The Game Census
Need for Speed™ Most Wanted cover art

Need for Speed™ Most Wanted

Criterion Games · Electronic Arts · 2020-06-18

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ActionAdventureRacing

Franchise: Need for Speed · Modes: Single player, Multiplayer · Perspectives: First person, Third person

Releases: Nov 15, 2012 (PC (Microsoft Windows)), Nov 15, 2012 (Xbox 360), Nov 02, 2012 (PlayStation 3)

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.

Need for Speed™ Most Wanted is an Action, Adventure, Racing game released in 2020, priced at $19.99, with an estimated 1,000,000 to 2,000,000 owners and a Mostly Positive review sentiment (77% of 28,100 reviews).

124
playing now
77%
positive of 28k reviews
Mostly Positive
steam's rating (official)
1,000,000–2,000,000
owners (SteamSpy est.)
85/100
critic score (15 outlets, IGDB)
73/100
IGDB user rating (446 ratings)
20h
to beat · rushed 20h · completionist 32h
gold
deck/linux tier (ProtonDB)
Playable
Steam Deck (Valve)
SteamOS: Playable
$19.99
steam price (US)

124 players in-game as of 2026-10-15 02:00 UTC (census sample)

Need for Speed: Most Wanted is a 2012 racing game developed by Criterion Games and published by Electronic Arts. Most Wanted is the nineteenth title in the Need for Speed series and was released worldwide for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PlayStation Vita, iOS and Android, beginning in North America in 2012. A Wii U version, under the title Need for Speed: Most Wanted U, was released in 2013. Like its predecessor, 2010's Hot Pursuit, the game is a revival of the original 2005 Most Wanted title.

Trailer

Need for Speed™ Most Wanted trailer thumbnail

Need for Speed Most Wanted Live Action Trailer

≈362,277 YouTube results for this game's trailer search

Health check

Healthy
  • · 124 players in-game at the last census sample.
  • · 2,643 reviews in the last 8 weeks (~330/week).
  • · Review velocity up 11% vs the prior 8 weeks.
  • · Top 3% of 27,808 Action games in the census by review count.

Health tier since 2026-08-27

Estimated sales: 567k–1.3M copies

Review-multiple estimate from 28,355 total reviews — how this is computed.

Current store prices

Microsoft Store$0.00

Deal snapshots via CheapShark, refreshed daily.

All-time low: $1.99 at EA Store (2020-06-04)via IsThereAnyDeal

12-month high $19.99 · on sale 37 of 49 observed days · at its all-time low (census price snapshots)

