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

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.

320
playing now
85%
positive of 32k reviews
Very Positive
steam rating
1,000,000–2,000,000
owners (SteamSpy est.)
5
twitch viewers (latest)
54/100
critic score (16 outlets, IGDB)
60/100
IGDB user rating (230 ratings)
gold
deck/linux tier (ProtonDB)
$29.99
steam price (US)

320 players in-game as of 2026-08-30 01:00 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.

Health check

Healthy
  • · 320 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 5% of 10,710 Action games in the census by review count.

Health tier since 2026-08-27

Estimated sales: 645k–1.5M copies

Review-multiple estimate from 32,242 total reviews — how this is computed.

Current store prices

Microsoft Store$0.00
lowest across shops (ITAD)$29.99

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 26 of 36 observed days · at its all-time low (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

1.8k2702026-08-06 21:00 — 1,223 players2026-08-07 05:00 — 642 players2026-08-07 13:00 — 1,481 players2026-08-07 21:00 — 1,205 players2026-08-08 05:00 — 784 players2026-08-08 13:00 — 1,574 players2026-08-08 21:00 — 1,345 players2026-08-09 05:00 — 832 players2026-08-09 13:00 — 1,738 players2026-08-09 21:00 — 1,304 players2026-08-10 05:00 — 575 players2026-08-10 14:00 — 1,372 players2026-08-10 22:00 — 1,065 players2026-08-11 06:00 — 534 players2026-08-11 14:00 — 1,367 players2026-08-12 21:00 — 1,038 players2026-08-14 05:00 — 493 players2026-08-15 13:00 — 1,085 players2026-08-16 21:00 — 928 players2026-08-18 04:00 — 327 players2026-08-19 12:00 — 621 players2026-08-20 19:00 — 659 players2026-08-22 03:00 — 366 players2026-08-23 10:00 — 558 players2026-08-24 18:00 — 647 players2026-08-26 02:00 — 296 players2026-08-27 10:00 — 327 players2026-08-28 17:00 — 517 players2026-08-30 01:00 — 320 players
Concurrent players, hourly average, last 30 days (census samples).

Price history

$59.99$0.002017-06-022026-08-272017-06-02 — 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 $19.992026-08-27 — best price $0.00
Lowest recorded price across tracked stores, per day (census snapshots).

Attention

3361212026-05-29 — 204 pageviews2026-06-01 — 194 pageviews2026-06-04 — 172 pageviews2026-06-07 — 226 pageviews2026-06-10 — 177 pageviews2026-06-13 — 170 pageviews2026-06-16 — 152 pageviews2026-06-19 — 173 pageviews2026-06-22 — 154 pageviews2026-06-25 — 130 pageviews2026-06-28 — 185 pageviews2026-07-01 — 133 pageviews2026-07-04 — 166 pageviews2026-07-07 — 181 pageviews2026-07-10 — 168 pageviews2026-07-13 — 207 pageviews2026-07-16 — 160 pageviews2026-07-19 — 168 pageviews2026-07-22 — 153 pageviews2026-07-25 — 161 pageviews2026-07-28 — 135 pageviews2026-07-31 — 208 pageviews2026-08-03 — 204 pageviews2026-08-06 — 250 pageviews2026-08-09 — 217 pageviews2026-08-12 — 243 pageviews2026-08-15 — 171 pageviews2026-08-18 — 186 pageviews2026-08-21 — 170 pageviews2026-08-24 — 181 pageviews2026-08-26 — 173 pageviews
Daily Wikipedia pageviews (attention proxy, census-recorded).

Twitch viewers

3302026-08-27 03:34 — 0 viewers2026-08-27 06:34 — 4 viewers2026-08-27 09:33 — 3 viewers2026-08-27 12:34 — 0 viewers2026-08-27 15:34 — 6 viewers2026-08-27 18:34 — 14 viewers2026-08-27 22:34 — 6 viewers2026-08-28 01:34 — 6 viewers2026-08-28 04:34 — 33 viewers2026-08-28 07:34 — 16 viewers2026-08-28 10:34 — 1 viewers2026-08-28 13:34 — 1 viewers2026-08-28 16:35 — 7 viewers2026-08-28 19:34 — 5 viewers2026-08-28 22:34 — 5 viewers2026-08-29 01:34 — 10 viewers2026-08-29 04:34 — 4 viewers2026-08-29 07:34 — 3 viewers2026-08-29 10:34 — 5 viewers2026-08-29 13:34 — 7 viewers2026-08-29 16:34 — 5 viewers2026-08-29 20:34 — 4 viewers2026-08-29 23:34 — 2 viewers2026-08-30 02:34 — 7 viewers2026-08-30 05:34 — 3 viewers2026-08-30 08:34 — 0 viewers2026-08-30 11:34 — 1 viewers2026-08-30 14:34 — 5 viewers2026-08-30 15:34 — 5 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

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 ↗