Computed from player tags · Not ranked by quality
24 games like Need for Speed: Most Wanted (2012) (2026)
Every game below overlaps with Need for Speed: Most Wanted on things players said about it rather than on our opinion of what feels alike. Each entry shows what it matched on, so you can throw out the ones matching on the part you did not care about.
The short version
- Closest match: Need for Speed Most Wanted, which made by the same studio, Criterion Games.
- Need for Speed: Most Wanted is tagged Racing, Multiplayer, Open World, Driving, Action, Competitive, Automobile Sim, Arcade by Steam players. Those tags are what the matching runs on.
- 24 games qualify, each with at least fifty player reviews behind its sentiment figure.
- 1 are free to download, so you can test the resemblance yourself at no cost.
- 5 are from the same studio: Need for Speed Most Wanted, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, Burnout Paradise, Burnout Paradise: The Ultimate Box, Need for Speed Unbound.
How these were matched
Steam tags carry the most weight, because players apply them and they describe how a game feels rather than how it was filed. Souls-like, Atmospheric and Cozy exist as tags and as nothing else, which is exactly the vocabulary this question needs. Formal genres count for less, themes and a shared studio for more.
Tags carried by more than a third of the catalogue are thrown out before matching. Nearly everything is tagged Singleplayer, so matching on it is matching on nothing. That cutoff is computed from the catalogue rather than fixed, so it moves as the catalogue grows.
All 24, closest first
- 1
Need for Speed Most Wanted
Why it matched: made by the same studio, Criterion Games; both open world and crime; shares 14 player tags including Racing, Driving and Competitive.
The open-world action in Need for Speed Most Wanted gives you the freedom to drive your way. Hit jumps and shortcuts, switch cars, lie low or head for terrain that plays to your vehicle’s unique strengths. Fight your way past cops and rivals using skill, high-end car tech and tons of nitrous.
Need for Speed Most Wanted at a glance Released 2020 Studio Criterion Games Player sentiment 77% positive of 27,849 Price $19.99 RacingDrivingCompetitiveAutomobile SimArcadeCombat RacingFirst-PersonVehicular Combat
- 2
Need for Speed: Most Wanted
Why it matched: both open world and crime; shares 14 player tags including Racing, Driving and Competitive; published by the same company.
The open-world action in Need for Speed Most Wanted gives you the freedom to drive your way. Hit jumps and shortcuts, switch cars, lie low or head for terrain that plays to your vehicle’s unique strengths. Fight your way past cops and rivals using skill, high-end car tech and tons of nitrous.
Need for Speed: Most Wanted at a glance Released 2005 Studio Not recorded Player sentiment 77% positive of 27,838 Price $19.99 RacingDrivingCompetitiveAutomobile SimArcadeCombat RacingFirst-PersonVehicular Combat
- 3
Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit
Why it matched: made by the same studio, Criterion Games; both open world and crime; shares 7 player tags including Racing, Driving and Combat Racing; released around the same time (2010).
Feel the thrill of the chase and the rush of escape behind the wheels of the world’s hottest high-performance cars in Need for Speed™ Hot Pursuit Remastered– a heart-pumping, socially competitive racing experience.
Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit at a glance Released 2010 Studio Criterion Games Player sentiment 81% positive of 14,914 Price $29.99 RacingDrivingCombat RacingCompetitiveVehicular CombatCrimeThird Person
- 4
Burnout Paradise
Why it matched: made by the same studio, Criterion Games; both open world; shares 8 player tags including Racing, Arcade and Driving; released around the same time (2008).
Burnout Paradise Remastered provides the ultimate driving playground for you and your friends to play online. This remaster includes all add-ons from the Year of Paradise, including the Big Surf Island update, meticulously recreated and ready to wreck in 4K.
Burnout Paradise at a glance Released 2008 Studio Criterion Games Player sentiment 63% positive of 8,576 Price $19.99 RacingArcadeDrivingAutomobile SimThird PersonFirst-PersonCombat RacingGreat Soundtrack
- 5
Need for Speed
Why it matched: both open world; shares 9 player tags including Racing, Driving and Automobile Sim; published by the same company.
