Need for Speed Unbound system requirements and unlock times revealed

Do you feel the need for speed? More importantly, does your PC have the speed to make the new Need for Speed run with the speed you need? Today is the day to find out.

Need for Speed Unbound is set to launch on December 2, and with that date now just over a week away, Electronic Arts has dropped details on when exactly it will launch, what sort of accessibility options it will support, and—as promised above, what exactly you'll need to run it.

So, first things first: Let's dive under the hood.

Need for Speed Unbound System Requirements

The minimum Pinto:

• OS: Windows 10 64-bit       
• Processor (AMD): Ryzen 5 2600 or equivalent       
• Processor (Intel): Core i5-8600 or equivalent       
• Memory: 8 GB       
• Graphics card (AMD): RX 570 or equivalent       
• Graphics card (NVIDIA): GTX 1050 Ti or equivalent       
• DirectX: 12 Compatible video card       
• Online Connection Requirements: 1 Mbps or faster Internet connection       
• Hard-drive space: 50GB+    

The recommended Pagani:

• OS: Windows 10 64-bit       
• Processor (AMD): Ryzen 5 3600 or equivalent       
• Processor (Intel): Core i7-8700 or equivalent       
• Memory: 16 GB       
• Graphics card (AMD): Radeon RX5700 or Equivalent       
• Graphics card (NVIDIA): GeForce RTX 2070 or Equivalent       
• DirectX: 12 Compatible video card       
• Online Connection Requirements: 1 Mbps or faster Internet connection    
• Hard-drive space: 50GB+    
     

Need for Speed Unbound will support crossplay in the Lakeshore Online multiplayer mode across PC, Xbox Series X-S, and PlayStation 5, but it can be disabled if you'd rather not. It will also offer a range of control options and adjustments, accessibility features like colorblind mode, adjustable chat text size, and lighting controls, and—this one feels a bit weird—17 different audio options including “dynamic range, balancing out the Car, Speech, Effects, and Music volumes, and adjusting VOIP settings for when you’re burning up the road in Lakeshore Online.”

Need for Speed Unbound Unlock Times

Today's update also breaks down Need for Speed Unbound's slightly complicated launch schedule. It's got almost as many moving parts as the system requirements:

• Need for Speed Unbound Palace Edition launches on Nov 28, 2022 11pm PT / Nov 29 2 am ET / 7am UTC / 8am CET
• Need for Speed Unbound Standard Edition launches Dec 1, 2022 11pm PT / Dec 2 2 am ET / 7am UTC / 8am CET
• EA Play/EA Play Pro launches Nov 28, 2022 11pm PT / Nov 29 2 am ET / 7am UTC / 8am CET
• EA Play – Play the 10 hour trial of Need for Speed Unbound Standard Edition (and keep your progress when you buy the game)       
• EA Play Pro – Get the full Palace Edition of Need for Speed Unbound with your EA Play Pro subscription.    

To confuse things further, here's a map with early access launch times—click the icon in the upper-right corner to see it full size: