Need for Speed Unbound release time explained

Need for Speed Unbound release time
(Image credit: EA)

If you're looking for the Need for Speed Unbound release time then you're in luck, as it arrived on December 2 at 07:00 UTC so the game is now available worldwide. The Early Access and Palace Edition came out three days earlier on November 29, but now the release time for the Standard Edition has passed the racing action is open to everyone, regardless of location or platform.

NFS Unbound cars

Need For Speed Unbound

(Image credit: EA)

Check out all 140+ rides in the Need for Speed Unbound cars list with our complete guide.

PS5 and Xbox Series X|S owners can download Need for Speed Unbound from their respective digital stores, while PC users can access it via the EA app, Origin, Steam, or Epic Games, and everyone can race together thanks to Need for Speed Unbound crossplay – though you can also turn that off if you prefer. The wait for a new NFS game is now over, but if you have any questions about the Need for Speed Unbound release time around the globe then we've got all of the answers below.

What time does Need for Speed Unbound release

What time does Need for Speed Unbound release

(Image credit: EA)

The good news if you're reading this now is that the Need for Speed Unbound release time has officially passed on December 2, so the game is available to play in all territories. If you were wondering exactly when that happened, these are the times it officially launched at:

  • West Coast US: 23:00 PST (December 1)
  • East Coast US: 02:00 EST
  • United Kingdom: 07:00 GMT
  • Europe: 08:00 CET
  • Australia: 18:00 AEDT

The above information applies to the Standard Edition of Need for Speed Unbound, while the Palace Edition / Early Access launch took place at the same times three days earlier on November 29. If you subscribe to EA Play then you could play the Standard Edition from this earlier date for up to 10 hours (and carry over progress if you buy it), while EA Play Pro members received the full Palace Edition of the game on that date. If you want to know what we thought of it, then have a read of our Need for Speed Unbound review where we described it as "a breathtakingly fast open-world street racer."

Iain Wilson
Guides Editor

Iain originally joined Future in 2012 to write guides for CVG, PSM3, and Xbox World, before moving on to join GamesRadar in 2013 as Guides Editor. His words have also appeared in OPM, OXM, PC Gamer, GamesMaster, and SFX. He is better known to many as ‘Mr Trophy’, due to his slightly unhealthy obsession with amassing intangible PlayStation silverware, and he now has over 500 Platinum pots weighing down the shelves of his virtual award cabinet. He does not care for Xbox Achievements.