The Game Census
Need for Speed™ Payback cover art

Need for Speed™ Payback

Ghost Games · Electronic Arts · 2020-06-18

SteamPlayStation StoreAmazonMicrosoft Store

ActionAdventureRacingSportsStrategy

Franchise: Need for Speed, Formula 1 · Modes: Single player, Multiplayer, Co-operative · Perspectives: Third person

Releases: Nov 10, 2017 (PlayStation 4), Nov 10, 2017 (PC (Microsoft Windows)), Nov 10, 2017 (Xbox One)

Set in the underworld of Fortune Valley, you and your crew were divided by betrayal and reunited by revenge to take down The House, a nefarious cartel that rules the city’s casinos, criminals and cops. In this corrupt gambler’s paradise, the stakes are high and The House always wins.

Need for Speed™ Payback is an Action, Adventure, Racing and Sports game released in 2020, priced at $29.99, with an owner estimate of 1,000,000 .. 2,000,000 and a review sentiment of Very Positive (85% of 32424 reviews).

190
playing now
85%
positive of 33k reviews
Very Positive
steam's rating (official)
1,000,000–2,000,000
owners (SteamSpy est.)
54/100
critic score (16 outlets, IGDB)
60/100
IGDB user rating (230 ratings)
171
Nexus mods (571k downloads)
4.02★
PlayStation Store rating (76,789 ratings)
gold
deck/linux tier (ProtonDB)
Unsupported
Steam Deck (Valve)
SteamOS: Unsupported
$29.99
steam price (US)

190 players in-game as of 2026-10-14 11:00 UTC (census sample)

Need for Speed Payback is a 2017 racing video game developed by Ghost Games and published by Electronic Arts. It was released for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One on November 10, 2017. It is the 23rd installment in the Need for Speed series. The campaign of Payback revolves around a crew of racers working together to bring down a cartel named "The House", who control Fortune Valley, the game's take on Las Vegas, Nevada.

Trailer

Need for Speed™ Payback trailer thumbnail

Need for Speed Payback Official Gameplay Trailer

≈267,937 YouTube results for this game's trailer search

Health check

Healthy
  • · 190 players in-game at the last census sample.
  • · 1,780 reviews in the last 8 weeks (~223/week).
  • · Review velocity up 0% vs the prior 8 weeks.
  • · Top 2% of 27,667 Action games in the census by review count.

Health tier since 2026-08-27

Estimated sales: 652k–1.5M copies

Review-multiple estimate from 32,578 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 (2023-10-26)via IsThereAnyDeal

12-month high $29.99 · on sale 29 of 37 observed days (census price snapshots)

