PCGame

Need for Speed™ Heat

Open-world arcade racing split between legal events and police chases

Ghost Games · Published by Electronic Arts · Released Jun 4, 2020

ActionAdventureRacingSports

Third-party account required DRM declared on Steam

Reviews
Very Positive
84% of 139K
Recent reviews
Very Positive
85% of 787 in 30 days
Players
1,178
daily peak, Nov 7, 2026
Steam Deck
Playable
Last update on Steam
3 years ago
Jun 20, 2023
Minimum PC
GeForce GTX 760
8 GB RAM · 50 GB disk
Full requirements

Metacritic: 72/100 (critic reviews)

What is Need for Speed™ Heat?

An open-world arcade racing game set in Palm City, playable solo or online. By day, you enter sanctioned races to earn money for car upgrades and customization; at night, you run illegal street races, build reputation, and evade a rogue police force.

For you if...

  • +you enjoy fast arcade racing and open-world cruising
  • +you like customizing cars and outrunning police at night
  • +you want solo, competitive, and cooperative online racing

Not for you if...

  • −you prefer realistic driving physics over arcade handling
  • −you want racing without police pursuits

What players say

84% of 139,136 reviews are positive · 85% of 787 in the last 30 days

Players praise the arcade racing, car customization, and high-risk nighttime police chases. The most common complaints concern EA app launch failures and PC performance problems, including stuttering, laggy cutscenes, and audio crackling.

Players over time

▼ -51% vs a month ago

Players online on Steam, one sample a day.

Highest since Sep 2026: 3,258 players on Sep 21, 2026.

Show the data
DayPlayers
Nov 7, 20261,178
Nov 6, 2026748
Nov 5, 2026781
Nov 4, 2026775
Nov 3, 2026803
Nov 2, 2026879
Nov 1, 20261,225
Oct 31, 20261,102
Oct 30, 2026854
Oct 29, 2026793
Oct 28, 2026834
Oct 27, 2026997
Oct 26, 20261,160
Oct 25, 20261,511
Oct 24, 20261,387
Oct 23, 20261,206
Oct 22, 20261,184
Oct 21, 20261,189
Oct 20, 20261,248
Oct 18, 20261,682
Oct 17, 20261,492
Oct 16, 20261,310
Oct 15, 20260
Oct 14, 20261,419
Oct 13, 20261,555
Oct 11, 20261,964
Oct 10, 20261,840
Oct 9, 20261,751
Oct 8, 20261,642
Oct 7, 20261,685
Oct 6, 20261,802
Oct 4, 20262,194
Oct 3, 20262,043
Oct 2, 20261,820
Oct 1, 20261,808
Sep 30, 20261,867
Sep 29, 20262,066
Sep 27, 20262,569
Sep 26, 20262,383
Sep 25, 20262,060
Sep 24, 20261,949
Sep 23, 20261,665
Sep 23, 20261,973
Sep 22, 20262,056
Sep 21, 20263,258

How many players finish Need for Speed™ Heat?

20% of Steam players have unlocked «Merciless», the achievement for finishing the main story.

Share of everyone who owns the game on Steam, including those who barely played it. Updated weekly.

Screenshots and trailer

Need for Speed™ Heat screenshot 1

Need for Speed™ Heat system requirements

Minimum: GeForce GTX 760, 8 GB RAM, 50 GB of disk space.

As published by the developer.

Can my PC run Need for Speed™ Heat?

Tell us your graphics card once and every game page will answer this for you.

Set up my PC →

Minimum

OS
Windows 10
Processor
FX-6350 or Equivalent; Core i5-3570 or Equivalent
Graphics
AMD: Radeon 7970/Radeon R9 280x or Equivalent; NVIDIA: GeForce GTX 760 or Equivalent
Memory
8 GB RAM
Storage
50 GB available space
DirectX
Version 11

Recommended

OS
Windows 10
Processor
Ryzen 3 1300X or Equivalent; Core i7-4790 or Equivalent
Graphics
AMD: Radeon RX 480 or Equivalent; NVIDIA: GeForce GTX 1060 or Equivalent
Memory
16 GB RAM
Storage
50 GB available space
DirectX
Version 11

Does Need for Speed™ Heat have co-op or multiplayer?

Yes: co-op online; PvP online. It also has a single-player mode. Crossplay with other platforms is declared.

Does Need for Speed™ Heat run on Steam Deck?

Playable Playable: it runs on Steam Deck with some adjustments.

  • The launcher or setup tool may need the touchscreen or virtual keyboard
  • Some text entry requires manually opening the on-screen keyboard
  • Some in-game text is small and may be hard to read
  • All functionality is accessible with the default controller configuration
  • Shows Steam Deck controller icons
  • Default graphics settings perform well on Steam Deck
  • First time setup requires active internet connection
  • Singleplayer gameplay requires active internet connection

PC version details

DRM
EA on-line activation and Origin client software installation and background use required.
Third-party account
EA Account (Supports Linking to Steam Account)
Controller
Keyboard and mouse
Platforms
Windows
Achievements
42
Steam features
Trading cards, HDR
Languages
Full audio: English, French, Italian, German, Spanish - Spain, Japanese, Polish, Russian. Text only: Korean, Portuguese - Brazil, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Arabic.

Does Need for Speed™ Heat use AI-generated content?

No AI-generated content is disclosed on the game's Steam page.

Self-reported by the developer under Steam rules: it covers AI content that ships in the game, not tools used to make it. Steam page checked on Nov 6, 2026. How to filter AI games on Steam

Tags

Recent updates

2 DLC available.

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