Sadly, I expect you're right about that...
Personally, I was hoping for some kind of enhanced freedrive. It would definitely boost the quality of single player, but I'll concede that it isn't necessarily in line with the Hot Pursuit philosophy (or at least the 2010 one) since it's typically a fight to the finish and nothing more.
I'd hope that it would've made the game a little more open-world, and function as a spontaneous Interceptor or Hot Pursuit event without the time limit or bust criteria respectively. Freeroam cops could also be incorporated, we already had a Shelby GT500 highway patrol unit outside both SCPD stations, but they were merely props. It would've been awesome to have cops parked up at speed traps (and maybe even patrolling if possible) just as they are in events on both sides of the law!
Having more power and a remaster at their disposal, I don't see why this wouldn't be a golden opportunity for Criterion/Stellar to deliver an experience that is the superlative of the HP genre. Unfortunately, some aspects of the last-gen original appear to equal or even exceed those of its upcoming remaster...
Will the game only be available digitally or also available as disc?
Physical version available. I pre-ordered my PS4 version from Amazon
