After 20 Years, Legendary Racing Game Returns, and It Now Looks Like an MMO

EA’s highly regarded racing sim, Need for Speed: Underground 2, which originally shut down in August 2006, has been revived. The new port is completely free to play and expands on Need for Speed: Underground 2‘s multiplayer features, allowing dozens of players to explore the world and compete in races.

Released in 2004, Need for Speed: Underground 2 is considered one of the best classic open-world games and, to some, remains the peak of the franchise. However, like many other EA games that have been sunsetted, Underground 2 was eventually abandoned, leaving its multiplayer mode unplayable for more than twenty years. Now, thanks to a group of dedicated fans, the game is back online and playable on many modern devices.

Need for Speed: Underground 2 Is Now Playable on Web Browsers

A fan-led project has ported EA’s legendary racing game to web browsers, making it free to play on both PC and mobile devices. Players who visit the Underground 2 Revived website can jump straight into the game, choose an online username, and join free roam mode. A recent update also allows players to compete in lobby races together, effectively turning Underground 2 into an online co-op racing game more than two decades after its release.

Players can also create their own crew to ensure they can always see their friends in free roam mode.

Underground 2 Revived allows up to 48 players to spawn on the same map, organize car meets, and compete against each other. The game also features an optional ghost mode that prevents vehicles from crashing into each other and disrupting gameplay. Players can also create their own crew to ensure they can always see their friends in free roam mode. Moreover, the game now includes a chat feature that allows players to talk to nearby racers and friends.

The project has struck a chord with fans of classic Need for Speed games, drawing several thousand concurrent players at its peak. At the time of writing, for example, the website lists more than 7,000 players in the game, with nearly 3,000 enjoying free roam mode. Explaining the inspiration behind the project, the developer said, “My brother and I played this game together about 20 years ago. Because of that, I tried porting it to the browser so we could play together again.”

Whether Underground 2 Revived will face legal action from Electronic Arts remains to be seen. However, the whole story shows that today’s gamers still have an appetite for revisiting some of the best games from older consoles like the PlayStation 2 and Xbox. Previously, another similar project that revived Crash Bash also received positive reactions from players.

Underground 2 Revived continues to receive regular updates from its developer, with new features and performance improvements. However, the project is not endorsed by EA, the game’s rights holder.