Choose Need for Speed™ Payback
Choose Need for Speed™ Payback if you want a Sports and Strategy experience. On Steam, it carries the stronger Steam consensus at 85.2% positive across 7,361 reviews.
Need for Speed™ Payback vs Need for Speed™ Rivals
Need for Speed™ Payback 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™ Payback scores higher on Steam reviews (85.2% positive) than Need for Speed™ Rivals (76.3% 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 it matches what drew you to this matchup. 3,416 Steam reviews back the pick.
Both Need for Speed™ Payback and Need for Speed™ Rivals sit in Action, Adventure, and Racing on Steam and both list Multi-player, Online PvP, and Online Co-op, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Use the side-by-side table for the feature view, or follow the "Games like" links below to see ranked alternatives for either title.
Side-by-side comparison
 Need for Speed™ Payback |  Need for Speed™ Rivals | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2020 | 2020 |
| Genres | Action, Sports, Strategy, Adventure, Racing | Action, Adventure, Racing |
| Platforms | Windows | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Deck Unsupported | Deck Playable |
| Price | 8.09 USD | 6.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 85.2% positive (7,361 reviews) | 76.3% positive (3,416 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Multi-player, Online Co-op, Co-op | Multi-player, Online Co-op, Co-op |
| Developers | Ghost Games | Criterion Games |
Side by side
- Both share Action, Adventure, Racing on Steam.
- Both released in 2020.
- Need for Speed™ Payback scores higher on Steam reviews (85.2% positive) than Need for Speed™ Rivals (76.3% positive).
- Need for Speed™ Rivals is currently ~14% cheaper on Steam than Need for Speed™ Payback (6.99 USD vs. 8.09 USD).
- Both support cooperative play.
- Steam Deck: Need for Speed™ Payback is Deck Unsupported, Need for Speed™ Rivals is Deck Playable.
Need for Speed™ Payback vs Need for Speed™ Rivals — FAQ
- Which is better, Need for Speed™ Payback or Need for Speed™ Rivals?
- On Steam reviews Need for Speed™ Payback scores higher (85.2% positive) than Need for Speed™ Rivals (76.3% positive). Both have enough reviews to trust the signal, so for players using reviews alone, Need for Speed™ Payback is the safer pick. Genre fit still matters — check the side-by-side table for the categories each game lands in.
- Are Need for Speed™ Payback 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.
- Do both Need for Speed™ Payback and Need for Speed™ Rivals have co-op?
- Yes — both list a co-op category on Steam. Specifics differ: Need for Speed™ Payback ships Online Co-op, Co-op; Need for Speed™ Rivals ships Online Co-op, Co-op.