Here's What We Know About The Upcoming 'Need For Speed Unbound' Racing Game

Some of us just want to admire cars, some of us prefer showing our love of cars with DIY mods, while some of us want to be racing behind the wheel. If taking to the track and letting out your inner Lewis Hamilton isn't in your future, you may have better luck with simulation racing through a plethora of racing games that are now at our disposal.

Need For Speed is one of the most prominent racing games in the video game world, ever since its first release in 1994. Need For Speed even has a movie adaptation from 2014, showing that car fans and gamers alike can't get enough of the racing franchise.

Three years after the latest release from publisher, Entertainment Arts, the Need For Speed series developer Criterion Games will be bringing us an all-new game in the form of Need For Speed Unbound.

Here is everything we know about the upcoming Need For Speed Unbound game, and everything you should know, too.

New Features We Can Expect From Need For Speed Unbound

There are a lot of consistencies that we have come to expect from EA's Need For Speed franchise. Selecting your car at the beginning of the race, choosing automatic or manual transmission, and unlocking specific cars and tracks throughout gameplay. We know that Need For Speed Unbound will employ these same attributes – why mess with a good thing?

Concepts such as street culture have been a mainstay in Need For Speed, which is a part of what has made these games classics in their own right. But what gives Need For Speed Unbound a new cutting edge is their usage of car customizations, that are directly influenced by their love of street art and graffiti.

You can customize your car's body style, but there are new ways to make your ride and race your own. Much like Rocket League, Need For Speed Unbound employs driving effects that can let you stand out from your competitors in a race. These effects are known as “Tags”, which allow you to tag your world while you race. Boosts and jumps bring these driving effects to life, decorating the area around your car in vibrant colors and accents. If showing off isn't your thing, you will be able to switch these “Tags” off.

EA has promised quite a few of these new features for customization and experiences that would make for more distinctive gameplay. Things like clothing and even tire marks left behind are now subject to wider varieties of creativity. These artistic approaches are in the form of colorful street art and graffiti, doubling down on the street racing culture. When it comes to customizing your ride, there will be options for wraps, car kits, or even removing pieces to expose bare parts underneath.

Choose From Hundreds Of Cars To Drive In Need For Speed Unbound

On EA's official site, there is a list of over 143 cars that will be available in game, and our bet is that there will be more added by way of updates or downloadable content (DLC). Among the usual and expected high-end cars like BMW, Ferrari, Lamborghini, and Porsche are a few new choices and possibilities. Cars like the 2020 Polestar 1 or the hotly anticipated 2022 Nissan Z prototype will be yours for the racing in Need For Speed Unbound.

Given that the new world of this Need for Speed entry seems to be the largest yet, the option to choose between almost 150 cars is an exciting one. With this new game, Need For Speed Unbound has us in a city called Lakeshore City, which spans beautiful scenic vistas from a ski resort, to construction zones, storm drain roads, inner-city hideouts, downtown train lines, piers, and a test track. There will be plenty of places to explore and certainly some gems for every area of the map to take your Aston Martin Vulcan for a spin.

When Can We Get Our Hands On Need For Speed Unbound?

So, when can we expect to fire up our PlayStations and get our inner race car driver out? Luckily for fans of the Need For Speed franchise, EA won't have us waiting for long.

Set to launch for the PlayStation5, Xbox Series X/S, and Windows for PC gamers, we can expect Need For Speed Unbound to be available to consumers on December 2nd, 2022.

If you have EA Play, you're in luck. With an EA Play account, you can get access to a host of exclusive offerings. EA will be offering exclusive content and early access for 10 hours, with progress that can get saved if you decide to purchase the game. We like that incentive. If you have an EA Play Pro account and plan to play on PC, you will receive unlimited access to the Need for Speed Unbound: Palace Edition to enjoy four custom cars and an exclusive clothing pack, character pose, and banner artwork. When you play with friends online, you can show them up by sporting your unique cars and clothing.

Need For Speed Unbound will have cross-platform play between PS5, PC, and Xbox Series XIS. This is good news for gamers as it means you will be able to play the new game across platforms.