Need For Speed Unbound Isn’t Dead After All

Following its December 2022 release, Need For Speed Unbound received a run of pretty regular content updates throughout 2023. Since then, though, things have been pretty quiet, with many assuming that the game had run its course in terms of new content.

This was reinforced last autumn when publisher EA Games moved Unbound’s developer, Criterion Games, into a new role supporting the development of the Battlefield series (although it was confirmed at the time that it would continue developing NFS games).

It turns out that Unbound was just on an extended pause, though. EA has just broken its silence and announced a ‘Year 2 roadmap’ for the title, outlining a series of updates that’ll arrive throughout 2024 as well as a community-centric ‘Player Council’ that will apparently influence the direction the game takes.

Four major updates – known as Volumes – are slated for the year, which will pick up where Volumes 2 to 5, released during 2023, left off. This will take the game to Volume 9 by the end of 2024.

Each Volume will bring two new cars, each with multiple body kit options. These will be accessible through the in-game Speed Pass feature, which requires players to complete daily and weekly challenges to unlock new content. Volume 6 will introduce a new paid Premium Speed Pass which will grant instant access to some of the new cars and customisation options.

Exactly what these cars will be isn’t yet clear, but Volume 6, set for a release between now and April, will mark the return of Audi, which has so far been absent from Unbound, to the NFS series. We can make out what looks like an RS6 and an R8 in the graphic that accompanies the announcement.

Each Volume will also see the debut of a new game mode, some of which are nods to classic NFS games, coinciding with the series’ 30th anniversary. Volume 6 will bring a new Head to Head mode, while Volume 7, earmarked for launch between May and July, will bring Drift and Drag modes inspired by the Underground games.

Between August and October, Volume 8 will launch with a Cops vs. Racers mode, a homage to 1998’s Hot Pursuit, its 2002 successor and 2010 revival. The contents of Volume 9, currently slated for release between October and December, remain a mystery for now.

The other big news is the formation of a ‘Player Council’, which EA describes as “a great bunch of NFS influencers, core community members and players” who will work with the developers to better understand community feedback. EA and Criterion will also be gathering more in-depth gameplay data in an effort to see which aspects of the game are working best.

Finally, Criterion will be prioritising working on the community’s ‘most requested’ improvements and bug fixes.

Unbound has split opinion since its release, with praise levelled at its graphics and customisation but its driving physics and cartoonish cel-shaded effects (which could be switched off with a December 2023 update) coming under criticism. This announcement should reassure any fans who might have thought the game was headed for an early grave.