GamingPickz

Need for Speed: Underground

Catalogue entry · not reviewed

Need for Speed: Underground is a 2003 racing video game and the seventh installment in the Need for Speed series following Hot Pursuit 2 (2002). It was developed by EA Black Box and published by Electronic Arts. Three different versions of the game were produced: one for consoles and Microsoft Windows, and another for the Game Boy Advance. An arcade version developed and published by Global VR came out two years later.

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

Racing

Your like matters. Every heart nudges this game's GamingPickz Score and where it ranks (a small 5% of the score), so the lists get better for everyone.

Would you recommend it?
Released
2003
Developer
Not recorded
Platforms
6 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 released17 November 2003
DeveloperNot recorded
PublisherElectronic Arts
PlatformsNintendo GameCube, Arcade, PlayStation Portable, PC, PlayStation 2, Xbox
GenresRacing

Source. Catalogue facts from Wikidata Q247210, seeded 30 August 2026.

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

Total play time for Need for Speed: Underground is about 22.4 hours to do everything, and around 13.9 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: Underground length by how much you play
How you playHoursPlayers logged
Just the main story: straight through the critical path13.9h221
Main + the extras: story plus the side content most people do17.9h98
Completionist: everything: 100% the game22.4h83

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

Where Need for Speed: Underground 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: Underground lands on each map it has the data for, with the share of the catalogue it beats on each axis.

The whole catalogueEnduring classics
Year
64ahead of 17% of the catalogue
Reach
65ahead of 97% 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: Underground

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.

Loading reviews…

Did it run on your PC?

Tell other players how it ran on your machine. One tap, from your saved PC if you have one.

Where Need for Speed: Underground appears

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

Best of

Get the weekly rundown

One email a week: what moved in the rankings, what launched, and what dropped in price. No more than that, and unsubscribing takes one click.

We send the weekly email and nothing else. Your address is never sold, shared or used to build a profile, and it is not readable by anyone visiting this site. See our privacy policy.

Part of the Need for Speed series

Need for Speed: Underground 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: Underground head to head

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

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

More Need for Speed: Underground comparisons: vs Need for Speed Undercover, vs Need for Speed: Shift, 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: Underground

What platforms is Need for Speed: Underground on?

Need for Speed: Underground is available on Nintendo GameCube, Arcade, PlayStation Portable, PC, PlayStation 2, Xbox. It first released in 2003.

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

about 13.9 hours for the main story, 17.9 hours with the main extras, 22.4 hours to complete everything, from HowLongToBeat's player-submitted times. These are community medians, so your own run may be shorter or longer.