Jan 01, 2026
3 min read
Need for Speed Unbound will be one of the flagship games for PS Plus Essential players in January 2026.
- 0-20%: unreliable - lack of reliable sources
- 21-40%: Doubtful.- There are still some concerns
- 41-60%: reasonable - reasonable evidence
- 61-80%: probable - strong evidence
- 81-100%: I like a lot - More reliable sources
It's almost the year 2026, and while a new year is always exciting, a new month means another batch of PS Plus games is going to PS Plus Essential, Extra, and Premium subscribers.In what has become a monthly tradition, a new report by Billbil-Kun in Dealabs has revealed one of the games that start the year for PS Plus Essential subscribers: Speed Need not available.
The latest Need for Speed game in the franchise, Unbound, arrived on current generation consoles on December 2, 2022. It was a solid runner at the time of launch, although it could not reach the high scores that made the series iconic.Although it really fell off the players' radar not long after its launch, developers Criterion Games and Codemasters have done a great job of updating it with several drops of new cars, tracks, challenge modes etc.
As Nathan Birch said in his review of the game at the launch, "Need for Speed Unblocked is the best entry in the franchise in ten years, even if the competition for that title was not very tough. The game offers refined technology, a beautiful (if slightly written) open world design, and a diverse line of events and challenges a modern set of tribes, but still challenges the world leader. It is also a restrictive, sterile progression system. Nostalgic fans will find a lot to like here, andsome casual gamers might want to consider a test drive once the game is released, but "interest" might be a strong word to associate with the latest Criterion.
The last update of the game, Volume 9, was released at the beginning of 2025, although Criterion's goal ended with the need for speed when it worked on the shipment of Battlefield 6 last October. Its arrival as a PS Plus game will technically be the second time it has been included in the PlayStation subscription service, as of 2024. In February 2015, it was made the name of the catalog of PS Plus Extra and premium games.
So unfortunately for those subscribers, you're technically getting one less game than if Unbound wasn't already available to Extra or higher tier subscribers.Although there's always a chance that an extra game reserved for Extra and Premium subscribers will make up for it.
It should be noted that although Billbil-kun has a poor track record at the moment when it comes to announcing PS Plus games on time (almost not bad), this is still an unconfirmed report at the time of writing.So take it for what it is.
If you do not believe that it will be one of the three free games for important customers, and you do not think about starting 2026 by checking it, then you can grab it in the PS Store and the Guardian edition, which is 85% off in the PlayStation holiday sale.
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