The Game Census
Shift 2 Unleashed cover art

Shift 2 Unleashed

Slightly Mad Studios · Electronic Arts · 2011-03-29

SteamXboxMicrosoft Store

Racing

Franchise: Need for Speed · Modes: Single player, Multiplayer, Split screen

Releases: Apr 01, 2011 (PlayStation 3), Mar 29, 2011 (PC (Microsoft Windows)), Mar 31, 2011 (Xbox 360)

Bring the true driver’s experience to life with all the intensity and exhilaration of being behind the wheel!

4
playing now
68%
positive of 2.6k reviews
Mixed
steam rating
100,000–200,000
owners (SteamSpy est.)
81/100
critic score (6 outlets, IGDB)
76/100
IGDB user rating (98 ratings)
gold
deck/linux tier (ProtonDB)

4 players in-game as of 2026-08-30 05:00 UTC (census sample)

Shift 2: Unleashed is a 2011 racing video game, the seventeenth installment of the Need for Speed series. It was developed by Slightly Mad Studios and published by Electronic Arts. The game serves as a direct sequel to Need for Speed: Shift and expands on many aspects that were introduced in the original. Shift 2: Unleashed was released worldwide during March and April 2011.

Health check

Quietly active
  • · 4 players in-game at the last census sample.
  • · 35 reviews in the last 8 weeks (~4/week).
  • · Review velocity up 40% vs the prior 8 weeks.
  • · Top 18% of 846 Racing games in the census by review count.

Health tier since 2026-08-30

Estimated sales: 103k–206k copies

Review-multiple estimate from 2,580 total reviews — how this is computed.

