This generation has not been too kind to the Need for Speed franchise. While its debut to the Xbox One and PS4 was strong with Need for Speed: Rivals, the entries that proceeded it garnered mixed or downright negative reviews. While our own review of the latest entry wasn't the most positive, it seems the community has taken a liking to the Miami-based racer. So much so, that the Need for Speed: Heat player count is the highest it has ever been for the series this generation.On the Ghost Games' Twitter page, the development team thanked the community for this achievement. "NFSHeat set a new record during the first week with more of you playing this game than any other NFS title this generation," says the post. "Thanks to our community for bringing the Heat!"

This seems to reflect the sales of Need for Speed: Heat. The arcade-style racing game debuted at number one on the Swiss charts, beating Hideo Kojima's delivery man game Death Stranding. In the UK, it reached the fifth spot on the week of its release but dropped to 11 the following week. This was also the week Pokemon Sword and Shield, as well as Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order released, so it isn't too surprising that the racing game would drop a few spots.

Need for Speed: Heat is the fourth game in the series to release on current generation console platforms. The first, as mentioned, was Need for Speed: Rivals, which garnered mostly favorable reviews. The second was simply titled Need for Speed, which was less loved. Need for Speed: Payback was the entry before Need for Speed: Heat, and is widely considered a low point for the series.

Need for Speed: Heat is available now for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. If you want to see what we thought of the newest entry of the long-running racing series, you can check out our review.