PlayStation Plus PS5 users have roughly 24 hours to grab a AAA EA game that normally costs $70 on the PlayStation Store for free. If claimed in time, PS5 and PS5 Pro users can keep the game in their libraries perpetually; however, an active PS Plus subscription is required to access it. That said, any tier of the Sony subscription service — Essential, Extra, or Premium — is sufficient.
More specifically, between now and sometime on Tuesday, February 3, all PS5 users with an active PlayStation Plus subscription can grab Criterion Games and Electronic Arts’ Need for Speed Unbound for free. Released on December 22, Need for Speed Unbound is the 25th installment in the Need for Speed series, which dates back to 1994. And it was a noteworthy release because it was the first game in the series from Criterion Games after briefly passing the series off to Ghost Games in 2013. It is also noteworthy in 2026, still, because it is the latest installment in the series, despite being four calendar years old.
Middle-of-the-Road Need for Speed Game
Like many of the modern Need for Speed games, Need for Speed Unbound failed to deliver the nostalgic highs of the series’ past. To this end, the series is probably never going to be as relevant as it used to be, partially because outside of the Forza Horizon series, racing games in general aren’t as popular as they used to be. That said, Need for Speed Unbound was still received decently, as evidenced by the PS5 version having a 77 on Metacritic.
Consumers, at least on PS5, seem to have liked it less, though. To this end, it has a 2.95 out of 5 stars on the PlayStation Store after more than 36,000 user reviews. That said, it is common for games’ user review scores to drop once they become free on PlayStation Plus, as the barrier to entry to playing them is reduced. That said, if you’re not a fan of the series, especially if you aren’t a big racing fan, there probably isn’t much here that is going to convert you. The good news is that there are four more free PlayStation Plus games coming this week for the month of February, one more than normal.
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