Review momentum

PositiveNegative
1.4k1.4k20202026Week of 2020-06-01: 339 positiveWeek of 2020-06-01: 143 negativeWeek of 2020-07-01: 312 positiveWeek of 2020-07-01: 84 negativeWeek of 2020-08-01: 288 positiveWeek of 2020-08-01: 88 negativeWeek of 2020-09-01: 131 positiveWeek of 2020-09-01: 29 negativeWeek of 2020-10-01: 241 positiveWeek of 2020-10-01: 75 negativeWeek of 2020-11-01: 1,408 positiveWeek of 2020-11-01: 180 negativeWeek of 2020-12-01: 783 positiveWeek of 2020-12-01: 166 negativeWeek of 2021-01-01: 349 positiveWeek of 2021-01-01: 114 negativeWeek of 2021-02-01: 201 positiveWeek of 2021-02-01: 40 negativeWeek of 2021-03-01: 138 positiveWeek of 2021-03-01: 35 negativeWeek of 2021-04-01: 131 positiveWeek of 2021-04-01: 39 negativeWeek of 2021-05-01: 158 positiveWeek of 2021-05-01: 56 negativeWeek of 2021-06-01: 257 positiveWeek of 2021-06-01: 74 negativeWeek of 2021-07-01: 136 positiveWeek of 2021-07-01: 30 negativeWeek of 2021-08-01: 194 positiveWeek of 2021-08-01: 51 negativeWeek of 2021-09-01: 166 positiveWeek of 2021-09-01: 43 negativeWeek of 2021-10-01: 212 positiveWeek of 2021-10-01: 44 negativeWeek of 2021-11-01: 190 positiveWeek of 2021-11-01: 45 negativeWeek of 2021-12-01: 583 positiveWeek of 2021-12-01: 185 negativeWeek of 2022-01-01: 623 positiveWeek of 2022-01-01: 191 negativeWeek of 2022-02-01: 297 positiveWeek of 2022-02-01: 72 negativeWeek of 2022-03-01: 230 positiveWeek of 2022-03-01: 75 negativeWeek of 2022-04-01: 158 positiveWeek of 2022-04-01: 36 negativeWeek of 2022-05-01: 170 positiveWeek of 2022-05-01: 50 negativeWeek of 2022-06-01: 211 positiveWeek of 2022-06-01: 51 negativeWeek of 2022-07-01: 175 positiveWeek of 2022-07-01: 46 negativeWeek of 2022-08-01: 156 positiveWeek of 2022-08-01: 41 negativeWeek of 2022-09-01: 156 positiveWeek of 2022-09-01: 61 negativeWeek of 2022-10-01: 177 positiveWeek of 2022-10-01: 97 negativeWeek of 2022-11-01: 196 positiveWeek of 2022-11-01: 79 negativeWeek of 2022-12-01: 190 positiveWeek of 2022-12-01: 64 negativeWeek of 2023-01-01: 213 positiveWeek of 2023-01-01: 61 negativeWeek of 2023-02-01: 97 positiveWeek of 2023-02-01: 33 negativeWeek of 2023-03-01: 114 positiveWeek of 2023-03-01: 34 negativeWeek of 2023-04-01: 101 positiveWeek of 2023-04-01: 29 negativeWeek of 2023-05-01: 88 positiveWeek of 2023-05-01: 25 negativeWeek of 2023-06-01: 104 positiveWeek of 2023-06-01: 27 negativeWeek of 2023-07-01: 129 positiveWeek of 2023-07-01: 29 negativeWeek of 2023-08-01: 114 positiveWeek of 2023-08-01: 31 negativeWeek of 2023-09-01: 456 positiveWeek of 2023-09-01: 154 negativeWeek of 2023-10-01: 217 positiveWeek of 2023-10-01: 65 negativeWeek of 2023-11-01: 333 positiveWeek of 2023-11-01: 89 negativeWeek of 2023-12-01: 433 positiveWeek of 2023-12-01: 146 negativeWeek of 2024-01-01: 385 positiveWeek of 2024-01-01: 126 negativeWeek of 2024-02-01: 377 positiveWeek of 2024-02-01: 136 negativeWeek of 2024-03-01: 448 positiveWeek of 2024-03-01: 154 negativeWeek of 2024-04-01: 253 positiveWeek of 2024-04-01: 68 negativeWeek of 2024-05-01: 367 positiveWeek of 2024-05-01: 116 negativeWeek of 2024-06-01: 231 positiveWeek of 2024-06-01: 76 negativeWeek of 2024-07-01: 317 positiveWeek of 2024-07-01: 108 negativeWeek of 2024-08-01: 398 positiveWeek of 2024-08-01: 163 negativeWeek of 2024-09-01: 273 positiveWeek of 2024-09-01: 81 negativeWeek of 2024-10-01: 197 positiveWeek of 2024-10-01: 52 negativeWeek of 2024-11-01: 254 positiveWeek of 2024-11-01: 80 negativeWeek of 2024-12-01: 442 positiveWeek of 2024-12-01: 139 negativeWeek of 2025-01-01: 279 positiveWeek of 2025-01-01: 77 negativeWeek of 2025-02-01: 268 positiveWeek of 2025-02-01: 73 negativeWeek of 2025-03-01: 467 positiveWeek of 2025-03-01: 167 negativeWeek of 2025-04-01: 217 positiveWeek of 2025-04-01: 56 negativeWeek of 2025-05-01: 272 positiveWeek of 2025-05-01: 94 negativeWeek of 2025-06-01: 205 positiveWeek of 2025-06-01: 83 negativeWeek of 2025-07-01: 228 positiveWeek of 2025-07-01: 68 negativeWeek of 2025-08-01: 264 positiveWeek of 2025-08-01: 82 negativeWeek of 2025-09-01: 247 positiveWeek of 2025-09-01: 73 negativeWeek of 2025-10-01: 177 positiveWeek of 2025-10-01: 66 negativeWeek of 2025-11-01: 191 positiveWeek of 2025-11-01: 58 negativeWeek of 2025-12-01: 262 positiveWeek of 2025-12-01: 89 negativeWeek of 2026-01-01: 260 positiveWeek of 2026-01-01: 76 negativeWeek of 2026-02-01: 240 positiveWeek of 2026-02-01: 56 negativeWeek of 2026-03-01: 274 positiveWeek of 2026-03-01: 104 negativeWeek of 2026-04-01: 202 positiveWeek of 2026-04-01: 79 negativeWeek of 2026-05-01: 258 positiveWeek of 2026-05-01: 65 negativeWeek of 2026-06-01: 241 positiveWeek of 2026-06-01: 73 negativeWeek of 2026-07-01: 289 positiveWeek of 2026-07-01: 75 negativeWeek of 2026-08-01: 725 positiveWeek of 2026-08-01: 288 negative
Weekly review counts (Steam review histogram). Positive above the line, negative below.

