Need for Speed™ Payback

Open-world arcade racing with car classes, chases, and revenge

Ghost Games · Published by Electronic Arts · Released Jun 18, 2020

Reviews: Very Positive; 85% of 32K
Recent reviews: Very Positive; 80% of 284 in 30 days
Playing now: 262; right now
Steam Deck: Unsupported
Last update: Unknown; no patch notes found

What is Need for Speed™ Payback?

An open-world arcade racing game set in Fortune Valley, with first- and third-person driving views. You race, drift, drive off-road, evade police, and customize cars across five vehicle classes. The campaign follows three drivers seeking revenge against The House, with competitive and cooperative online modes alongside solo play.

For you if...

+you enjoy police chases and action-focused driving missions
+you want a revenge story with three playable drivers
+you want solo, competitive, and cooperative racing modes

Not for you if...

−you prefer simulation-style racing without action missions
−you want a racing game without a story campaign

What players say

85% of 32,437 reviews are positive · 80% of 284 in the last 30 days

Players praise the car selection, visual customization, and mix of event types. Their main complaint is the randomized card-based upgrade system, which they say makes progression grindy. Recent players also report EA app updates delaying or preventing the game from launching.

Screenshots and trailer

Need for Speed™ Payback system requirements

As published by the developer.

Minimum

OS: 64-bit Windows 7 or later
Processor: Intel i3 6300 @ 3.8GHz or AMD FX 8150 @ 3.6GHz with 4 hardware threads
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce® GTX 750 Ti or AMD Radeon™ HD 7850 or equivalent DX11 compatible GPU with 2GB of memory
Memory: 6 GB RAM
Storage: 30 GB available space
DirectX: Version 11

OS: 64-bit Windows 10 or later
Processor: Intel i5 4690K @ 3.5GHz or AMD FX 8350 @ 4.0GHz with 4 hardware threads
Graphics: AMD Radeon™ RX 480 4GB, NVIDIA GeForce® GTX 1060 6GB or equivalent DX11 compatible GPU with 4GB of memory
Memory: 8 GB RAM
Storage: 30 GB available space
DirectX: Version 11

PC version details

DRM, required accounts, controller support and Steam features.

DRM: EA on-line activation and Origin client software installation and background use required.
Third-party account: EA Account (Supports Linking to Steam Account) (Supports Linking to Steam Account)
Controller: Keyboard and mouse
Platforms: Windows
Achievements: 57
Age rating: 13+

Steam Deck: Unsupported

Not supported on SteamOS

Multiplayer and co-op

Languages

Full audio: English, French, Spanish - Spain, Italian, German, Japanese, Polish, Russian. Text only: Portuguese - Brazil, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese.