After winning a couple of street races, Yaz has a disagreement with Rydell over a car and grows tired of being stuck in the same job daily, and wishes to do something better. In Lakeshore City, the Player (female player voiced by Elizabeth Grullon, male player voiced by Ian Nelson) and their friend and partner Jasmine/Yaz (portrayed by Ashleigh LaThrop) refurbish an old junker car in their mechanic shop owned by their mentor Rydell (Dwayne Barnes). At launch, the game received positive reviews from critics, who praised the gameplay, art direction, progression, and graphics, while criticising the lack of innovation, story, soundtrack and bland characters.

The game was released worldwide on December 2, 2022, for PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S. The map is based in a fictional city inspired by Chicago called Lakeshore City. The game features an art style that merges artistic elements like cel-shading and graffiti art with the more realistic art style of other Need for Speed games.

Unbound was revealed by Electronic Arts on October 6, 2022.

It is the twenty-fifth instalment in the Need for Speed series, the first for Criterion since 2013's Rivals with Ghost Games and the first as the main developer since 2012's Most Wanted. Need for Speed Unbound (stylised as NFS Unbound) is a 2022 racing video game developed by Criterion Games and published by Electronic Arts.

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