Need For Speed Unbound
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''Need for Speed Unbound'' (stylised as ''NFS Unbound'') is a 2022
racing video game Racing games are a video game genre in which the player participates in a racing competition. They may be based on anything from real-world racing leagues to fantastical settings. They are distributed along a spectrum between more realistic raci ...
developed by
Criterion Games Criterion Games is a British video game developer based in Guildford. Founded in January 1996 as a Division (business), division of Criterion Software, it was owned by Canon Inc. until Criterion Software was sold to Electronic Arts in October 2 ...
and published by
Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by former Apple Inc., Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry ...
. It was released for
PlayStation 5 The PlayStation 5 (PS5) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It was announced as the successor to the PlayStation 4 in April 2019, was launched on November 12, 2020, in Australia, Japan, New Zealand, North ...
,
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, and
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on December 2, 2022, an
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port was released on June 12 2025. ''Unbound'' is the twenty-fifth instalment in the ''
Need for Speed ''Need for Speed'' (''NFS'') is a racing game franchise published by Electronic Arts and currently developed by Criterion Games (the developers of the ''Burnout'' series). Most entries in the series are generally arcade racing games centered ...
'' series, and the successor to 2019's ''
Heat In thermodynamics, heat is energy in transfer between a thermodynamic system and its surroundings by such mechanisms as thermal conduction, electromagnetic radiation, and friction, which are microscopic in nature, involving sub-atomic, ato ...
''. It is the first game in the series to be developed by Criterion since 2013's ''
Rivals A rivalry is the state of two people or Social group, groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each ...
'' (a collaboration with then-lead studio Ghost Games), and the studio's first as the main developer of the series since 2012's '' Need for Speed: Most Wanted''. ''Unbound'' features an art style that merges artistic elements like cel-shading and graffiti art with the more realistic art style of other ''Need for Speed'' games. The game takes place in the fictional "Lakeshore City", which is inspired by
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
,
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
. Upon release, the console versions received generally positive reviews from critics, while reviews for the PC version were more mixed. Critics praised the artstyle, gameplay and customization, while criticism focused on the lack of innovation and story. Though ''Unbounds overall reception was an improvement over that of the recent Ghost Games-developed titles, retail sales were down 64% compared to its predecessor.


Plot

In Lakeshore City, the player (female player voiced by Elizabeth Grullon, male player voiced by Ian Nelson) and their friend and partner Jasmine/Yaz (portrayed by Ashleigh LaThrop) refurbish an old junker car in their mechanic shop owned by their mentor Rydell (Dwayne Barnes). After winning a couple of street races, Yaz has a disagreement with Rydell over a car and grows tired of being stuck in the same job daily, and wishes to do something better. She tells the player she was contacted by her friend in the foster system, Alec about some jobs involving delivering vehicles, challenging the authority of the city's police force under the control of Mayor Morgan Stevenson (voiced by
Debra Wilson Debra Wilson is an American actress and comedian. She is the longest-serving original cast member on the sketch comedy series ''Mad TV'', having appeared on the show's first eight seasons from 1995 to 2003. As a voice actress, she has voiced va ...
). One night after a couple of races, the player completes a delivery mission but doesn't find anyone at the drop-off point, and Yaz and Rydell don't answer their calls. Instead, the alarm goes off at Rydell's Rydes. In a hurry and assuming the worst, the Player races back to Rydell's Rydes to witness it being raided of all the cars Rydell was working on. Confronted by both Rydell and the Player, Yaz denies being involved but drives off with the car after Rydell accuses her of theft and expresses his disappointment. Two years later, street racing in Lakeshore has declined, and Rydell's Rydes has been struggling to remain open after the incident. The player makes a living driving people, one of whom is Tess (Jennifer Sun Bell), whom the player goes with to a street race meet-up, later helping her escape from cops. Yaz suddenly shows up and the player discovers that she is part of the crew that stole the rides and is responsible for the resurgence of street racing in Lakeshore. She announces The Grand, a huge street race where the winner will receive a large amount of money. After hearing the player's story and being introduced to Rydell, Tess proposes bankrolling the garage and rides as well as guiding the player in their efforts to qualify and get revenge on Yaz and win the car back, in return for making money betting on and against them. The player then does several deliveries for Tess, many of which they are suspicious of but don't question due to the money. After winning the first week's qualifier, the player confronts and challenges Yaz to the pink slip in The Grand. Tess records the interaction and ensures that Yaz accepts the condition of relinquishing the car on the final race, and the video goes viral. After the end of the second qualifier, the player again confronts Yaz, and Tess then reveals the truth: she's been making money betting on and against the player, but for Alec. All of the deliveries the player had done earlier were on his behalf, using her as the middleman. Tess informs both of them that Alec wants to cut a deal with all three where neither the player nor Yaz wins but both will be paid handsomely for throwing the race. Outraged, Yaz leaves to confront Alec. Disgusted with Tess's actions, the player cuts ties with her. Yaz visits the garage afterward, where she confirms to the player what Tess said was true, but she didn't want to accept the conditions and came to warn Rydell and the player. Reconciling for the moment, Yaz proposes relieving Alec of all his car collection, which he acquired illegally through Tess and the player, including the ones stolen from Rydell's garage, and delivering them to their rightful owners. She mentions that the player still has to defeat her in the Grand to win back the car. The player finally wins The Grand and gets back their car. Tess reveals she was never working for Alec but was just making money off whatever bets and races she could get her hands on, and now that they won, he is ruined and thanks the player for the money. The player and Yaz drive back to the garage, where Yaz reconciles with Rydell. Now all together again, they prepare for more adventures to come.


