Need for Speed: World

Need for Speed World (previously known as Need for Speed: World Online) is the 15th installment in the long-running racing video game Need for Speed franchise published by Electronic Arts. This iteration has been co-developed by EA Black Box and EA Singapore. It is the first freemium MMORG in the Need for Speed series (though Motor City Onlinewas originally conceived as a Need for Speed game) and is available exclusively for Windows-based PCs. World was released worldwide on July 27, 2010. However, people who ordered the Need for Speed: World Starter Pack had an early "head-start" in the game, which started on July 20, 2010.

World takes on the gameplay style of Most Wanted and Carbon, focusing on illegal street racing, tuning and police chases, and adds classic MMO elements to the mix such as special abilities. World also features the cities of Rockport and Palmont, the cities of Most Wanted and Carbon into its map design. The game currently features 71 licensed cars consisting of tuners, muscle cars and exotics.

On December 2010, car performance customization was made available to players. On March 16, 2011, visual customization was also made available. On March 31, 2011, Electronic Arts introduced a new game mode called Team Escape, a co-operative version of a police pursuit where up to four players must race as a team driving from point A to point B while avoiding numerous cops. For this mode, two co-op versions of the game's powerups have been released. On July 26, 2011, a new game mode called Treasure Hunt was released. In this mode, played during free roam, players collect 15 gems around a randomly selected area once a day in the World to earn boosts of reputation and in-game cash.

Before September 8, 2010, after reaching level 10 and access to only tier 1 and certain tier 2 cars, the player would not be able to progress further in the game and would cease to earn any more experience points or cash. To continue the game, the player had to purchase the Need for Speed World Starter Pack. Without it, the player was allowed to play the game for as long as he or she wants, but he or she would cease to earn experience and cash. On September 8, 2010World had passed 1 million registrations. To celebrate that, the game was made free-to-play and the level cap was removed.

The game was first announced to be free-to-play. In October 2009, World was opened to public beta-testing limited to residents of Taiwan. There have been seven closed beta sessions in total. Except the first one, all were available worldwide to residents who sign up, meet admission criteria, and get accepted. An open beta was started on July 2, 2010 at 10am PDT. The Beta was scheduled to close on July 6, 2010 but was extended to July 9, 2010. A stress-test was opened from July 13 through 14th, 2010. Players who purchased the starter pack were able to play the game one week before the official release. Players who did not purchase the starter pack were able to play on July 27, 2010.

Need for Speed World has received generally mixed reviews by critics. On GameRankings, the game holds a score of 62.14%, while on Metacritic, World holds a score of 62, meaning "mixed or average reviews".

The highest praise of the game came from GamingXP, which commented that "The game feels like a combination of previous Need for Speed games except the single player has been cut off. Add some role-play elements and you have a racing MMO." PC Format gave a somewhat mediocre review in their October 2010 issue, concluding that the game "feels like a missed opportunity." Eurogamer commented that "It's a real shame that the MMO aspect of World is effectively a needlessly elaborate lobby."