Choose Need for Speed™ Most Wanted
Choose Need for Speed™ Most Wanted if it's currently about 29% cheaper on the Steam Store. 8,187 Steam reviews back the pick.
Need for Speed™ Most Wanted vs Need for Speed™ Rivals
Need for Speed™ Most Wanted and Need for Speed™ Rivals both land in Action, Adventure, Racing on Steam, which is why they keep getting compared. The comparison below is built from each game's Steam metadata — release year, genres, categories, Steam Deck status, price, and review score — refreshed daily by imho.run's scraper. Headline differences: Both share Action, Adventure, Racing on Steam. Both released in 2020. Need for Speed™ Rivals scores higher on Steam reviews (76.3% positive) than Need for Speed™ Most Wanted (74.6% positive). No login or purchase needed — scroll for the full table, the verdict FAQ, and links to ranked similar games for both titles.
Which should you pick?
Choose Need for Speed™ Rivals
Choose Need for Speed™ Rivals if you want the Online Co-op and Co-op side of the pairing. On Steam, it has co-op, so you can bring a friend. 3,416 Steam reviews back the pick.
Both Need for Speed™ Most Wanted and Need for Speed™ Rivals sit in Action, Adventure, and Racing on Steam and both list Multi-player, Online PvP, and PvP, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Steam reviews are nearly tied (74.6% vs 76.3% positive), so genre fit is the cleanest tiebreaker — scroll the table for the feature-by-feature view.
Side-by-side comparison
 Need for Speed™ Most Wanted |  Need for Speed™ Rivals | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2020 | 2020 |
| Genres | Action, Adventure, Racing | Action, Adventure, Racing |
| Platforms | Windows | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Deck Playable | Deck Playable |
| Price | 4.99 USD | 6.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 74.6% positive (8,187 reviews) | 76.3% positive (3,416 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Multi-player | Multi-player, Online Co-op, Co-op |
| Developers | Criterion Games | Criterion Games |
Side by side
- Both share Action, Adventure, Racing on Steam.
- Both released in 2020.
- Need for Speed™ Rivals scores higher on Steam reviews (76.3% positive) than Need for Speed™ Most Wanted (74.6% positive).
- Need for Speed™ Most Wanted is currently ~29% cheaper on Steam than Need for Speed™ Rivals (4.99 USD vs. 6.99 USD).
- Need for Speed™ Rivals has co-op; Need for Speed™ Most Wanted does not.
- Both are Deck Playable.
Need for Speed™ Most Wanted vs Need for Speed™ Rivals — FAQ
- Which is better, Need for Speed™ Most Wanted or Need for Speed™ Rivals?
- On Steam reviews the two are nearly tied: Need for Speed™ Most Wanted sits at 74.6% positive (8,187 reviews), Need for Speed™ Rivals at 76.3% (3,416). The choice usually comes down to genre fit and the platform features each one supports — see the comparison table above.
- Are Need for Speed™ Most Wanted and Need for Speed™ Rivals similar?
- They overlap on Action, Adventure, Racing on Steam, so the catalogue groups them together — but "similar" depends on the specific mechanics. Use the genre + category rows above to decide whether the overlap matches what drew you to the one you've already played.