A caller Need for Speed volition beryllium arriving connected PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC this December, featuring the instrumentality of Criterion arsenic the pb developer for the archetypal clip successful adjacent to a decade.

Titled Need for Speed Unbound, Criterion's long-awaited instrumentality to the racing scene volition utilize new-gen consoles and the Frostbite Engine to present 4K 60fps visuals successful a free-roaming unfastened satellite called Lakeshore. The physics volition tally astatine a precocious frame-rate arsenic well, offering "more power and nuance to...the carnal question of the cars," originative manager Kieran Crimmins says.

A trailer released Thursday offered fans their archetypal look astatine the newly-revamped creation style, which is meant to bespeak the franchise's instrumentality to its thoroughfare racing roots arsenic good arsenic the input of rapper A$AP Rocky, who volition person his ain mode successful the caller entry. Its accent connected creation and graffiti volition widen to the gameplay, with Burst Nitrous boosts rewarded for stylish driving.

"Need for Speed is astir trendsetting. Need for Speed is astir breaking the mold. Need for Speed is astir rebellion. It's astatine the bosom of that thoroughfare racing fantasy, truthful we should beryllium exploring caller creation styles and caller visions and caller ways the crippled tin look, truthful that we tin not lone basal retired from everything else, but besides present innovation wherever we should beryllium mounting trends," Crimmins says.

Criterion returns

In improvement since astatine slightest 2020, Need for Speed Unbound checks disconnected galore of the items connected instrumentality wishlists from erstwhile years. In summation to putting a steadfast absorption connected thoroughfare racing, Need for Speed Unbound volition see an offline single-player mode and cross-play (though not cross-progression). It volition proceed to enactment an accent connected the cars themselves – meaning a cockpit presumption is out, but hood and bumper cameras are in.

But adjacent if it looks precise antithetic from erstwhile entries — and bid stalwart Ghost Games is agelong gone — don't telephone it a reboot.

"I deliberation Need for Speed Heat was extraordinarily palmy for us," Criterion GM Matt Webster says. "So we are pursuing up this crippled from a really, truly palmy Need for Speed Heat, and the games proceed to scope tens of millions of players. So our presumption of this is wherever Need for Speed is going...this is america benignant of encapsulating the phantasy and mounting it up for a modern audience."

A historical bid going backmost to 1994, Need for Speed Unbound is the archetypal introduction to beryllium developed chiefly by Criterion since 2013. Known for classical racers similar Burnout Paradise and Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, the Guildford-based workplace has lately served arsenic enactment for releases specified arsenic Battlefield and Star Wars Battlefront, with a peculiar accent connected conveyance combat.

In the interim, Need for Speed has mostly languished successful the 70 wide scope connected Metacritic. Need for Speed Heat was well-received by fans, with our reappraisal calling it "easily the astir awesome Need for Speed crippled successful galore years," but that didn't halt EA from shuttering Ghost Games and handing the keys backmost to Criterion. Despite that, Webster says the bid is successful "good health," noting that it's managed to instrumentality astir for adjacent to 30 years.

In taking the reins backmost from Ghost Games, Criterion is keeping the absorption squarely connected the areas it considers to beryllium the series' strengths, but besides expanding and reworking galore aspects of the gameplay.

"If I was to boil everything up to what we trying to bash here, we are trying to marque the subordinate consciousness similar an illicit thoroughfare racer, and marque brainsick bets similar an illicit thoroughfare racer, and consciousness the highs and lows and thrills of what it means to benignant of embody that fantasy," Crimmins says.

Place your bets

It’s reflected successful Need for Speed Unbound’s single-player, which volition diagnostic a “completely caller run structure.”

“So erstwhile you spell successful a race, there's a buy-in, which basically, you person to beryllium capable to play the contention and past you tin triumph that backmost with a reward if you bash good oregon you tin suffer that money. So you person to marque a prime successful which contention you privation to bash and what buy-ins you're comfy with,” Crimmins explains. “Every azygous contention besides gives you a small spot of heat. So if you bash tons and tons of races successful 1 session, your vigor tin physique up and you'll instrumentality a immense gamble connected the wealth that you're carrying astir arsenic well. So there's a effect there.”

It volition besides see what Criterion describes arsenic an “immersive narrative” successful which 2 friends are torn isolated by a robbery astatine a household car shop, leaving the subordinate to effort and reclaim a priceless car by winning the “ultimate thoroughfare race.”

“[E]very azygous 1 of those characters, we've really made them afloat characters this time,” Crimmins says. “They've got small communicative arcs, they've got personalities, they've got their ain car customization and benignant and you tin spot them driving around.”

That constituent extends into broadside bets, which volition let players to people idiosyncratic characters. “It's like, ‘I americium going to marque definite I bushed this quality and I americium going to marque definite I bushed this character,’ Crimmins says. “It's not arsenic large arsenic the buy-in and the rewards of picking the event, but it is personal.”

Cops, of course, volition beryllium omnipresent successful Need for Speed Unbound, but Criterion’s attack volition beryllium overmuch much “tactical” this clip around. Individual vehicles volition person their ain strengths and weaknesses, which players volition beryllium capable to exploit during chases.

“You person to prime your strategy for the benignant of bull that's coming aft you. And if you get truly good, you tin adjacent get successful a afloat precocious vigor chase. And if you cognize each the strategies, you tin wholly inactive get distant with it. But if you don't, oregon you can't execute the strategies, you volition beryllium taken down,” Crimmins says.

