END OF KAIZEN REVIEW

Thank you for your support on NFS Unbound

Hi everyone,

As you might know, we’re joining our colleagues at Criterion, working on the future of Battlefield.

Over the past couple of years, we’ve been getting your feedback and we’re proud to have delivered the most complete NFS experience yet. We’ve been listening, observing and making adjustments using our Kaizen philosophy to be more transparent and give you more of what you love. Thank you for being part of the Unbound journey. It’s been quite a ride!

As is tradition at the end of a Volume, we love to get your thoughts and feedback on the latest additions to the game, it’s still incredibly useful for the teams at EA to learn more about what you like, didn’t like and more. We read all your comments even if we cannot reply to them all directly, and as always, thank you for taking the time to share your feedback on NFS.

For one last time, let’s delve into the feedback for this volume and the year of Kaizen overall.

WHAT WE HEARD

There are a few important disclaimers we need to share before getting into it:

1.Since we’re at the end of live service on Unbound, we won’t be updating the game or making any more changes, but rest assured your notes and comments are being captured and will help inform the future.

2.We will only be including feedback in these reports that relates to what we’re doing in NFS Unbound. There are certain frequent community requests that are outside of the scope of this project. Know that it’s heard and that your enthusiasm is appreciated, but we won’t be addressing those requests in this review.

If you’re new to the game and want a recap of the features we’re discussing below, please visit the Vol. 9: Lockdown reveal blog.

TOP FEEDBACK ON LOCKDOWN

As is tradition at the end of a Volume we love to get your thoughts and feedback on the latest additions to the game, it’s always incredibly useful for the teams at EA to learn more about what you like, didn’t like and more. We read all your comments even if we cannot reply to them all directly, thank you for taking the time to share your feedback on NFS.

Here’s some of the top responses on Lockdown & Extraction play, which we asked you all about on Reddit, Instagram and X (Twitter).

Donnie says: “As for the new cars(lockdown), I’d like to see them added to story mode. I can’t use them in online without being targeted because some players are “jealous” that I have the cars.”

Testingblock says: “Can we get the bike in free roam? Would make the game so much more fun”

Maati182_ says: “I loved this mode so much. Really brought me back to NFS and Unbound, which I never actually played online after completing story mode. Had a couple weeks of max fun with my pal, actually one of the best experiences I had playing this franchise

I actually find the PvPvE and Extraction gameplay pretty balanced between fun and challenging. It's not always easy to get away with it, but if you learn all the tricks it does get easier.

I haven't been playing lately due to few free time and problems with my pc but I'm looking forward to get back. I'd love to see some different cars in the lockdowns to extract. When you extracted all the cars you liked it becomes a little repetitive and you only play to earn money, which is great, but I find extracting cars more exciting. Would love to see a weekly ride rotation”

We’re thrilled to hear that you feel Lockdown is a fun and interesting new way to play Need for Speed. The extraction gameplay and the introduction of those coveted rides added a whole new dynamic to the experience, so it makes sense that you’d want to see those vehicles crossover to other parts of the game - but as we’ve mentioned before with other modes, we weren’t able to make this happen within the time we had. We also saw many comments asking for more variety in the rewards offered through the game mode, to encourage repeat play, as well as ways to play the game mode privately or exclusively with friends - something for us to keep in mind for the future. I think the thing we take away from this the most is that you are all up for new ways to play in the NFS-verse as long as (a) it compliments the feel and tone of NFS through context, world setting and gameplay and (b) we get the core and fundamentals right first.

TOP FEEDBACK FOR NEW RIDES

Vol.9 introduced rideable motorbikes, a first in NFS. We also added two JDM classics from Honda and SUBARU, and a legendary machine made its epic return. Here’s some of your top responses to our questions on Reddit (twice), Instagram and X (Twitter).

Zilla_9r1 said: “Love the Bikes. Would love to have my own to customize paint job and wrap. Proper speed and handling [on the bike] felt great. [On the cars], personally, I'm a JDM lover. Any tuner cars are a yes for me.”

Sean_huber said: “First game to make a bike feel properly fast. More bikes please.”

KRacer13 said: “I think the bike gameplay should be expanded in the future. More bikes with this type of handling, it's incredibly fun feeling you're in (somewhat) control of something so fast! But that's also the problem, it's twitchy, very twitchy, too critical due to unstable terrain. If it was a bit more predictable in that way, it'd be a lot better, at least from my point of view.

I wouldn't say it "feels" like NFS, but it depends on what NFS "feels" like. Also, in my opinion the franchise needs a shakeup, it needs to feel fresh and new, and I think the bike (or bikeS, in plural) fits that role really well. But just adding them won't be enough to make them "feel like NFS". Customization, variety and their own personality are required (imo) to feel like they belong. Otherwise, they'll feel a little bit like a fun gimmick but that's it.

The new cars are fine. Weird that the Most Wanted update brought JDM cars but I'm not complaining, they're nice.“

ShinbiVipes said: “Bikes are a great addition to the game, genuinely could be one of the most fun ways to play if they're actually balanced.

It feels like an evolution from how the bikes worked in the Midnight Club series, high grip and high speed. It would be nice if this feeling would transfer to the actual cars too.

Cars are decent, I just wish we got more "Out of left field" options like some Kei cars, older Peugeots or maybe something of the concept car variety. It doesn't all have to be iconic cars, because those will just get lost in the sea of cars you add.“

Zakon_BY said: “Bike: simply the best vehicle in Unbound in terms of handling - predictable, intuitive, smooth and really fun, hope to see this principle in the future installments for every vehicle, both 4 and 2 wheels”

Overall, we saw a lot of love for the BMW S 1000 RR, players really enjoyed riding a motorbike in NFS for the first time and there was a lot of praise for its handling. We also saw plenty of feedback on wanting to have bike customisation, and a way to ride the bike outside of Lockdown - all good fodder here for us to think about new vehicle experiences, and how we build on them in the future. We also saw positivity towards the new cars, as well as the return of “Razor’s” M3 - and yeah, we know the JDMs aren’t necessarily on the nose for a Most Wanted inspired mode, but it had taken us more time than we expected to perfect these cars, so we were excited to finally introduce them to the game!

REVIEWING KAIZEN

Like we said at the beginning of the year - Kaizen was all about continuous improvement, and we set out to make you, our players and fans, a key part of our journey too. We heard you loud and clear: single player content that goes beyond what's in the game at launch means a heck of a lot! But we did add some much-needed, longer-term progression with Ranks and Leagues, brought back some absolute NFS classics with Drag and Improved Drift, and gave you the opportunity to play on the wrong side of the law with Cop play and Pursuit tech. Then…we took all of those learnings of old and crafted something completely new with Lockdown, our PvPvE extraction mode!

Bit by bit this came together… as per Kaizen (had to get it in one more time!). Oh and of course, we threw in motorbikes for the first time in NFS history and it was great to see the return of the iconic BMW M3 GTR in-game & IRL, and even a surprise visit from Razor himself.

We’ll still be playing the game, and we hope to see you cruising around Lakeshore City.

Team Kaizen