Many fans assumed last yearās Volume 5 update was the end of the road for Need for Speed Unbound after racing past one year of updates. In a surprise move, Criterion has announced Need for Speed Unbound will get a second year of live service support.
2024 also marks the 30th anniversary of Need for Speed, and to celebrate several packs will feature content inspired by fan-favourite titles.
Need for Speed Unbound Year 2 roadmap
Throughout this year, Need for Speed Unbound will receive four new Volume updates, with each launching every few months.
As outlined in the Year 2 roadmap, each Volume will contain at least one major game mode or feature plus two cars with fully customisable bodykits as part of new premium Speed Passes. Thatās in addition to new events, weekly playlists, quality-of-life improvements, and bug fixes.
Arriving this month, Volume 6 will bring Audi back to NFS after the manufacturer was missing in Unbound at launch, despite featuring in Need for Speed Heat. A release date is yet to be confirmed, but we wonāt have to wait long with February ending next week.
After that, the next two Volumes will celebrate the two most popular NFS games. Inspired by Hot Pursuit, Mayās Volume 7 update will feature drift and drag racing events inspired by Underground, while Volume 8 in August will centre on cops vs racers inspired by Hot Pursuit. This likely means players will get to play as the cops for the first time in Unbound. Details for the final Volume 9 update in October are being kept under wraps for now.
Some of Unboundās previous Volume updates were underwhelming, but these themed updates sound promising.Ā
āThe ultimate NFS experience in one placeā
āOur vision is that through our second year of live service, you can, for the first time, begin to play the ultimate NFS experience in one place,ā a blog post reads. Feedback for these Volume updates will "help shape the future of this iconic franchise."
āWe see this as a year to test and learn and understand what works best for you. Committing to an extended Unbound live service allows us to really build on feedback, which weāll be gathering in a few ways."
"Weāre working closely with a dedicated Player Council - a great bunch of NFS influencers, core community members, and players to understand whatās important to them and their communities.ā
Need for Speed Unbound is also free-to-play for PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium subscribers as of today, so itās a great time to jump back in.
Need for Speedās future looked in doubt not long ago, so itās great to see EA keeping the series alive with frequent updates and new content.
However, EAās commitment to Unbound updates implies we wonāt get a new Need for Speed game this year, despite rumours of a Most Wanted remake coming this year. This could pave the way for EA to bring back Burnout this year after Stellar Entertainment, which worked on Unbound with Criterion, seemingly teased a new entry in the franchise.
Has EA's roadmap encouraged you to get back behind the wheel in Need for Speed Unbound? Let us know in the comments below.
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