A recent leak seemingly confirms that EA’s Need for Speed: Unbound is coming this December. Reportedly in development by British studio Criterion Games, it will be the studio’s first Need for Speed game since Need for Speed: Rivals in 2013.
EA has had some difficulty keeping Need for Speed: Unbound under wraps, assuming that some of these slip-ups weren’t deliberate. EA briefly hosted an image for Unbound before quickly pulling it from the site. Meanwhile, Insider Gaming’s Tom Henderson leaked the game’s upcoming reveal late last month.
The newest leak comes courtesy of the gaming publication Gematsu, who spotted a product listing for Need for Speed: Unbound on the Japanese retail website Neowing. The page, which was presumably put up early, lists the game’s release date as December 2nd, 2022, for the PlayStation 5. There’s no mention of an Xbox Series X/S or PC release, which seems to conflict with earlier leaks. However, it seems likely that Neowing simply isn’t carrying the other versions. There’s also no indication that Need for Speed: Unbound will come to last-gen consoles.
In addition to confirming the game’s release date, the product listing also included a few screenshots of the upcoming Need for Speed: Unbound. The four images are unfortunately a bit low resolution but give some idea of what the new game will look like. Previous installments like 2019’s Need for Speed: Heat generally aimed for photo-realism as much as possible. However, Need for Speed: Unbound takes a different approach, combining realistic cars and environments with anime or comic-book-inspired characters and visual effects.
Twitter responses to the leaked images were decidedly mixed. Some fans seemed pleased with the upcoming Need for Speed game’s cel-shaded elements. Others were significantly less enthusiastic, with some fans claiming that it made the game look too much like Fortnite. Others responded with sarcastic quips along the lines of “this is certainly a design.” A few commenters even took note of the conflicting responses.
Regardless of fans’ opinions on Need for Speed: Unbound’s graphic design, it’s at least good to have a confirmed release date. In the meantime, fans have the official reveal to look forward to. The upcoming Need of Speed: Unbound trailer is scheduled to premiere on October 6th at 11 AM Eastern/5 AM Pacific on Need for Speed’s official YouTube account. Hopefully, it will give fans a better look at the upcoming game.
Need for Speed: Unbound reportedly releases for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S on December 2, 2022.