Players online

5231242026-09-15 12:00 — 223 players2026-09-16 20:00 — 272 players2026-09-18 03:00 — 179 players2026-09-19 11:00 — 383 players2026-09-20 18:00 — 478 players2026-09-22 02:00 — 204 players2026-09-23 10:00 — 199 players2026-09-24 17:00 — 379 players2026-09-26 01:00 — 241 players2026-09-27 08:00 — 335 players2026-09-28 16:00 — 363 players2026-09-29 23:00 — 170 players2026-10-01 07:00 — 124 players2026-10-02 14:00 — 334 players2026-10-03 22:00 — 300 players2026-10-05 06:00 — 144 players2026-10-06 13:00 — 261 players2026-10-07 21:00 — 240 players2026-10-09 04:00 — 130 players2026-10-10 12:00 — 363 players2026-10-11 20:00 — 307 players2026-10-13 03:00 — 129 players2026-10-14 11:00 — 157 players2026-10-15 02:00 — 124 players
Concurrent players, hourly average, last 30 days (census samples).
56991Jul 2020Aug 2026Jul 2020 — avg 140 · peak 340Sep 2020 — avg 91 · peak 266Nov 2020 — avg 301 · peak 1,934Jan 2021 — avg 260 · peak 537Mar 2021 — avg 128 · peak 263May 2021 — avg 117 · peak 434Jul 2021 — avg 96 · peak 217Sep 2021 — avg 122 · peak 385Nov 2021 — avg 118 · peak 387Jan 2022 — avg 366 · peak 1,151Mar 2022 — avg 184 · peak 446May 2022 — avg 137 · peak 361Jul 2022 — avg 157 · peak 302Sep 2022 — avg 136 · peak 363Nov 2022 — avg 136 · peak 355Jan 2023 — avg 169 · peak 399Mar 2023 — avg 101 · peak 212May 2023 — avg 94 · peak 188Jul 2023 — avg 105 · peak 189Sep 2023 — avg 265 · peak 690Nov 2023 — avg 203 · peak 572Jan 2024 — avg 303 · peak 912Mar 2024 — avg 314 · peak 836May 2024 — avg 282 · peak 665Jul 2024 — avg 233 · peak 486Sep 2024 — avg 209 · peak 534Nov 2024 — avg 214 · peak 689Jan 2025 — avg 234 · peak 592Mar 2025 — avg 321 · peak 920May 2025 — avg 221 · peak 474Jul 2025 — avg 206 · peak 409Sep 2025 — avg 197 · peak 465Nov 2025 — avg 203 · peak 516Jan 2026 — avg 239 · peak 549Mar 2026 — avg 251 · peak 617May 2026 — avg 207 · peak 475Jul 2026 — avg 220 · peak 784Aug 2026 — avg 569 · peak 1,424
Monthly average players (source: steamcharts.com) — history via steamcharts.com; live census sampling since Aug 2026.