Ready to own the streets? Get behind the wheel of iconic cars and floor it through Ventura Bay, a sprawling urban playground. Explore overlapping stories as you build your reputation – and your dream car – and become the ultimate racing icon.
Need for Speed at a glance Released 2020 Studio Ghost Games Player sentiment 69% positive of 29,486 Price $29.99 RacingDrivingAutomobile SimArcadeThird PersonCombat RacingFirst-PersonController
- 6
Burnout Paradise: The Ultimate Box
Why it matched: made by the same studio, Criterion Games; both open world; shares 7 player tags including Racing, Automobile Sim and Great Soundtrack; released around the same time (2009).
Download Burnout™ Paradise: The Ultimate Box today. Paradise City is the largest and most dangerous setting yet for the best-selling Burnout series. The massive setting gives players an open-ended world to explore, as they race their vehicles through hundreds of miles of roads and underground passages with more than 70 different cars.
Burnout Paradise: The Ultimate Box at a glance Released 2009 Studio Criterion Games Player sentiment 87% positive of 13,473 Price Not listed RacingAutomobile SimGreat SoundtrackDrivingArcadeControllerThird Person
- 7
Need for Speed Hot Pursuit Remastered
Why it matched: both open world and crime; shares 7 player tags including Racing, Driving and Combat Racing; published by the same company.
Feel the thrill of the chase and the rush of escape behind the wheels of the world’s hottest high-performance cars in Need for Speed™ Hot Pursuit Remastered– a heart-pumping, socially competitive racing experience.
Need for Speed Hot Pursuit Remastered at a glance Released 2020 Studio Stellar Entertainment Limited Player sentiment 81% positive of 14,925 Price $29.99 RacingDrivingCombat RacingCompetitiveVehicular CombatCrimeThird Person
- 8
Need for Speed Heat
Why it matched: both open world; shares 8 player tags including Racing, Driving and Combat Racing; published by the same company.
Hustle by day and risk it all at night in Need for Speed™ Heat Deluxe Edition, a white-knuckle street racer, where the lines of the law fade as the sun starts to set.
Need for Speed Heat at a glance Released 2019 Studio EA Gothenburg Player sentiment 84% positive of 153,208 Price $69.99 RacingDrivingCombat RacingThird PersonArcadeControllerFirst-PersonSplit Screen
- 9
Driver: Parallel Lines
Why it matched: both open world and crime; shares 7 player tags including Racing, Automobile Sim and Driving.
You were the fastest wheelman on the street. You were a legend. You were money. Until they set you up and sent you down. Twenty-eight years inside for someone else's crime. Now you're getting out. Guess what? You got a new job, it's called getting revenge.
Driver: Parallel Lines at a glance Released 2006 Studio Ubisoft Reflections Player sentiment 90% positive of 1,563 Price $9.99 RacingAutomobile SimDrivingCrimeThird PersonGreat SoundtrackController
- 10
Project CARS
Why it matched: both open world; shares 7 player tags including Racing, Automobile Sim and Driving; published by the same company; released around the same time (2015).
THE ULTIMATE DRIVER JOURNEY delivers the soul of motor racing in the world’s most beautiful, authentic, and technically-advanced racing game.
Project CARS at a glance Released 2015 Studio Slightly Mad Studios Player sentiment 79% positive of 14,438 Price Not listed RacingAutomobile SimDrivingFirst-PersonControllerThird PersonArcade
- 11
Need for Speed Rivals
Why it matched: both open world; shares 7 player tags including Racing, Driving and Combat Racing; published by the same company; released around the same time (2013).
Erase the line between single player and multiplayer in this street-racing rivalry between Cops and Racers. Seamlessly join a world where your friends are already racing and chasing
Need for Speed Rivals at a glance Released 2013 Studio EA Gothenburg Player sentiment 76% positive of 10,553 Price $19.99 RacingDrivingCombat RacingArcadeThird PersonFirst-PersonSplit Screen
- 12
Need for Speed Payback
Why it matched: both open world; shares 7 player tags including Racing, Combat Racing and Controller; published by the same company.
