The full car list for Need for Speed Heat was recently released by Electronic Arts and much to the surprise of many, not a single Toyota is featured in the game, not even the new Supra, perhaps the most talked-about sports car of 2019.

A Twitter user asked Toyota UK why none of the Japanese car manufacturer’s cars are featured in Need for Speed Heat recently to find out why this is the case. It didn’t take long for Toyota UK to respond, stating “You can find our cars in GT Sport, which doesn’t promote illegal street racing.” Shortly afterwards, the tweet was deleted but Reddit users were able to snap some screenshots of it, including the hilarious response from Need for Speed itself.

Once upon a time, you could find Toyota models in various racing games, including previous Need for Speed titles. However, in the past couple of years, Toyota production road cars have disappeared from virtually all racing titles except for Gran Turismo Sport (GT Sport).

Also Read: New Need For Speed ‘Heat’ Is All About Street Racing Rogue Cops

Toyota doesn’t appear to have ever officially stated why this is the case but it is widely believed that Polyphony Digital, the makers of the Gran Turismo series, has an exclusive licensing deal with Toyota. This would explain why popular racing titles such as V-Rally 4, The Crew 2, Dirt Rally 2.0, and even Forza Horizon 4 are missing Toyotas. Interestingly, some smartphone racing games and arcade games still feature Toyota road cars such as Initial D Arcade Stage Zero and Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune 6.

If we were to guess, we’d say that Toyota’s decision not to have its cars featured in Need for Speed Heat doesn’t relate, at least not exclusively, to its distaste for gaming titles with illegal street racing and think it likely has to do with licensing. We have reached out to Toyota for clarification.

Update: Toyota UK recently took to Twitter and published the following response after its original tweet was deleted.

Toyota Says Its Cars Aren’t In Need For Speed Heat Because Game Promotes “Illegal Street Racing”
Toyota Says Its Cars Aren’t In Need For Speed Heat Because Game Promotes “Illegal Street Racing”
Toyota Says Its Cars Aren’t In Need For Speed Heat Because Game Promotes “Illegal Street Racing”
Toyota Says Its Cars Aren’t In Need For Speed Heat Because Game Promotes “Illegal Street Racing”
Toyota Says Its Cars Aren’t In Need For Speed Heat Because Game Promotes “Illegal Street Racing”
Toyota Says Its Cars Aren’t In Need For Speed Heat Because Game Promotes “Illegal Street Racing”
Toyota Says Its Cars Aren’t In Need For Speed Heat Because Game Promotes “Illegal Street Racing”
Toyota Says Its Cars Aren’t In Need For Speed Heat Because Game Promotes “Illegal Street Racing”
Toyota Says Its Cars Aren’t In Need For Speed Heat Because Game Promotes “Illegal Street Racing”
Toyota Says Its Cars Aren’t In Need For Speed Heat Because Game Promotes “Illegal Street Racing”
Toyota Says Its Cars Aren’t In Need For Speed Heat Because Game Promotes “Illegal Street Racing”
Toyota Says Its Cars Aren’t In Need For Speed Heat Because Game Promotes “Illegal Street Racing”