015.IGN spoke with Ghost Games' Marcus Nilsson, who explained, “We’ve decided to take the time to build the game we really want to build in the next fiscal year. Looking at where the racing market now is, and looking at the Need for Speed brand, we see a pretty clear strategy of what we need to achieve. And to achieve that, we need time.”Nilsson emphasized frequently that Ghost needs time, despite the studio’s growth, clearer understanding of the Frostbite 3 Engine, and newly hired talent. He pointed to Sony’s Driveclub delay as something comparable. “It’s dragging on, pushing the date, pushing the date, not because those guys can’t make games, but because it’s hard to make games.”The rapid, impressive growth of the new consoles — Xbox One with its 5 million shipped units and PlayStation 4 with its 7 million sales — also factors into EA and Ghost’s decision to delay Need for Speed into 2015. “Consoles will really reach a big number when it comes to the next fiscal year, and that really coincides with the kind of game we want to build.”Nilsson wouldn’t elaborate on what the studio’s “grand vision” for the next Need for Speed entails, but referenced customization, car culture, and personal expression multiple times. It’s also uncertain whether Need for Speed 2015 will release on Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 at all, but “the massive numbers” on those users is appealing.“I think there’s two things determining whether we make a game on gen-three or gen-four,” Nilsson said. “What kind of game can we make on each platform, and how strong is that market?” Given that Ghost wants to do something “that hasn’t been seen before,” Nilsson seems, predictably, more focused on Xbox One and PS4 for the next Need for Speed.

Mitch Dyer is an associate editor at IGN. He's trying to read 50 books in 2014. These are the 50 . Talk to Mitch about books and other stuff on Twitter at @MitchyD and subscribe to MitchyD on Twitch