Need for Speed Hot Pursuit Remastered part of January’s PlayStation Plus monthly games

Those who subscribe to PlayStation Plus for online gaming can add the venerable Need for Speed Hot Pursuit Remastered to their digital game libraries later this month.

Initially released 14 years ago, Hot Pursuit was created by Criterion Games, following its revered Burnout Paradise. Instead of creating a direct sequel to that open-world, online-connected, racer, the team was tasked with reinventing the Need for Speed franchise.

It included intense crashes and takedown mechanics, the revolutionary network-connected systems (here, dubbed as ‘Autolog’) but with licenced vehicles and the ability to either be a racer or a cop.

It was positively received at launch, and it mostly still holds up today, thanks to the remaster, which was released in 2020, and then patched to run at 4K and 60 frames per second when played on PlayStation 5.

As of 7th January, it will be available for one month to add to the libraries of those subscribed to any PlayStation Plus tier. Previously, it has been handed out via Prime Gaming and is already part of the EA Play service (which is bundled on some Game Pass tiers).

The contemporary game in the long-running series, Unbound, recently received a multiplayer update themed around this modern classic.