EA and Criterion’s upcoming Need for Speed Unbound will run at 4k and 60fps on PS5 and Xbox Series X, based on the latest information.
According to Criterion Games creative director Kieran Crimmins, Need for Speed Unbound will deliver 4k and 60fps on both the PS5 and Xbox Series X. It’s unknown at this point what native resolution the Xbox Series S will run the game at, though 60fps is to be expected.
Crimmins states that NFS Unbound will take advantage of the current-gen consoles and the Frostbite Engine to deliver a 4K/60fps experience in a free-roaming open world called Lakeshore. He added that the physics engine will also update at a high frame-rate, allowing “more control and nuance” to the handling of cars than ever before.
Need for Speed is all about setting trends and breaking the mold, said Crimmins. The series has always been about rebellion, which is at the heart of the street racing fantasy. He claims that NFS Unbound will explore new art styles, new visions, and new ways the game can look in order to stand out from the crowd of racing games out there and deliver innovation by setting trends.
That’s not to say, however, that Need for Speed Unbound is a reboot. Criterion GM Matt Webster clarifies that Need for Speed Heat was extraordinarily successful for EA, and the studio is looking to follow up on its huge success, as it continues to reach “tens of millions of players”. Based on his view, this is where Need for Speed is going, and where Criterion Games is encapsulating the fantasy and setting it up for a modern audience.
Crimmins added that, with NFS Unbound, Criterion Games is essentially attempting to make the player feel like an illicit street racer, by making crazy bets and feeling the highs and lows and the thrills of what it means to embody that fantasy.