Review momentum

PositiveNegative
3.0k3.0k20202026Week of 2020-06-01: 101 positiveWeek of 2020-06-01: 28 negativeWeek of 2020-07-01: 175 positiveWeek of 2020-07-01: 29 negativeWeek of 2020-08-01: 267 positiveWeek of 2020-08-01: 79 negativeWeek of 2020-09-01: 187 positiveWeek of 2020-09-01: 29 negativeWeek of 2020-10-01: 420 positiveWeek of 2020-10-01: 72 negativeWeek of 2020-11-01: 735 positiveWeek of 2020-11-01: 41 negativeWeek of 2020-12-01: 438 positiveWeek of 2020-12-01: 39 negativeWeek of 2021-01-01: 649 positiveWeek of 2021-01-01: 80 negativeWeek of 2021-02-01: 245 positiveWeek of 2021-02-01: 34 negativeWeek of 2021-03-01: 196 positiveWeek of 2021-03-01: 31 negativeWeek of 2021-04-01: 124 positiveWeek of 2021-04-01: 16 negativeWeek of 2021-05-01: 195 positiveWeek of 2021-05-01: 31 negativeWeek of 2021-06-01: 456 positiveWeek of 2021-06-01: 55 negativeWeek of 2021-07-01: 336 positiveWeek of 2021-07-01: 40 negativeWeek of 2021-08-01: 532 positiveWeek of 2021-08-01: 81 negativeWeek of 2021-09-01: 243 positiveWeek of 2021-09-01: 34 negativeWeek of 2021-10-01: 278 positiveWeek of 2021-10-01: 44 negativeWeek of 2021-11-01: 286 positiveWeek of 2021-11-01: 22 negativeWeek of 2021-12-01: 255 positiveWeek of 2021-12-01: 34 negativeWeek of 2022-01-01: 266 positiveWeek of 2022-01-01: 33 negativeWeek of 2022-02-01: 215 positiveWeek of 2022-02-01: 30 negativeWeek of 2022-03-01: 152 positiveWeek of 2022-03-01: 17 negativeWeek of 2022-04-01: 115 positiveWeek of 2022-04-01: 16 negativeWeek of 2022-05-01: 127 positiveWeek of 2022-05-01: 16 negativeWeek of 2022-06-01: 167 positiveWeek of 2022-06-01: 33 negativeWeek of 2022-07-01: 172 positiveWeek of 2022-07-01: 16 negativeWeek of 2022-08-01: 87 positiveWeek of 2022-08-01: 16 negativeWeek of 2022-09-01: 2,975 positiveWeek of 2022-09-01: 639 negativeWeek of 2022-10-01: 802 positiveWeek of 2022-10-01: 155 negativeWeek of 2022-11-01: 640 positiveWeek of 2022-11-01: 79 negativeWeek of 2022-12-01: 351 positiveWeek of 2022-12-01: 71 negativeWeek of 2023-01-01: 394 positiveWeek of 2023-01-01: 70 negativeWeek of 2023-02-01: 204 positiveWeek of 2023-02-01: 31 negativeWeek of 2023-03-01: 191 positiveWeek of 2023-03-01: 28 negativeWeek of 2023-04-01: 162 positiveWeek of 2023-04-01: 25 negativeWeek of 2023-05-01: 217 positiveWeek of 2023-05-01: 52 negativeWeek of 2023-06-01: 189 positiveWeek of 2023-06-01: 30 negativeWeek of 2023-07-01: 192 positiveWeek of 2023-07-01: 39 negativeWeek of 2023-08-01: 135 positiveWeek of 2023-08-01: 31 negativeWeek of 2023-09-01: 595 positiveWeek of 2023-09-01: 92 negativeWeek of 2023-10-01: 423 positiveWeek of 2023-10-01: 74 negativeWeek of 2023-11-01: 1,018 positiveWeek of 2023-11-01: 158 negativeWeek of 2023-12-01: 642 positiveWeek of 2023-12-01: 113 negativeWeek of 2024-01-01: 521 positiveWeek of 2024-01-01: 100 negativeWeek of 2024-02-01: 571 positiveWeek of 2024-02-01: 121 negativeWeek of 2024-03-01: 523 positiveWeek of 2024-03-01: 118 negativeWeek of 2024-04-01: 316 positiveWeek of 2024-04-01: 57 negativeWeek of 2024-05-01: 392 positiveWeek of 2024-05-01: 82 negativeWeek of 2024-06-01: 197 positiveWeek of 2024-06-01: 55 negativeWeek of 2024-07-01: 448 positiveWeek of 2024-07-01: 89 negativeWeek of 2024-08-01: 401 positiveWeek of 2024-08-01: 74 negativeWeek of 2024-09-01: 252 positiveWeek of 2024-09-01: 40 negativeWeek of 2024-10-01: 193 positiveWeek of 2024-10-01: 38 negativeWeek of 2024-11-01: 218 positiveWeek of 2024-11-01: 34 negativeWeek of 2024-12-01: 373 positiveWeek of 2024-12-01: 77 negativeWeek of 2025-01-01: 228 positiveWeek of 2025-01-01: 43 negativeWeek of 2025-02-01: 228 positiveWeek of 2025-02-01: 42 negativeWeek of 2025-03-01: 242 positiveWeek of 2025-03-01: 41 negativeWeek of 2025-04-01: 155 positiveWeek of 2025-04-01: 34 negativeWeek of 2025-05-01: 188 positiveWeek of 2025-05-01: 49 negativeWeek of 2025-06-01: 145 positiveWeek of 2025-06-01: 33 negativeWeek of 2025-07-01: 204 positiveWeek of 2025-07-01: 47 negativeWeek of 2025-08-01: 312 positiveWeek of 2025-08-01: 56 negativeWeek of 2025-09-01: 167 positiveWeek of 2025-09-01: 34 negativeWeek of 2025-10-01: 132 positiveWeek of 2025-10-01: 32 negativeWeek of 2025-11-01: 169 positiveWeek of 2025-11-01: 29 negativeWeek of 2025-12-01: 200 positiveWeek of 2025-12-01: 36 negativeWeek of 2026-01-01: 220 positiveWeek of 2026-01-01: 49 negativeWeek of 2026-02-01: 177 positiveWeek of 2026-02-01: 41 negativeWeek of 2026-03-01: 262 positiveWeek of 2026-03-01: 44 negativeWeek of 2026-04-01: 169 positiveWeek of 2026-04-01: 36 negativeWeek of 2026-05-01: 183 positiveWeek of 2026-05-01: 40 negativeWeek of 2026-06-01: 139 positiveWeek of 2026-06-01: 22 negativeWeek of 2026-07-01: 134 positiveWeek of 2026-07-01: 28 negativeWeek of 2026-08-01: 443 positiveWeek of 2026-08-01: 81 negative
Weekly review counts (Steam review histogram). Positive above the line, negative below.