Gameplay

''Need for Speed Unbound'' is a
racing game Racing games are a video game genre in which the player participates in a motor racing, racing competition. They may be based on anything from real-world racing leagues to fantastical settings. They are distributed along a spectrum between more re ...
set in a fictional city called Lakeshore City, which is based on
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
. It features an
open world In video games, an open world is a virtual world in which the Gamer, player can approach objectives freely, as opposed to a world with more linear and structured gameplay. Notable games in this category include ''The Legend of Zelda (video game ...
environment and gameplay similar to that of previous entries in the series, being mainly focused around
street racing Street racing is an illegal form of motor racing that occurs on a public road. Racing in the streets is considered an ancient hazard, as horse racing occurred on streets for centuries, and street racing in automobiles is likely as old as the a ...
. The "heat system" from '' Need for Speed Heat'' returns in ''Unbound'', where the player attempts to gain notoriety among the police. Additionally, the game features various forms of customization such as installing various
body kit A body kit or bodykit is a set of modified body parts or additional components that are installed on a car. They are typically composed of front and rear bumper (automobile), bumpers, side skirts, spoiler (automotive), spoilers, bonnets (bonne ...
s, adding a splitter, and even completely removing the front or rear bumpers.


Development and Release

In February 2020, it was announced that the development of future ''Need for Speed'' games would return to
Criterion Games Criterion Games is a British video game developer based in Guildford. Founded in January 1996 as a Division (business), division of Criterion Software, it was owned by Canon Inc. until Criterion Software was sold to Electronic Arts in October 2 ...
from Ghost Games, as the studio was referred back to EA Gothenburg. Criterion Games previously worked on ''
Hot Pursuit Hot pursuit (also known as fresh or immediate pursuit) is the urgent and direct pursuit of a criminal suspect by peace officer, law enforcement officers, or by belligerents under international rules of engagement for military forces. Such a situa ...
'' (2010) and '' Most Wanted'' (2012). The game was originally going to be scheduled to be released in late 2021, but it was pushed back to late 2022 as the team was temporarily reassigned to assist the development of '' Battlefield 2042''. In May 2022, EA announced that they had merged
Codemasters The Codemasters Software Company Limited (trade name: Codemasters) is a British video game developer and former publisher based in Southam, England, which is a subsidiary of American corporation Electronic Arts and managed under the EA Sports ...
Cheshire into Criterion Games, creating a larger team to work on the game. A few days prior to the reveal, fans noticed that EA had accidentally revealed the name of their upcoming ''Need for Speed'' title early on their website. Additionally, fans also noticed that promotional images of the game had been released early on the Japanese retailer Neowing's website. ''Unbound'' was formally revealed on October 6, 2022, in a trailer featuring music by rapper
A$AP Rocky Rakim Athelaston Mayers (born October 3, 1988), known professionally as ASAP Rocky ( ; stylized as A$AP Rocky), is an American rapper. Born and raised in Harlem, he embarked on his musical career as a member of the hip hop collective ASAP Mo ...
and AWGE. The trailer showcased the game's "street art" art style. EA stated that the game would receive free post-launch updates. ''Unbound'' also received a special collaborative deluxe release with UK-based streetwear and lifestyle brand
