The franchise Need For Speed has never looked so beautiful… or so forgotten. While EA put the series on hiatus, an independent creator is bringing the series back to life Need For Speed Underground thanks to a stunning unofficial remaster. This work of passion has won over fans on PC and made people regret the absence of an official return of the cult saga.
The project is signed Digital Dreamsa YouTuber specializing in modded remasters. Using a mod called Need For Speed Underground Remixit completely transformed the 2003 game into a visual experience of 2025. The addition of pathtracing, high-resolution 3D models, PBR textures and a homemade ReShade preset gives it a photorealistic rendering.
“These are the same graphics I remember from when I was a kid,” one emotional viewer commented on the video posted online. But be careful, this ultra-advanced version will not run on all PCs: Digital Dreams used a Ryzen 7 9800X3D associated with a NVIDIA RTX 5090 FEone of the most powerful CPU-GPU couples on the market.
EA put the franchise on pause, Criterion mobilized on Battlefield
If this remaster is getting so much talk, it’s also because the official series Need For Speed is now at a standstill. According to Matthew Everingham, a longtime contributor to the EA-backed Speedhunters site, the franchise is simply frozen. “Speedhunters is on hold. EA has shelved Need For Speed, which means there will be no more funding for the site,” he wrote in a farewell message to the community.
He adds, with emotion: “Grateful for everything: the trips, the anecdotes, the lifelong friends. I continue to film, but I am now turning to video.” Behind this decision, budgetary reasons seem to dominate. EA would seek to redirect its resources to other projects, while Need For Speed has been struggling to find its audience for several years.
Another possible explanation: the studio Criterionin charge of the series, is now mobilized on the development of the next Battlefield 6. A change of strategic direction which further buries the hopes of seeing Underground or Most Wanted officially return.
An uncertain future, despite a 55 billion buyout in sight
But everything could change. According to several specialized media, EA is about to be bought by the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia, for an amount estimated at $55 billion. If the transaction goes through, new priorities set by this management could include the revival of dormant franchises like Need For Speed.
In the meantime, it’s the community that keeps the series alive. With this unofficial and free remaster (provided you own the original game on PC), Need For Speed Underground proves that he still has a place in the hearts of players. And maybe, a future… if EA one day decides to listen to its fans.