Need for Speed: Most Wanted
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.
- Released
- 2012
- Developer
- Criterion Games
- Platforms
- 10 systems
- Critics
- 78
- Steam Deck
- playable
- Download
- 20 GB
What is Need for Speed: Most Wanted?
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.
Description as published by the developer on its own store page, read 30 August 2026. It is marketing copy, not our assessment.
The record
| First released | 30 October 2012 |
|---|---|
| Developer | Criterion Games |
| Publisher | Electronic Arts |
| Platforms | iOS, Android, iPad, Android Tablet, PlayStation Vita, Nintendo Wii U, PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Steam Deck |
| Genres | Racing |
| Languages | 11 supported |
Source. Catalogue facts from Wikidata Q1880781, seeded 30 August 2026. Store data from Steam, read 30 August 2026.
How was Need for Speed: Most Wanted received?
Method. Player figures are Steam's own totals for the PC version, read 30 August 2026. The Metacritic score is the one Steam publishes on its store page and can lag the site itself. Metacritic page. Neither is our opinion. We have not published a review of this game.
What does it support?
| Capability | Support |
|---|---|
| Controller | Not stated |
| Cloud saves | No |
| Cross-platform play | No |
| Mod support | No official workshop |
| Online play | Yes |
| In-game purchases | No |
| Steam Deck | playable |
| Download size | 20 GB |
| Add-on content | 5 DLC listed |
| Age gate | None |
Method. Read from the publisher's Steam listing on 30 August 2026. Describes the PC version. Console versions differ.
What does it cost?
Steam price in US dollars, read 30 August 2026. Prices move hourly and vary by region. Check the current price.
Problems players report
We read the 300 most recent negative Steam reviews of Need for Speed: Most Wanted on 30 August 2026 and counted what they mention. These are complaints, not confirmed defects: we have not reproduced any of them, and a review describes one person's machine. What the counts tell you is which problems more than one person ran into.
- Crashes and freezes34 of 300 (11%)
Crash cutscene into everything.
Steam review, 6 August 2026 · 1 hours played · 13 readers marked it helpfulThis game won't be fun if you end up crashing left and right because a 1% of your vehicle crashed 1% of the enemy car and either you lose control and crash into a wall, or you somehow hit the other car so hard, that you're the one that crashed.
Steam review, 5 May 2026 · 3 hours played · 5 readers marked it helpful - Will not launch or install10 of 300 (3%)
Please fix this game it won't even launch i've tryed everthing.
Steam review, 13 June 2026 · 1 hours played · 11 readers marked it helpfulFailed to launch game (error on our end) - EA app
Steam review, 29 May 2026 · 3 hours played · 3 readers marked it helpful - Monetisation inside the game9 of 300 (3%)
75% of cars are locked behind a paywall.
Steam review, 23 February 2026 · 18 hours played · 111 readers marked it helpfulthe cars are literally free, except the ones that are behind EA's paywall the physics are heavy, the crash animations are annoying and I found the cops grate at first but after a while, I realized they aren't even hard, just annoying.
Steam review, 1 August 2026 · 2 hours played · 3 readers marked it helpful - Controller and input9 of 300 (3%)
ea launcher kept causing issues, i have dealt with keyboard key bindings and controller support for hours and still couldn't fix it.
Steam review, 28 May 2026 · 13 hours played · 21 readers marked it helpfulThere is also Input delay sometimes with that, but those can be remedied with RacerS_Plugin.
Steam review, 9 August 2026 · 5 hours played · 2 readers marked it helpful
A further 4 reviews call the game buggy or broken without saying how, which is why they are counted separately rather than assigned to a theme. Counted by keyword across review text, so a review discussing two problems is counted under both. Read the reviews yourself.
Games like Need for Speed: Most Wanted
24 games overlap with Need for Speed: Most Wanted on the tags Steam players applied to it, on genre, and on theme. The closest are Need for Speed Most Wanted, Need for Speed: Most Wanted and Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit.
Common questions about Need for Speed: Most Wanted
What platforms is Need for Speed: Most Wanted on?
Need for Speed: Most Wanted is available on iOS, Android, iPad, Android Tablet, PlayStation Vita, Nintendo Wii U, PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Steam Deck. It first released in 2012.
How much does Need for Speed: Most Wanted cost?
$19.99 on Steam in the United States, read on 30 August 2026. Prices move often and vary by region, so check the store before buying.
Do players recommend Need for Speed: Most Wanted?
77% of 27,838 Steam reviews are positive, which Steam rates Mostly Positive. That is players rating it, not our review. We have not published a review of this game.
What is the Metacritic score for Need for Speed: Most Wanted?
78 out of 100 for the PC version, as published on the game's own Steam store page. Steam can lag Metacritic by a few points.
Does Need for Speed: Most Wanted work on Steam Deck?
Valve rates Need for Speed: Most Wanted as playable on the Steam Deck, from its own testing.
How big is the Need for Speed: Most Wanted download?
20 GB on PC, from the storage requirement on its Steam listing. Console versions differ.