Review momentum

PositiveNegative
494920182026Week of 2018-01-01: 10 positiveWeek of 2018-01-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2018-02-01: 10 positiveWeek of 2018-02-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2018-03-01: 6 positiveWeek of 2018-03-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2018-04-01: 9 positiveWeek of 2018-04-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2018-05-01: 7 positiveWeek of 2018-05-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2018-06-01: 14 positiveWeek of 2018-06-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2018-07-01: 8 positiveWeek of 2018-07-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2018-08-01: 8 positiveWeek of 2018-08-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2018-09-01: 2 positiveWeek of 2018-09-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2018-10-01: 8 positiveWeek of 2018-10-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2018-11-01: 25 positiveWeek of 2018-11-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2018-12-01: 10 positiveWeek of 2018-12-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2019-01-01: 14 positiveWeek of 2019-01-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2019-02-01: 5 positiveWeek of 2019-02-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2019-03-01: 7 positiveWeek of 2019-03-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2019-04-01: 4 positiveWeek of 2019-04-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2019-05-01: 4 positiveWeek of 2019-05-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2019-06-01: 17 positiveWeek of 2019-06-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2019-07-01: 29 positiveWeek of 2019-07-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2019-08-01: 6 positiveWeek of 2019-08-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2019-09-01: 3 positiveWeek of 2019-09-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2019-10-01: 8 positiveWeek of 2019-10-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2019-11-01: 15 positiveWeek of 2019-11-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2019-12-01: 27 positiveWeek of 2019-12-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2020-01-01: 17 positiveWeek of 2020-01-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2020-02-01: 17 positiveWeek of 2020-02-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2020-03-01: 24 positiveWeek of 2020-03-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2020-04-01: 17 positiveWeek of 2020-04-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2020-05-01: 14 positiveWeek of 2020-05-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2020-06-01: 49 positiveWeek of 2020-06-01: 14 negativeWeek of 2020-07-01: 34 positiveWeek of 2020-07-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2020-08-01: 19 positiveWeek of 2020-08-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2020-09-01: 18 positiveWeek of 2020-09-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2020-10-01: 23 positiveWeek of 2020-10-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2020-11-01: 23 positiveWeek of 2020-11-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2020-12-01: 18 positiveWeek of 2020-12-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2021-01-01: 35 positiveWeek of 2021-01-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2021-02-01: 26 positiveWeek of 2021-02-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2021-03-01: 7 positiveWeek of 2021-03-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2021-04-01: 14 positiveWeek of 2021-04-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2021-05-01: 16 positiveWeek of 2021-05-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2021-06-01: 19 positiveWeek of 2021-06-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2021-07-01: 6 positiveWeek of 2021-07-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2021-08-01: 6 positiveWeek of 2021-08-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2021-09-01: 8 positiveWeek of 2021-09-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2021-10-01: 7 positiveWeek of 2021-10-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2021-11-01: 5 positiveWeek of 2021-11-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2021-12-01: 5 positiveWeek of 2021-12-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2022-01-01: 7 positiveWeek of 2022-01-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2022-02-01: 8 positiveWeek of 2022-02-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2022-03-01: 5 positiveWeek of 2022-03-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2022-04-01: 2 positiveWeek of 2022-04-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2022-05-01: 5 positiveWeek of 2022-05-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2022-06-01: 3 positiveWeek of 2022-06-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2022-07-01: 10 positiveWeek of 2022-07-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2022-08-01: 5 positiveWeek of 2022-08-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2022-09-01: 5 positiveWeek of 2022-09-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2022-10-01: 4 positiveWeek of 2022-10-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2022-11-01: 2 positiveWeek of 2022-11-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2022-12-01: 3 positiveWeek of 2022-12-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2023-01-01: 9 positiveWeek of 2023-01-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2023-02-01: 5 positiveWeek of 2023-02-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2023-03-01: 5 positiveWeek of 2023-03-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2023-04-01: 3 positiveWeek of 2023-04-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2023-05-01: 7 positiveWeek of 2023-05-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2023-06-01: 4 positiveWeek of 2023-06-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2023-07-01: 3 positiveWeek of 2023-07-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2023-08-01: 5 positiveWeek of 2023-08-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2023-09-01: 4 positiveWeek of 2023-09-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2023-10-01: 4 positiveWeek of 2023-10-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2023-11-01: 9 positiveWeek of 2023-11-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2023-12-01: 4 positiveWeek of 2023-12-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2024-01-01: 3 positiveWeek of 2024-01-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2024-02-01: 3 positiveWeek of 2024-02-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2024-03-01: 4 positiveWeek of 2024-04-01: 5 positiveWeek of 2024-04-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2024-05-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2024-06-01: 2 positiveWeek of 2024-06-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2024-07-01: 3 positiveWeek of 2024-07-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2024-08-01: 1 positiveWeek of 2024-08-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2024-09-01: 6 positiveWeek of 2024-09-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2024-10-01: 4 positiveWeek of 2024-10-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2024-11-01: 2 positiveWeek of 2024-12-01: 1 positiveWeek of 2025-01-01: 3 positiveWeek of 2025-01-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2025-02-01: 6 positiveWeek of 2025-02-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2025-03-01: 4 positiveWeek of 2025-03-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2025-04-01: 6 positiveWeek of 2025-04-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2025-05-01: 1 positiveWeek of 2025-05-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2025-06-01: 3 positiveWeek of 2025-06-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2025-07-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2025-08-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2025-09-01: 1 positiveWeek of 2025-09-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2025-10-01: 3 positiveWeek of 2025-11-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2025-12-01: 6 positiveWeek of 2026-01-01: 2 positiveWeek of 2026-01-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2026-02-01: 1 positiveWeek of 2026-02-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2026-03-01: 4 positiveWeek of 2026-03-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2026-04-01: 3 positiveWeek of 2026-04-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2026-05-01: 4 positiveWeek of 2026-05-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2026-06-01: 1 positiveWeek of 2026-06-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2026-07-01: 1 positiveWeek of 2026-07-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2026-08-01: 1 negative
Weekly review counts (Steam review histogram). Positive above the line, negative below.

