Need for Speed: World (previously known as Need for Speed: World Online) is the fifteenth installment in the long-running racing video game Need for Speed franchise published by Electronic Arts. This iteration has been co-developed by EA Black Box (rebranded Quicklime Games before closing in 2013) and EA Singapore. It is the first freemium MMORG in the Need for Speed series (though Motor City Online was originally conceived as a Need for Speed game) and is available on Microsoft Windows. World was released worldwide on July 27, 2010. However, people who ordered the Need for Speed: World Starter Pack had an early "head-start" in the game, which started on July 20, 2010.
World takes on the gameplay style of 2005's Most Wanted and 2006's Carbon, focusing on illegal street racing, tuning and police chases, and adds classic MMO elements to the mix such as special abilities. World is set in the fictional Tri-City, which is a mixture of the cities of Rockport and Palmont, the cities of Most Wanted and Carbon, into its map design, with redesigned graphics and new locations on the map to make travel between the two cities easier. The game currently features over 100 licensed cars consisting of tuners, muscle cars, exotics, race cars and SUVs. Manufactures range from Alfa Romeo to Volkswagen and there are over 30 manufactures in the game.
On December 2010, car performance customization was made available to players. Players can win parts from lucky draw, including rare Pro and Ultra series parts. Free players have a lower chance of winning a part compared to those who purchased SpeedBoost. Special card packs can be bought with SpeedBoost that give the greatly coveted parts. On March 16, 2011, visual aftermarket customization was also made available. All the in game cash bodykits from previous versions were removed. Most body kits require SpeedBoost to purchase. On March 31, 2011, Electronic Arts introduced a new game mode called Team Escape, a cooperative version of a police pursuit where up to four players must race as a team driving from point A to point B while avoiding numerous cops. For this mode, two co-op versions of the game's power-ups have been released.
