GamingPickz

Need for Speed: Shift

Catalogue entry · not reviewed

Need for Speed: Shift is a 2009 racing video game developed by Slightly Mad Studios and published by Electronic Arts for PlayStation 3, Windows, and Xbox 360. A separate version of the game was developed by EA Bright Light and simultaneously released for PlayStation Portable. Two mobile adaptations were developed by IronMonkey Studios for Java-compatible devices and iOS and released in 2009, with the latter version subsequently being made available for several other mobile devices. Need for Speed: Shift is the thirteenth installment in the Need for Speed franchise.

Summary from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA, read 5 September 2026.

Racing

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Would you recommend it?
Released
2009
Developer
Slightly Mad Studios
Platforms
8 systems
Critics
Not scored
Steam Deck
Unknown
Download
Not stated
We have not written a full review of this game.This is a catalogue entry: everything below comes from a source we can link, checked on a stated date. There is no score and no verdict here, because we only publish those after a reviewer has played the game and written it up properly. Our team may well have played this one. Until someone writes the review, we are not going to imply a verdict we have not put our name to.

The record

Catalogue facts
First released15 September 2009
DeveloperSlightly Mad Studios
PublisherElectronic Arts
PlatformsiOS, Android, iPad, Android Tablet, PlayStation Portable, PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
GenresRacing

Source. Catalogue facts from Wikidata Q4104, seeded 30 August 2026.

How long is Need for Speed: Shift? How long to beat it

Total play time for Need for Speed: Shift is about 31.2 hours to do everything, and around 13.2 hours to reach the end of the main story. These are player-submitted times from HowLongToBeat, not our own, shown with the number of players behind each.

Need for Speed: Shift length by how much you play
How you playHoursPlayers logged
Just the main story: straight through the critical path13.2h87
Main + the extras: story plus the side content most people do25.9h41
Completionist: everything: 100% the game31.2h21

Source: HowLongToBeat community submissions, read 2026-10-19.

Where Need for Speed: Shift sits on the grid

The grid places every game in the catalogue on measured axes rather than on an opinion. This is where Need for Speed: Shift lands on each map it has the data for, with the share of the catalogue it beats on each axis.

The whole catalogueModern landmarks
Year
73ahead of 26% of the catalogue
Reach
57ahead of 94% of the catalogue

Percentiles are against the games that carry a reading on that axis, not the whole catalogue: counting a game with no figure as a zero would flatter everything that has one. How the grid works.

What readers say about Need for Speed: Shift

Reviews written by people who have played it. These are separate from the GamingPickz Score and are never averaged into it: that score comes from thousands of Steam reviews with a sample-size correction, and a handful of unverified ratings would distort it rather than improve it.

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Where Need for Speed: Shift appears

The ranked lists and finder pages Need for Speed: Shift qualifies for, from its own genre and platform to what it takes to run.

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Part of the Need for Speed series

Need for Speed: Shift is one of 21 Need for Speed games we track. See the whole series ranked by the GamingPickz Score, plotted on the grid, and listed in release order:

Every Need for Speed game, ranked

Need for Speed: Shift head to head

See Need for Speed: Shift compared side by side, on score, price, specs and more:

Need for Speed: Shift vs Need for Speed IIScores, price and specs side by sideNeed for Speed: Shift vs Need for Speed III: Hot PursuitScores, price and specs side by sideNeed for Speed: Shift vs Need for Speed: High StakesScores, price and specs side by sideNeed for Speed: Shift vs Need for Speed: Porsche UnleashedScores, price and specs side by sideNeed for Speed: Shift vs Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2Scores, price and specs side by sideNeed for Speed: Shift vs Need for Speed: UndergroundScores, price and specs side by sideNeed for Speed: Shift vs Need for Speed: Underground 2Scores, price and specs side by sideNeed for Speed: Shift vs Need for Speed: CarbonScores, price and specs side by side

More Need for Speed: Shift comparisons: vs Need for Speed: ProStreet, vs Need for Speed Undercover, vs Need for Speed: Nitro, vs Need for Speed: The Run, vs Need for Speed Rivals, vs Need for Speed: No Limits, vs Need for Speed Payback, vs Need for Speed Heat, vs Need for Speed, vs Need for Speed Most Wanted, vs Need for Speed Hot Pursuit Remastered, vs Need for Speed Unbound

Common questions about Need for Speed: Shift

What platforms is Need for Speed: Shift on?

Need for Speed: Shift is available on iOS, Android, iPad, Android Tablet, PlayStation Portable, PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360. It first released in 2009.

Who made Need for Speed: Shift?

Need for Speed: Shift was developed by Slightly Mad Studios and published by Electronic Arts.

How long does it take to beat Need for Speed: Shift?

about 13.2 hours for the main story, 25.9 hours with the main extras, 31.2 hours to complete everything, from HowLongToBeat's player-submitted times. These are community medians, so your own run may be shorter or longer.