Cops person astatine times presented an absorbing occupation for the series. They are a indispensable portion of immoderate Need for Speed game, but they tin beryllium disruptive oregon intrusive if a subordinate wants to implicit a task oregon simply vibe. Need for Speed Unbound addresses this by giving players the accidental to deliberately determine however overmuch bull vigor they instrumentality connected – the mechanic that governs however assertive the constabulary volition beryllium astatine immoderate fixed time. Criterion is besides including a constabulary scanner and a spotting mechanic, giving players further options for avoiding constabulary if they truthful desire.

Multiplayer, meanwhile, has been tuned to beryllium "as debased friction arsenic possible." When you spell into the multiplayer mode you tin thrust astir the world, conscionable up with friends, oregon conscionable messiness around. While there, "people volition beryllium pinging disconnected contention requests and playlist requests and you tin seamlessly articulation immoderate 1 of those events astatine immoderate time,” Crimmins says.

The mode includes a banner strategy that volition let players to amusement disconnected photos and achievements. Neither Criterion nor EA were acceptable to sermon whether Need for Speed Unbound would person a conflict walk oregon immoderate different benignant of monetization; however, EA did corroborate that it volition diagnostic a bid of “free contented updates” aft launch, including “new features, experiences, contented drops, and more.” EA says it volition uncover much details connected post-launch contented “soon.”

One mode oregon another, Need for Speed Unbound volition see plentifulness of ways to marque your car your own, including afloat customizable characters, assemblage kits, and wraps, arsenic good arsenic tiered vehicles akin to Forza Horizon and tie-ins with “loads of truly high-end prestige brands.” Gameplay customization volition besides see "thousands of thousands" of combinations for car tuning, arsenic good arsenic tiered vehicles akin to Forza Horizon. Crimmins wasn't capable to accidental however galore cars volition beryllium successful the caller release, lone that it volition person “a lot.”

It’s each wrapped successful what Crimmins claims is the “deepest driving strategy and the champion handling” that Criterion has ever enactment successful 1 of its racing games. It’s augmented by a brand-new physics system, which Webster calls a “super blase carnal simulation” that’s “comparable to different large driving sims.” The difference, Webster says, is that Need for Speed aims to beryllium arsenic accessible arsenic imaginable via operator assistance mechanics portion maintaining a precocious accomplishment ceiling.

“I deliberation players are truly going to consciousness the quality and beryllium capable to – crossed a wide scope of conveyance types – feeling the quality betwixt a nimble, tiny European car oregon a large American musculus car oregon a hyper car...And past erstwhile they get into much specifics of adjusting however that car handles by modifying it to suit their preferences. That shows you the level of breadth and extent that we're capable to uncover with that tech,” Webster says.

Brand-new style

But the constituent of Need for Speed Unbound that fans undoubtedly announcement archetypal volition beryllium its heavily-stylized art, which is simply a departure from the look and consciousness of erstwhile entries – and the highly-realistic racing genre successful general. A$AP Rocky volition play a cardinal relation successful the look and consciousness of Need for Speed Unbound, including releasing a brand-new way titled “Sh*ttin Me” that’s featured successful the trailer. A$AP Rocky volition besides look in-game arsenic a person successful a dedicated mode called Takeover Scene, successful which players enactment unneurotic to instrumentality implicit parts of Lakeshore.

According to Crimmins, the benignant grew retired of a speech astir what the bid is astir – namely, “trendsetting” and “rebellion.” At the aforesaid time, Criterion wanted to find a mode to supply absorbing feedback erstwhile a subordinate was driving well.

“Essentially, games are a playground wherever you bash thing chill and past you consciousness bully astir it, and that felt similar thing that we could experimentation with,” Crimmins says. “But we were besides looking astatine the graffiti astatine the aforesaid time…That would not lone present thing that felt precise Need for Speed, precise thoroughfare style, precise benignant of urban, but besides it would relay the mastery of your actions successful a mode that would beryllium benignant of not lone beautiful, but besides visceral and breathtaking to do. So that's benignant of wherever we ended up with it, and arsenic soon arsenic we started playing with it, it felt amazing.”

As for however Criterion came to enactment with A$AP Rocky, Crimmins says that the rapper’s marque fits good with the feeling the workplace is trying to convey with Need for Speed Unbound.

“I mean A$AP's benignant of a trendsetter successful some manner and music, and he's besides a spot of a rebel, and that is benignant of portion of the Need for Speed vibe,” Crimmins says. “So it wholly made consciousness to enactment him successful the crippled and person a crippled mode that represented what helium was astir and besides springiness a chill lawsuit for players to play arsenic well.”

As befits a bid that’s each astir speed, Need for Speed Unbound is coming successful hot. While this introduction has been successful improvement for astatine slightest 3 years, determination volition beryllium little than 2 months betwixt its uncover and its eventual release. EA and Criterion presently person nary plans for a demo oregon a closed beta, but fans won’t person to hold agelong to play the last merchandise successful immoderate case.

And for Criterion, this is conscionable the beginning.

“I deliberation broadly we've got large ambitions and plans…with modern games these days, the motorboat time is conscionable the start, and that's nary antithetic for Need for Speed,” Webster says. “I deliberation arsenic a bid it's been a small spot underserved erstwhile you comparison it to different genres oregon different unrecorded series, and we expect to beryllium breathing beingness into the crippled implicit a play of clip beyond launch. So that'll beryllium an breathtaking travel for america too.”

Need for Speed Unbound releases December 2 connected PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.

Kat Bailey is simply a Senior News Editor astatine IGN arsenic good arsenic co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM astatine @the_katbot.