Players online

5881172026-09-15 12:00 — 253 players2026-09-16 20:00 — 360 players2026-09-18 03:00 — 190 players2026-09-19 11:00 — 424 players2026-09-20 18:00 — 565 players2026-09-22 02:00 — 194 players2026-09-23 10:00 — 249 players2026-09-24 17:00 — 460 players2026-09-26 01:00 — 243 players2026-09-27 08:00 — 349 players2026-09-28 16:00 — 441 players2026-09-29 23:00 — 223 players2026-10-01 07:00 — 156 players2026-10-02 14:00 — 356 players2026-10-03 22:00 — 344 players2026-10-05 06:00 — 132 players2026-10-06 13:00 — 334 players2026-10-07 21:00 — 273 players2026-10-09 04:00 — 140 players2026-10-10 12:00 — 362 players2026-10-11 20:00 — 406 players2026-10-13 03:00 — 149 players2026-10-14 11:00 — 190 players
Concurrent players, hourly average, last 30 days (census samples).
3.8k144Jun 2020Aug 2026Jun 2020 — avg 189 · peak 311Aug 2020 — avg 226 · peak 1,065Oct 2020 — avg 378 · peak 1,492Dec 2020 — avg 401 · peak 1,173Feb 2021 — avg 454 · peak 904Apr 2021 — avg 183 · peak 364Jun 2021 — avg 437 · peak 871Aug 2021 — avg 503 · peak 1,448Oct 2021 — avg 305 · peak 1,023Dec 2021 — avg 271 · peak 633Feb 2022 — avg 259 · peak 626Apr 2022 — avg 163 · peak 382Jun 2022 — avg 235 · peak 513Aug 2022 — avg 167 · peak 312Oct 2022 — avg 826 · peak 2,315Dec 2022 — avg 446 · peak 905Feb 2023 — avg 260 · peak 507Apr 2023 — avg 224 · peak 425Jun 2023 — avg 244 · peak 442Aug 2023 — avg 205 · peak 373Oct 2023 — avg 459 · peak 2,628Dec 2023 — avg 761 · peak 1,895Feb 2024 — avg 753 · peak 1,930Apr 2024 — avg 398 · peak 944Jun 2024 — avg 302 · peak 868Aug 2024 — avg 501 · peak 1,362Oct 2024 — avg 280 · peak 610Dec 2024 — avg 459 · peak 1,006Feb 2025 — avg 371 · peak 914Apr 2025 — avg 263 · peak 563Jun 2025 — avg 256 · peak 502Aug 2025 — avg 470 · peak 1,117Oct 2025 — avg 240 · peak 546Dec 2025 — avg 320 · peak 785Feb 2026 — avg 297 · peak 633Apr 2026 — avg 279 · peak 589Jun 2026 — avg 221 · peak 445Aug 2026 — avg 729 · peak 1,842
Monthly average players (source: steamcharts.com) — history via steamcharts.com; live census sampling since Aug 2026.

Chart history

PositiveNegative
17172026-09-212026-10-132026-09-21: 10 new positive2026-09-21: 3 new negative2026-09-23: 7 new positive2026-09-23: 3 new negative2026-09-24: 10 new positive2026-09-26: 17 new positive2026-09-26: 7 new negative2026-09-29: 4 new positive2026-09-29: 2 new negative2026-09-30: 7 new positive2026-09-30: 1 new negative2026-10-02: 2 new negative2026-10-03: 5 new positive2026-10-03: 1 new negative2026-10-04: 10 new positive2026-10-05: 8 new positive2026-10-05: 2 new negative2026-10-07: 1 new positive2026-10-07: 2 new negative2026-10-09: 8 new positive2026-10-09: 1 new negative2026-10-11: 11 new positive2026-10-11: 1 new negative2026-10-13: 13 new positive2026-10-13: 2 new negative
New Steam reviews per day (census review snapshots). Positive above the line, negative below.

