Criterion's 2022 street racer, set in a Chicago-inspired city, with a graffiti-styled look and a story built around one high-stakes race.
Released on 2 December 2022, Need for Speed Unbound was made by Criterion and published by Electronic Arts. Set in the fictional Lakeshore City, it launched with 143 cars and later received nine content updates, the last in November 2024.
Need for Speed Unbound is a 2022 street racing game developed by Criterion Games and published by Electronic Arts. It is the twenty-fifth game in the series and the successor to Need for Speed Heat from 2019. Its story, open world and events all take place in Lakeshore City, a fictional version of Chicago.
What is Need for Speed Unbound?
Need for Speed Unbound is a racing game built around street racing in an open city. It was released on 2 December 2022 for PlayStation 5, Windows and Xbox Series X/S, and an Amazon Luna version followed on 12 June 2025. The package combines a story campaign, free roaming, car customisation and a range of street events.
The look is one of its defining traits. Cel-shading and graffiti art are blended with a more realistic style, which gives the game a visual identity of its own. Players can also switch the driving effects on or off, an option added after launch.
A street racer built around one stolen car, one high-stakes race and a city modelled on Chicago.
Who developed Need for Speed Unbound?
Unbound follows Heat, a 2019 release that marked the series' 30th anniversary. It was also the first Criterion-developed Need for Speed game since Rivals in 2013, and Criterion's first main-developer role since Most Wanted in 2012.
Criterion Games took over the series' main development in February 2020, when work returned from Ghost Games. Release was planned for late 2021 but slipped to late 2022 after staff helped with Battlefield 2042. In May 2022, Codemasters Cheshire merged into Criterion, adding to the team.
The game was revealed on 6 October 2022 in a trailer that featured music by the rapper A$AP Rocky and AWGE. Names and promotional images had already appeared early, after the title was accidentally shown on the publisher's website. EA said the game would receive free post-launch updates, and it went on to release nine of them.
Where is the game set?
The game takes place in Lakeshore City, a fictional city inspired by Chicago in Illinois. It is an open world built mainly around street racing. Collectibles, graffiti, long jumps, drift zones, speed traps and smashable billboards are spread across the map.
Multiplayer progression runs separately from the offline story. Playlists group events by performance level, and the Speed Pass is the centre of the downloadable content for multiplayer.
The city is also home to hidden bear collectibles, a nod to the flamingo collectibles of the previous game. Speed zones return from Payback and reward the player with collectibles once completed.
How does the story unfold?
The story follows a player and their friend Yaz, who restore cars at the garage of their mentor Rydell. After a raid on the garage, Rydell accuses Yaz of theft and she leaves. Two years later, the player meets Tess, who offers to bankroll the garage in return for betting on the player's races.
The crew's challenge is aimed at the city's police force, which operates under the control of Mayor Morgan Stevenson. Yaz announces The Grand, a huge street race with a large cash prize. The player qualifies and challenges her to a pink-slip race, a condition that Tess records and that spreads online. At the second qualifier, Tess reveals that she has been betting for a figure named Alec, using the player's deliveries as cover.
Alec then proposes a deal in which neither racer wins but both are paid. Yaz and the player turn against that plan, and Yaz proposes returning Alec's stolen cars to their owners. The player wins The Grand and regains their car. Tess later admits she was never really working for Alec, and Alec is left ruined. Yaz reconciles with Rydell at the end.
How do events and police pursuits work?
Events are either races or takeovers. Takeovers are hosted by A$AP Rocky and require the player to beat the scores of three rivals by chaining actions together. Each event raises the player's heat with the police, and a pursuit often follows. Getting caught ends the session and the bank is lost.
Earnings from day and night races are banked when the player returns to the garage. The weekly cycle replaces the separate day and night cycles of Heat, and each week of the story ends with a special event.
How do the cars and customisation work?
Cars can be bought and sold from the player's hideout, without a trip to a dealership on the map. Performance can be raised with better parts or a full engine swap. A new handling slider favours drifting or grip, and drivetrain and chassis parts unlock more adjustment.
The car selection is largely the same as the one in Heat, so returning players will recognise much of the list. The game keeps Heat's performance ratings but uses them differently.
Performance is split into five segments, from B to S, and events are limited to cars within a matching rating. Nitrous follows the Payback system, with an extra burst available for performing certain actions. Body kits, splitters and fully removed bumpers are all part of the visual tuning.
The launch roster held 143 cars from 32 manufacturers, excluding custom cars. Post-launch updates raised this to 157 cars from 35 manufacturers. Audi was missing at launch and returned later. The Porsche Taycan arrived in Volume 4, bringing electric cars back to the series after the Tesla Roadster was last featured in Most Wanted (2012).
Release and key figures
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Developer | Criterion Games |
| Publisher | Electronic Arts |
| Release | 2 December 2022 |
| Platforms | PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox Series X/S; Amazon Luna from 12 June 2025 |
| Launch roster | 143 cars from 32 manufacturers, excluding custom cars |
| Later roster | 157 cars from 35 manufacturers |
| Content updates | Nine volumes; the last was Volume 9: Lockdown, 25 November 2024 |
| Sales against Heat | Retail sales down 64% |
How did critics and players respond?
Critics gave the console versions generally favourable reviews, while the PC version scored mixed or average on Metacritic. Praise went to the art style, the gameplay and the customisation, and criticism focused on a lack of innovation and story. Retail sales were down 64% compared with Heat, although the game ranked 17th among UK retail releases in its launch week.
The game was nominated for Racing Game of the Year at the 26th D.I.C.E. Awards. Its reception was an improvement on the Ghost Games titles that came before it, although the drop in sales stood out.
What came after launch?
Unbound received nine content updates, called volumes. Volume 9: Lockdown, released on 25 November 2024, added the BMW S1000RR, the first playable motorcycle in the series. In February 2025, Battlefield series director Vince Zampella announced that Criterion's Need for Speed team had joined Battlefield 6, which effectively ended new content for the game. Across the updates, the roster grew from 143 cars to 157, and the Porsche Taycan and BMW S1000RR were among the most notable additions.
Zampella also reaffirmed that the Need for Speed series would return. A version for Amazon Luna was made available on 12 June 2025, long after the main release.