Set in the underworld of Fortune Valley, you and your crew were divided by betrayal and reunited by revenge to take down The House, a nefarious cartel that rules the city’s casinos, criminals and cops. In this corrupt gambler’s paradise, the stakes are high and The House always wins.
Need for Speed Payback at a glance Released 2017 Studio EA Gothenburg Player sentiment 85% positive of 32,277 Price $29.99 RacingCombat RacingControllerArcadeThird PersonFirst-PersonVehicular Combat
- 13
RIDE 4
Why it matched: both open world; shares 8 player tags including Racing, First-Person and Third Person.
Are you ready to live the best gaming experience that a motorcycle fan can get? RIDE 4 will spark your competitive soul with hundreds of bikes, dozens of tracks and a whole new level of realism.
RIDE 4 at a glance Released 2020 Studio Milestone S.r.l. Player sentiment 83% positive of 12,391 Price $39.99 RacingFirst-PersonThird PersonAutomobile SimDrivingCompetitiveControllerSplit Screen
- 14
Need for Speed Unbound
Why it matched: made by the same studio, Criterion Games; both open world; shares 6 player tags including Racing, Driving and Combat Racing.
Race to the top, definitely don’t flop. Outsmart the cops, and enter weekly qualifiers for The Grand: the ultimate street race. Pack your garage with precision-tuned, custom rides, and light up the streets with your style.
Need for Speed Unbound at a glance Released 2022 Studio Criterion Games Player sentiment 60% positive of 60,177 Price $69.99 RacingDrivingCombat RacingControllerArcadeSplit Screen
- 15
Need for Speed Undercover
Why it matched: both open world; shares 6 player tags including Racing, Automobile Sim and Driving; published by the same company; released around the same time (2008).
You never thought it would turn out like this. An all-out chase where you're the hunted. And the hunter. Now you must get behind the wheel and risk everything to infiltrate a ruthless international crime syndicate and take them down.
Need for Speed Undercover at a glance Released 2008 Studio EA Black Box Player sentiment 75% positive of 8,006 Price Not listed RacingAutomobile SimDrivingArcadeGreat SoundtrackController
- 16
Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City
Why it matched: both open world and crime; shares 6 player tags including Automobile Sim, Third Person and Crime; released around the same time (2010).
Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City includes both The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony together and does not require a copy of the original Grand Theft Auto IV to play.
Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City at a glance Released 2010 Studio Rockstar North / Toronto Player sentiment 74% positive of 10,072 Price Not listed Automobile SimThird PersonCrimeDrivingGreat SoundtrackRacing
- 17
Copa Petrobras de Marcas
Why it matched: both open world; shares 7 player tags including Racing, Automobile Sim and Controller; released around the same time (2015).
COPA PETROBRAS DE MARCAS is a 100% free official game simulating the thrill of competing wheel-to-wheel with models from various automakers in some of the main Brazilian race tracks.
Copa Petrobras de Marcas at a glance Released 2015 Studio Reiza Studios Player sentiment 68% positive of 2,903 Price Free RacingAutomobile SimControllerFirst-PersonDrivingArcadeGreat Soundtrack
- 18
Forza Horizon 4
Why it matched: both open world; shares 7 player tags including Racing, Driving and Automobile Sim.
Dynamic seasons change everything at the world’s greatest automotive festival. Go it alone or team up with others to explore beautiful and historic Britain in a shared open world.
Forza Horizon 4 at a glance Released 2021 Studio Playground Games Player sentiment 91% positive of 303,167 Price Not listed RacingDrivingAutomobile SimControllerArcadeGreat SoundtrackFirst-Person
- 19
Project CARS 2
Why it matched: both open world; shares 7 player tags including Racing, Driving and Automobile Sim.
THE ULTIMATE DRIVER JOURNEY! Project CARS 2 delivers the soul of motor racing in the world’s most beautiful, authentic, and technically-advanced racing game.
Project CARS 2 at a glance Released 2017 Studio Slightly Mad Studios Player sentiment 81% positive of 18,429 Price Not listed RacingDrivingAutomobile SimControllerArcadeFirst-PersonGreat Soundtrack
- 20
DiRT 4
Why it matched: both open world; shares 6 player tags including Racing, Automobile Sim and Driving; published by the same company.