Palace A palace is a large residence, often serving as a royal residence or the home for a head of state or another high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome whi ...
. At an additional cost to the base game, ''NFS Unbound Palace Edition'' includes various branded bonuses, including four cars with Palace liveries and 20 items of Palace-branded clothing for the player's in-game character to wear. ''Need for Speed Unbound'' had an early access release for its ''Palace Edition'' on November 29, 2022, with EA Play members (including
Xbox Game Pass The Xbox Game Pass is a subscription service as part of Xbox and offered by Microsoft Gaming. Launched on June 1, 2017, the service allows users to download and play video games via video game consoles, Microsoft Windows, Android, iOS, iPad ...
Ultimate members) being able to try it for ten hours and EA Play Pro members having unlimited early access. The game was released on December 2, 2022.


Post-Launch and Future

''Unbound'' would receive nine content updates, referred to as "volumes", during its post-release tenure. Its final content update, "Volume 9: Lockdown", released on 25 November 2024, adding drivable
motorbike A motorcycle (motorbike, bike; uni (if one-wheeled); trike (if three-wheeled); quad (if four-wheeled)) is a lightweight private 1-to-2 passenger personal motor vehicle steered by a handlebar from a saddle-style seat. Motorcycle designs var ...
s for the first time in the franchise with the
BMW S1000RR BMW S1000RR is a race orientated sport bike initially made by BMW Motorrad to compete in the 2009 Superbike World Championship, that is now in commercial production. It was introduced in Munich in April 2008, and is powered by a Inline-four engi ...
. In February 2025, ''
Battlefield A battlefield, battleground, or field of battle is the location of a present or historic battle involving ground warfare. It is commonly understood to be limited to the point of contact between opposing forces, though battles may involve troop ...
'' series director Vince Zampella announced that Criterion's and EA's ''Need for Speed'' team had joined development on the next entry in the first-person shooter series Battlefield, effectively ending further development on more content for ''Unbound'', although he also reaffirmed that the ''Need for Speed'' series would return. In June 12 2025, a
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port for Need for Speed Unbound was Released


Reception

''Need for Speed Unbound'' received "generally favorable" reviews from critics for the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S versions, while the PC version received "mixed or average" reviews, according to
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website
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
. During the 26th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards, the
Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) is a non-profit organization of video game industry professionals. It organizes the annual Design Innovate Communicate Entertain Summit, better known as D.I.C.E., which includes the presentation ...
nominated ''Need for Speed Unbound'' for " Racing Game of the Year". ''Unbound'' was the 17th best-selling retail game in the United Kingdom in its week of release. Sales of the game were down 64% when compared with its predecessor ''Need for Speed Heat''.


References


External links

* {{Criterion Games 2022 video games Criterion Games games Electronic Arts games Frostbite (game engine) games * 25 Open-world video games PlayStation 5 games Racing video games Racing video games set in the United States Street racing video games Video games developed in the United Kingdom Video games with gender-selectable protagonists Video games with cel-shaded animation Windows games Xbox Series X and Series S games