Players online

1002026-08-11 17:00 — 9 players2026-08-12 09:00 — 1 players2026-08-13 01:00 — 4 players2026-08-13 16:00 — 7 players2026-08-14 08:00 — 3 players2026-08-15 00:00 — 3 players2026-08-15 16:00 — 3 players2026-08-16 08:00 — 4 players2026-08-17 00:00 — 3 players2026-08-17 16:00 — 6 players2026-08-18 08:00 — 4 players2026-08-18 23:00 — 6 players2026-08-19 15:00 — 2 players2026-08-20 07:00 — 4 players2026-08-20 23:00 — 0 players2026-08-21 14:00 — 2 players2026-08-22 06:00 — 2 players2026-08-22 22:00 — 3 players2026-08-23 14:00 — 5 players2026-08-24 05:00 — 4 players2026-08-24 21:00 — 1 players2026-08-25 13:00 — 3 players2026-08-26 05:00 — 3 players2026-08-26 22:00 — 2 players2026-08-27 14:00 — 4 players2026-08-28 06:00 — 4 players2026-08-28 22:00 — 4 players2026-08-29 14:00 — 10 players2026-08-30 05:00 — 4 players
Concurrent players, hourly average, last 30 days (census samples).

Price history

$19.99$4.392015-01-012021-06-012015-01-01 — best price $7.992015-01-06 — best price $19.992015-03-14 — best price $19.992015-04-09 — best price $19.992015-06-12 — best price $9.992015-06-17 — best price $9.992015-08-04 — best price $9.992015-09-08 — best price $9.992015-11-24 — best price $9.992015-12-01 — best price $19.992016-01-04 — best price $19.992016-02-12 — best price $19.992016-07-04 — best price $19.992016-08-22 — best price $19.992016-11-29 — best price $19.992017-01-02 — best price $19.992017-07-05 — best price $19.992017-11-01 — best price $19.992017-11-28 — best price $19.992018-01-04 — best price $19.992018-02-19 — best price $19.992018-07-05 — best price $19.992018-11-27 — best price $19.992019-01-03 — best price $19.992019-02-12 — best price $19.992019-07-09 — best price $19.992019-11-26 — best price $4.992019-12-19 — best price $4.992020-01-23 — best price $4.992020-06-04 — best price $4.992020-08-20 — best price $4.992020-10-13 — best price $4.992020-11-03 — best price $19.992020-11-25 — best price $4.992020-12-22 — best price $4.992021-01-11 — best price $6.992021-02-11 — best price $6.992021-06-01 — best price $6.99
Lowest recorded price across tracked stores, per day (census snapshots).

Attention

131722026-06-01 — 110 pageviews2026-06-04 — 80 pageviews2026-06-07 — 106 pageviews2026-06-10 — 103 pageviews2026-06-13 — 86 pageviews2026-06-16 — 92 pageviews2026-06-19 — 90 pageviews2026-06-22 — 94 pageviews2026-06-25 — 88 pageviews2026-06-28 — 101 pageviews2026-07-01 — 79 pageviews2026-07-04 — 76 pageviews2026-07-07 — 87 pageviews2026-07-10 — 102 pageviews2026-07-13 — 112 pageviews2026-07-16 — 104 pageviews2026-07-19 — 118 pageviews2026-07-22 — 94 pageviews2026-07-25 — 86 pageviews2026-07-28 — 78 pageviews2026-07-31 — 109 pageviews2026-08-03 — 91 pageviews2026-08-06 — 118 pageviews2026-08-09 — 111 pageviews2026-08-12 — 106 pageviews2026-08-15 — 102 pageviews2026-08-18 — 90 pageviews2026-08-21 — 131 pageviews2026-08-24 — 104 pageviews2026-08-27 — 90 pageviews2026-08-29 — 124 pageviews
Daily Wikipedia pageviews (attention proxy, census-recorded).

Details

WindowsSingle-playerMulti-playerPartial Controller SupportFamily Sharing

7 supported languages: English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Russian, Spanish - Spain

Console footprint

PlatformPlayers trackedCompletionTrophies/achievements
PS3 (PlayStation)35,1833%49
Xbox 360 (Xbox)19,4151%48

Players tracked by Exophase (achievement/trophy trackers) — a sample of the player base, not total sales.

Player tags

RacingDrivingRealisticSimulationMultiplayerFirst-PersonSingleplayerAutomobile Sim

Census log

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

Players also track

GET EVENThis Is the PoliceUse Your WordsNeed for Speed™Need for Speed™ Most WantedForza Motorsport

Similarity via IGDB.

Wikipedia ↗Official site ↗