Chart history

PositiveNegative
34342026-09-222026-10-132026-09-22: 14 new positive2026-09-22: 6 new negative2026-09-24: 18 new positive2026-09-24: 3 new negative2026-09-26: 22 new positive2026-09-26: 7 new negative2026-09-27: 13 new positive2026-09-27: 4 new negative2026-09-28: 3 new positive2026-09-30: 21 new positive2026-09-30: 1 new negative2026-10-02: 25 new positive2026-10-02: 5 new negative2026-10-04: 18 new positive2026-10-04: 7 new negative2026-10-08: 34 new positive2026-10-08: 12 new negative2026-10-09: 15 new positive2026-10-09: 4 new negative2026-10-13: 19 new positive2026-10-13: 4 new negative
New Steam reviews per day (census review snapshots). Positive above the line, negative below.

Price history

$24.99$0.002015-01-012026-10-152015-01-01 — best price $9.992015-01-23 — best price $18.582015-03-17 — best price $13.992015-04-24 — best price $7.552015-05-18 — best price $4.992015-06-11 — best price $19.992015-07-07 — best price $6.582015-08-09 — best price $9.992015-11-09 — best price $6.432015-12-18 — best price $9.992016-02-24 — best price $9.992016-05-16 — best price $6.792016-08-16 — best price $9.992017-01-02 — best price $19.992017-12-20 — best price $4.992018-11-09 — best price $9.992019-04-11 — best price $4.992019-11-26 — best price $4.992020-04-09 — best price $4.992020-08-18 — best price $19.992020-11-12 — best price $4.992021-01-18 — best price $19.992021-08-10 — best price $19.992021-12-23 — best price $1.992022-06-06 — best price $19.992022-11-29 — best price $19.992023-11-02 — best price $19.992024-03-07 — best price $1.992024-07-11 — best price $19.992024-11-27 — best price $1.992025-02-10 — best price $2.992025-06-19 — best price $4.992025-09-11 — best price $4.992025-12-18 — best price $3.992026-02-23 — best price $19.992026-06-20 — best price $4.992026-08-10 — best price $1.992026-08-20 — best price $19.992026-09-28 — best price $4.992026-10-15 — best price $0.00
Lowest recorded price across tracked stores, per day (census snapshots).

Attention

6712862026-05-29 — 457 pageviews2026-06-02 — 400 pageviews2026-06-06 — 376 pageviews2026-06-10 — 339 pageviews2026-06-14 — 376 pageviews2026-06-18 — 347 pageviews2026-06-22 — 374 pageviews2026-06-26 — 362 pageviews2026-06-30 — 384 pageviews2026-07-04 — 382 pageviews2026-07-08 — 491 pageviews2026-07-12 — 440 pageviews2026-07-16 — 368 pageviews2026-07-20 — 361 pageviews2026-07-24 — 351 pageviews2026-07-28 — 352 pageviews2026-08-01 — 446 pageviews2026-08-05 — 671 pageviews2026-08-09 — 503 pageviews2026-08-13 — 411 pageviews2026-08-17 — 428 pageviews2026-08-21 — 417 pageviews2026-08-25 — 386 pageviews2026-08-29 — 425 pageviews2026-09-02 — 398 pageviews2026-09-06 — 441 pageviews2026-09-10 — 330 pageviews2026-09-14 — 351 pageviews2026-09-18 — 344 pageviews2026-09-22 — 374 pageviews2026-09-26 — 346 pageviews2026-09-30 — 316 pageviews2026-10-04 — 343 pageviews2026-10-07 — 343 pageviews
Daily Wikipedia pageviews (attention proxy, census-recorded).

Details

WindowsSingle-playerMulti-playerPvPOnline PvPSteam Trading Cards5 DLC

10 supported languages: English, French, Italian, German, Spanish - Spain, Czech, Dutch, Japanese, Polish, Russian

Post-launch support: 5 DLC released, first 2020-06-18 (Steam store data)

Where its players are

Share of Steam reviews by language (top languages measured) — a proxy for where the player base lives.

Player tags

ActionArcadeRacingDrivingAdventureControllerOpen WorldCompetitiveMultiplayerFirst-Person

Census log

Computed from census-recorded observations only — dates are observation dates.

Players also track

Split/SecondNeed for Speed™

Similarity via IGDB.

Wikipedia ↗Official site ↗