Need for Speed Unbound’s Vol.9 update lets you ride a motorbike

EA has unveiled Need for Speed Unbound’s Most Wanted-themed Vol.9 update, which brings a new multiplayer mode, new cars and a motorbike for the first time in a Need for Speed game. It follows the Vol.8 update, which added a cop chase mode inspired by the Hot Pursuit games.   

Launching next week on 26^th November, Vol.9 is inspired by Need for Speed: Most Wanted, one of the most popular entries in the franchise originally released in 2005. With nearly 18 million copies sold, Most Wanted is the best-selling Need for Speed game. Criterion would later revive the Most Wanted name in an unrelated 2012 sequel.

Most Wanted-inspired extraction mode

Inspired by Most Wanted, the Vol.9 update introduces a new high-stakes ‘Lockdown’ multiplayer mode, where squads of up to three players are pitted against up to four rival teams in heist-style missions set by the mysterious.

Completing contracts sees players breaking into ‘lockup areas’ to steal cars, navigating ‘lockdown zones’ while evading rival teams and cops, and escaping in an extraction truck with the loot. If you escape, you’ll get to keep your stolen ride.

Completing Lockdown missions will unlock 15 iconic cars inspired by Most Wanted’s Blacklist, including Razor’s 2005 BMW M3 GTR, Most Wanted’s hero car, with a special 30th-anniversary livery.

For the first time in a Need for Speed game, you can ride a motorbike, namely the 2019 BMW S 1000 RR, around the streets of Lakeshore. Need for Speed’s first-ever bike will be playable in Lockdown mode or curated PVP bike playlists.

This isn’t the first time bikes have featured in a Criterion game though, with the Guildford-based studio previously adding unlicensed motorcycles to Burnout Paradise in a free update.   

New Speed Pass cars

There’s also a new Speed Pass containing 45 free tiers of rewards, including a customisable 1999 Subaru Impreza WRX STI. A plethora of customisation options can be unlocked, including manufacturer projections, 30-year anniversary cosmetics, new rims and license plates.

More cars can be unlocked in the paid Speed Pass, with 30 premium tiers of rewards, including the 1998 Honda Integra Type R with three bodykits, NFS Legends 2015 Subaru BRZ, a 30th-anniversary edition of the BMW M3 GTR and Lockdown specs of the Honda Integra Type R and Subaru Impreza WRX STI.

Hailed as Need for Speed Unbound’s “biggest update of the year,” the Vol.9 update also adds 14 new PVP and free roam multiplayer playlists with over 60 routes and event configurations. These include Need for Speed’s first bike events, challenges celebrating the franchise’s 30^th anniversary, Most Wanted-inspired races and new Drift Pro challenges.  

Need for Speed Unbound’s Vol.9 update launches on 26^th November and is included in the Ultimate Collection bundle, which receives a discount for the Christmas season and contains all post-launch premium content, including the premium Vol.9 Speed Pass.

Vol.9 is expected to be Unbound’s last significant live service update as the open-world street racer approaches its second anniversary next month, with Criterion describing the update as the “climactic peak of our live service journey.” In the meantime, the studio will focus on the next Battlefield entry due next year.

Are you looking forward to Need for Speed Unbound’s Most Wanted-inspired Vol.9 update? Let us know in the comments below.

Need for Speed Unbound Vol.9 car list

• BMW S 1000 RR ’19 (Playable in Lockdown mode and select PVP multiplayer playlists)
• Subaru Impreza WRX STI (Speed Pass)
• Honda Integra Type R ’98 (Premium Speed Pass)
• Honda Integra Type R ’98 Lockdown Spec (Premium Speed Pass)
• Subaru Impreza WRX STI Lockdown Spec (Premium Speed Pass)
• NFS Legends Subaru BRZ 2014 (Premium Speed Pass)
• NFS 30th Anniversary BMW M3 GTR ’05 (Premium Speed Pass)