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Need for Speed: Most Wanted cover

Need for Speed: Most Wanted

A Racing game by Criterion Games, released in 2012

85/100🔴Niche / Inactive🥇Proton GoldPlayStation 3PC (Microsoft Windows)Xbox 360

Need for Speed: Most Wanted takes on the gameplay style of the first Most Wanted title in the Need for Speed franchise. Most Wanted allows players to select one car and compete against other racers in three types of events: Sprint races, which involves traveling from one point of the city to another, Circuit races, each having two or three laps total and Speed runs, which involve traversing through a course in the highest average speed possible. There is also the Ambush races, which start with the player surrounded by cops and tasked to evade their pursuit as quickly as possible.

Single playerMultiplayer

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Need for Speed: Most Wanted Download Size

The official download size for Need for Speed: Most Wanted is 20 GB. Based on current hardware prices, this installation consumes approximately $1.20 worth of SSD storage space.

Standard Install

File Size

20GB

Est. SSD Cost

$1.20USD
100 Mbps
My Internet Speed100 Mbps
Quick Presets

Estimated Time to Install

27 mins

Is Need for Speed: Most Wanted Dead?

Live player count and server population analysis.

🔴Niche / Inactive
155Players Online

There are currently 155 people playing Need for Speed: Most Wanted, indicating a niche or private community. Coordinate via Discord for best results.

Current Activity24h Peak: 186
Estimated Match Wait: Long Wait / Discord Required
Live Data from SteamAPI

Where is the Need for Speed: Most Wanted save file?

Manual backup locations for PC, Mac, and Linux.

Manual Backup Required
Copy
%USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\NeedforSpeedMostWanted\Saved\SaveGames

How to backup manually on Windows

  1. Press Win + R to open the Run dialog.
  2. Paste the path above and press Enter.
  3. Locate the save files (usually .sav, .json, or similar).
  4. Copy the entire folder to a backup location.
Copy
~/Library/Application Support/NeedforSpeedMostWanted/Saves

How to backup manually on Mac

  1. Open Finder and press ⌘ + Shift + G.
  2. Paste the path above and click Go.
  3. Locate the save files in the folder.
  4. Duplicate the folder to create a backup.
Copy
~/.local/share/NeedforSpeedMostWanted/Saves

How to backup manually on Linux

  1. Open a terminal and use cd to navigate to the path.
  2. Or use your file manager and press Ctrl + L to enter the path.
  3. Locate the save files (.sav, .json, or game-specific format).
  4. Copy the folder with cp -r or your file manager.
Source: PCGamingWiki ↗

Is Need for Speed: Most Wanted Steam Deck Compatible?

SteamOS and Linux Proton performance analysis.

Valve Official🚫Unsupported
Community Rating🥇 Proton Gold

Community Verdict: Playable!

Don't let the "Unsupported" tag fool you. While Valve hasn't officially verified Need for Speed: Most Wanted, ProtonDB users report it runs perfectly (Gold/Platinum rating). You may need to force a specific Proton version.

Confidence: High (Many Reports)
See 101 user configs ↗

Can I Run Need for Speed: Most Wanted?

PC system requirements - Minimum vs Recommended specs.

To run Need for Speed: Most Wanted smoothly, your PC needs at least 4 GB RAM RAM and a DirectX 11 compatible with 1024 MB RAM (NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 560 or ATI RADEON 6950) or equivalent GPU. Plan for 20 GB of storage.

Minimum1080p / 30 FPS
  • 💻
    OSWindows Vista (Service Pack 2 and all available windows updates) 32-bit
  • ⚡
    CPU2 GHz Dual Core (Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHZ or Althon X2 2.7 GHz)
  • 🧠
    RAM2 GB RAM
  • 🎮
    GPUDirectX 10.1 compatible with 512 MB RAM (ATI RADEON 3000, 4000, 5000 OR 6000 series, with ATI RADEON 3870 or higher performance)
  • 💾
    Storage20 GB available space
Recommended1440p / 60 FPS
  • 💻
    OSWindows 7 (Service Pack 1 and all available windows updates) 64-bit
  • ⚡
    CPUQuad-Core CPU
  • 🧠
    RAM4 GB RAM
  • 🎮
    GPUDirectX 11 compatible with 1024 MB RAM (NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 560 or ATI RADEON 6950)
  • 💾
    Storage20 GB available space
Download Size
20 GBAverage

Is Need for Speed: Most Wanted Good?

Aggregated critic scores and player sentiment analysis.

85
Rated 85 out of 100
Generally Favorable15 Verified Reviews

The Verdict

Based on 15 critic reviews, Need for Speed: Most Wanted has received generally positive feedback. With a solid score of 85, it stands out as a strong entry in the racing category, though it may have minor flaws.

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