The next Need for Speed game could be revealed this week. Responding to a tweet questioning the legitimacy of the next entry in the NFS franchise, the publisher tweeted the side-eye emoji, hinting at some big announcement. The speculation comes in the wake of an earlier report from journalist Tom Henderson, who claimed that a new entry, titled “Need for Speed Unbound,” is slated for a December 2 launch. The title will be exclusive to PS5 and Xbox Series S/X for its console release, alongside a PC version.
Games journalist Jeff Grubb corroborated the report on his GiantBomb podcast, re-affirming the name, the launch window, and stating that a reveal is imminent this week. As per Henderson’s original report, Need for Speed Unbound will get a trailer, around 1 minute and 30 seconds in length, featuring a soundtrack by American rapper A$AP Rocky. The upcoming NFS game is also touted to be heavily multiplayer focussed, bringing a new feature called “meetups.” The mode will allow “people to race against one another in different locations around the map” — one that is completely unique to the franchise.
Back in April, reports emerged, claiming that the upcoming Need for Speed Unbound will adopt a photo-realistic art style, mixed with anime elements. “You know when you see a car commercial or something like that and the car’s driving around, but then cartoons flames and stuff are flying off it? That’s the kind of the aesthetic that they seem to be going for,” Grubb said on his premium GiantBomb show.
Those claims aligned with leaked work-in-progress footage from August, which showed a car crashing into a circular obstacle, resulting in arcade-style animated elements, such as wings and a dead skull symbol. Originally, the Need for Speed Unbound was set for a July reveal, but kept getting postponed till they reached a more concrete October date. EA announced in February that it had assigned NFS development duties back to Criterion Games — best known for the Burnout franchise of racing games.
If the aforementioned claims are true, Need for Speed Unbound is slated to launch December 2, across PC, PS5, and Xbox Series S/X.