If you are a gearhead who loves racing games, you may have noticed a certain car manufacturer absent from the recently revealed Need for Speed Heat car list. Toyota will not be featured in the upcoming title from Ghost Games, and it seems it is because the game “promotes illegal street racing.”
Eagle-eyed Twitter user jacoja06 asked Toyota U.K. why none of its vehicles have appeared in the game. The car manufacturer replied back with the reason.
“Not there,” said Toyota U.K. “You can find our cars in GT Sport, which doesn’t promote illegal street racing.”
ALSO: Need for Speed Heat gameplay revealed at Gamescom 2019
After also urging that that Toyota reconsider being part of the game, the manufacturer responded back by saying, “We appreciate your feedback and it’s great to hear you’re a fan of the Celica,” followed by a thumbs up emoji.
After Toyota’s response, many took to Twitter to point out the irony of this decision. Toyota vehicles have been in previous Need for Speed games, with one of the most recent entries being the Supra SZ-R in Need for Speed (2015). Even more ironic, the 1994 Supra MK IV was one of the main cars driven in 2001’s The Fast and the Furious, a movie that, while moving slightly away in recent years, has glorified street racing in multiple entries. Even more recently, an orange 2020 Supra was seen on the set of the upcoming Fast 9 film.
It’s unknown if there is something different about Need for Speed Heat or if this is a new policy surrounding video games. Regardless, unless something changes, expect to not see Toyotas in EA’s upcoming racing game.
Need for Speed Heat is set to launch on November 8 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One. If you’re interested in purchasing the game, check out our pre-order guide to see which version of the game is right for you.