DiRT 4 is all about embracing fear. It’s about the thrill, exhilaration and adrenaline that is absolutely vital to off-road racing. It’s about loving the feeling of pushing flat out next to a sheer cliff drop, going for the gap that’s too small and seeing how much air you can get. Be Fearless.
DiRT 4 at a glance Released 2017 Studio Codemasters Player sentiment 80% positive of 16,257 Price Not listed RacingAutomobile SimDrivingArcadeControllerGreat Soundtrack
- 21
Mafia II (Classic)
Why it matched: both open world and crime; shares 5 player tags including Crime, Third Person and Automobile Sim; released around the same time (2011).
Vito Scaletta has started to make a name for himself on the streets of Empire Bay as someone who can be trusted to get a job done. Together with his buddy Joe, he is working to prove himself to the Mafia, quickly escalating up the family ladder with crimes of larger reward, status and consequence… the life as a wise guy isn’t quite as...
Mafia II (Classic) at a glance Released 2011 Studio 2K Czech Player sentiment 94% positive of 58,640 Price $29.99 CrimeThird PersonAutomobile SimGreat SoundtrackDriving
- 22
Lego City Undercover
Why it matched: both open world and crime; shares 5 player tags including Local Co-Op, Crime and Racing; released around the same time (2013).
Join the Chase! In LEGO® CITY Undercover, play as Chase McCain, a police officer who's been tasked with going undercover to hunt down the notorious – and recently escaped – criminal Rex Fury and putting an end to his city-wide crime wave.
Lego City Undercover at a glance Released 2013 Studio TT Fusion Player sentiment 91% positive of 11,471 Price $19.99 Local Co-OpCrimeRacingSplit ScreenController
- 23
Grand Theft Auto V Enhanced
Why it matched: both open world and crime; shares 5 player tags including Crime, Third Person and First-Person.
Experience entertainment blockbusters Grand Theft Auto V and Grand Theft Auto Online — now upgraded for a new generation with stunning visuals, faster loading, 3D audio, and more, plus exclusive content for GTA Online players.
Grand Theft Auto V Enhanced at a glance Released 2025 Studio Rockstar North Player sentiment 83% positive of 219,023 Price $19.79 CrimeThird PersonFirst-PersonAutomobile SimRacing
- 24
KartRider: Drift
Why it matched: shares 8 player tags including Racing, Arcade and Third Person.
KartRider: Drift is the only online free-to-play, cross-platform kart racer with deep kart and character customization in stunning high-definition. Eight players can race online in up to teams of four and face off in item or drift focused races with karts and characters you personalize.
KartRider: Drift at a glance Released 2023 Studio NEXON Korea Corporation Player sentiment 74% positive of 5,144 Price Not listed RacingArcadeThird PersonSplit ScreenFirst-PersonDrivingCompetitiveController
Common questions
What game is most like Need for Speed: Most Wanted?
Need for Speed Most Wanted, on the evidence we have. It made by the same studio, Criterion Games. That is a statement about overlap, not a promise you will like it as much: two games can share every tag and still feel different to play.
How is "similar to Need for Speed: Most Wanted" decided?
By overlap on the tags Steam players applied to each game, the formal genres, the themes both sit in, and whether the same studio made them. Tags carry the most weight because players write them, so they describe how a game feels rather than how it was filed. Tags carried by more than a third of the catalogue are ignored: matching on "Singleplayer" is matching on nothing. Every entry below shows exactly what it matched on.
Are these ranked by quality?
No. They are ordered by how much they overlap with Need for Speed: Most Wanted. Where two games overlap equally, the better received one goes first, but that only moves a game a place or two. Each entry shows its own player sentiment so you can weigh that separately.
What else did the makers of Need for Speed: Most Wanted do?
Need for Speed Most Wanted, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, Burnout Paradise, Burnout Paradise: The Ultimate Box, Need for Speed Unbound are also from Criterion Games, and appear in the list below for that reason as well as on tag overlap.
Do you get paid for these recommendations?
No. The order is computed from tag and genre overlap and nothing else. No placement here can be bought, and a game appearing high on this page is a statement about resemblance rather than an endorsement.