Price history

$59.99$0.002017-06-022026-10-082017-06-02 — best price $59.992018-01-23 — best price $29.992018-05-09 — best price $39.992018-11-27 — best price $39.992019-03-05 — best price $4.992019-10-07 — best price $4.992020-01-20 — best price $18.992020-02-08 — best price $22.022020-03-02 — best price $4.992020-05-28 — best price $19.992020-06-09 — best price $19.992020-07-14 — best price $18.992020-09-03 — best price $9.592020-10-20 — best price $19.992020-12-11 — best price $11.992021-01-11 — best price $10.492021-02-15 — best price $29.992021-03-27 — best price $19.992021-06-10 — best price $4.492021-07-30 — best price $6.892021-10-03 — best price $19.992021-11-19 — best price $4.592022-01-12 — best price $17.992022-02-22 — best price $7.992022-07-07 — best price $19.992022-11-01 — best price $19.992023-09-18 — best price $19.992024-02-20 — best price $29.992024-06-13 — best price $29.992024-10-28 — best price $7.492025-01-02 — best price $29.992025-05-01 — best price $7.492025-08-11 — best price $29.992025-11-20 — best price $7.792026-01-27 — best price $7.792026-03-26 — best price $19.992026-07-09 — best price $19.992026-09-17 — best price $0.002026-10-08 — best price $0.00
Lowest recorded price across tracked stores, per day (census snapshots).

Attention

3051162026-05-29 — 204 pageviews2026-06-02 — 190 pageviews2026-06-06 — 210 pageviews2026-06-10 — 177 pageviews2026-06-14 — 181 pageviews2026-06-18 — 130 pageviews2026-06-22 — 154 pageviews2026-06-26 — 200 pageviews2026-06-30 — 171 pageviews2026-07-04 — 166 pageviews2026-07-08 — 195 pageviews2026-07-12 — 196 pageviews2026-07-16 — 160 pageviews2026-07-20 — 147 pageviews2026-07-24 — 137 pageviews2026-07-28 — 135 pageviews2026-08-01 — 205 pageviews2026-08-05 — 305 pageviews2026-08-09 — 217 pageviews2026-08-13 — 188 pageviews2026-08-17 — 147 pageviews2026-08-21 — 170 pageviews2026-08-25 — 141 pageviews2026-08-29 — 174 pageviews2026-09-02 — 172 pageviews2026-09-06 — 187 pageviews2026-09-10 — 151 pageviews2026-09-14 — 154 pageviews2026-09-18 — 159 pageviews2026-09-22 — 200 pageviews2026-09-26 — 170 pageviews2026-09-30 — 126 pageviews2026-10-04 — 155 pageviews2026-10-07 — 141 pageviews
Daily Wikipedia pageviews (attention proxy, census-recorded).

Twitch viewers

72002026-09-30 22:34 — 11 viewers2026-10-01 04:34 — 3 viewers2026-10-02 18:34 — 13 viewers2026-10-03 00:34 — 10 viewers2026-10-03 22:34 — 8 viewers2026-10-04 04:34 — 5 viewers2026-10-04 10:34 — 4 viewers2026-10-04 16:34 — 5 viewers2026-10-04 22:34 — 17 viewers2026-10-05 04:34 — 3 viewers2026-10-06 02:34 — 1 viewers2026-10-06 08:34 — 2 viewers2026-10-06 14:34 — 17 viewers2026-10-06 20:34 — 6 viewers2026-10-07 02:34 — 15 viewers2026-10-07 23:34 — 9 viewers2026-10-08 05:34 — 3 viewers2026-10-08 11:34 — 3 viewers2026-10-09 21:34 — 1 viewers2026-10-10 03:34 — 2 viewers2026-10-10 09:34 — 3 viewers2026-10-10 15:34 — 3 viewers2026-10-10 22:34 — 7 viewers2026-10-11 20:35 — 14 viewers2026-10-12 02:34 — 6 viewers2026-10-12 08:34 — 2 viewers2026-10-13 21:34 — 5 viewers2026-10-14 03:34 — 9 viewers2026-10-14 09:34 — 2 viewers2026-10-14 10:34 — 1 viewers
Hourly Twitch viewers (census snapshots).

Completion

57
achievements tracked
81.3%
earned "Welcome to Fortune Valley"
12.3%
median achievement earned by

Global achievement rates from Steam.

Details

WindowsSingle-playerMulti-playerPvPOnline PvPCo-opOnline Co-opSteam Achievements4 DLC

10 supported languages: English, French, Spanish - Spain, Italian, German, Japanese, Polish, Portuguese - Brazil, Russian, Simplified Chinese

Post-launch support: 4 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

PvPArcadeRacingSportsOffroadSandboxStrategyControllerOpen WorldSimulation

Census log

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

Players also track

Borderlands 3Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon® WildlandsThe Crew™ 2Dude SimulatorDude Simulator 2Need for Speed™ HeatNeed for Speed™Forza Motorsport

Similarity via IGDB.

Official site ↗Wikipedia ↗