History Trivia / NeedForSpeedUnbound

* AscendedFanon: One of the new customization options is to remove parts of the car's body, an option previously featured only in [[https://www.projectunite.net Project Unite]], a group of {{Game Mod}}s for the series's [[VideoGame/NeedForSpeed2015 three]] [[VideoGame/NeedForSpeedPayback previous]] [[VideoGame/NeedForSpeedHeat games]] (the ones developed primarily by [[Creator/EAGothenburg Ghost Games]]). Can also count as AscendedGlitch, as ''Heat'' did feature a bug early on that caused car body parts to disappear (which the fandom at the time even joked was a new customization option).

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: There are reports of hidden body kits in the game that can be accessed via mods, such as Waru's crazy UsefulNotes/{{Bosozoku}} kit, and some existing ones in ''Heat'' like the Mantis body kits for [[VideoGame/NeedForSpeedUnderground Eddie's Skyline GT-R and Rachel's [=350Z=]]], as well as the K.S. Editions of pre-order cars like the Lancer Evo X and the Mercedes AMG C 63 Coupe and even the Riveras' prized Camaro from ''Heat'', complete with a blower. Waru's car was eventually PromotedToPlayable in the Vol. 2 update for EA Play members, and the Vol. 3 update added the custom Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X with a K.S. Edition body kit.

* AscendedFanon: One of the new customization options is to remove parts of the car's body, an option previously featured only in [[https://www.projectunite.net Project Unite]], a group of {{Game Mod}}s for the series's [[VideoGame/NeedForSpeed2015 three]] [[VideoGame/NeedForSpeedPayback previous]] [[VideoGame/NeedForSpeedHeat games]] (the ones developed primarily by [[Creator/EAGothenburg Ghost Games]]).

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: There are reports of hidden body kits in the game that can be accessed via mods, such as Waru's crazy UsefulNotes/{{Bosozoku}} kit, and some existing ones in ''Heat'' like the Mantis body kits for [[VideoGame/NeedForSpeedUnderground Eddie's Skyline GT-R and Rachel's [=350Z=]]], as well as the K.S. Editions of pre-order cars like the Lancer Evo X and the Mercedes AMG C 63 Coupe and even the Riveras' prized Camaro from ''Heat'', complete with a blower.
** For Waru's said car, the Vol 2 update made it officially PromotedToPlayable for EA Play members.
** Vol 3 update adds a custom Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X with a K.S. Edition body kit.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: There are reports of hidden body kits in the game that can be accessed via mods, such as Waru's crazy UsefulNotes/{{Bosozoku}} kit, and some existing ones in ''Heat'' like the Mantis body kits for [[VideoGame/NeedForSpeedUnderground Eddie's Skyline GT-R and Rachel's [=350Z=]]], as well as the K.S. Editions of pre-order cars like the Lancer Evo X and the Mercedes AMG C 63 Coupe and even the Riveras' prized Camaro from ''Heat'', complete with a blower. For Waru's said car, the Vol 2 update made it officially PromotedToPlayable for EA Play members

** The Russian flag decal was omitted in the game as a response to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.

** The Russian flag decal was omitted in the game in response to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.

* DistancedFromCurrentEvents: The license plate name generator when customizing cars censors usage of swear words and insults, but also includes words relating on racism, mostly on white nationalism, like "[[UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump TRUMP]]", "MAGA" and "WLM"[[note]]White Lives Matter[[/note]] seemingly as a result of the polarized political climate in the U.S. of the late 2010s/early 2020s.

** The said large collection of cars that got raided and stolen from Rydell's Rydes, and the player has to deliver them to its destination, is akin to how Ty Malix, Trikz Lane's friend, proviides Trikz the locations of the missing cars and bring them back to his mansion.
** The refurbished junker the player and Yaz restored was later pimped and souped up, which plays an important plot of the story. It's similar to how Trikz gets his original car, the blue Nissan [=240SX=] gets the same treatment.

** The Grand, an ultimate high-stakes event segmented with 4 weekly qualifiers and held by Yaz is nearly identical to "Lidell Rey Street Slam", held by Lidell Rey himself and segmented into 4 stages.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: There are reports of hidden body kits in the game that can be accessed via mods, such as Waru's crazy UsefulNotes/{{Bosozoku}} kit, and some existing ones in ''Heat'' like the Mantis body kits for [[VideoGame/NeedForSpeedUnderground Eddie's Skyline GT-R and Rachel's [=350Z=]]], as well as the K.S. Editions of pre-order cars like the Lancer Evo X and the Mercedes AMG C 63 Coupe and even the Riveras' prized Camaro from ''Heat'', complete with a blower.

* DistancedFromCurrentEvents: The mature censoring of license plate names when customizing cars, such as usage of swear words and insults, also includes words relating on racism, mostly on white nationalism. Words like "[[UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump TRUMP]]" "MAGA" and "WLM"[[note]]White Lives Matter[[/note]] are also censored as well. Criterion must have taken notes from the January 6 insurrection.
* FakeNationality: Majority of the racers of Lakeshore City, whom of which are in their respective nationalities are played by mostly Americans or actors based in the US.

* OfficialFanSubmittedContent: The driving effects were designed by Chicago-based mural and street artists, such as [[https://sentrock.com Sentrock]] and [[https://www.instagram.com/jcrivera JC Riviera]].

** The Grand, a ultimate high-stakes event segmented with 4 weekly qualifiers and held by Yaz is nearly identical to "Lidell Rey Street Slam", held by Lidell Rey himself and segmented into 4 stages.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: There are reports of hidden body kits in the game that can be accessed via mods, such as Waru's crazy UsefulNotes/{{Bosozoku}} kit, and some existing ones in ''Heat'' like the Mantis body kits for [[VideoGame/NeedForSpeedUnderground Eddie's Skyline GT-R and Rachel's [=350Z=]]], as well as the K.S. Editions of pre-order cars like the Lancer Evo X and the Mercedes AMG C 63 Coupe and even the Riveras' prized Camaro, complete with a blower.

* NamesTheSame: Although Lakeshore City is the name of the game's location, one of the Challenge Series events in ''The Run'', one which is set in Chicago, is named "Lakeshore Battle". This is due to Lakeshore City being an {{Expy}} of Chicago, taking its name from the latter city's Lakeshore Drive, a multilevel expressway that runs alongside the shoreline of Lake Michigan.

* OfficialFanSubmittedContent: The driving effects were designed by Chicago-based mural and street artists, such as [[https://sentrock.com Sentrock]] and [[https://www.instagram.com/jcrivera JC Riviera]]

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: There are reports of hidden body kits in the game, such as Waru's crazy UsefulNotes/{{Bosozoku}} kit, and some existing ones in ''Heat'' like the Mantis body kits for Eddie's Skyline GT-R and Rachel's [=350Z=], as well as the K.S. Editions of pre-order cars like the Lancer Evo X and the Mercedes AMG C 63 Coupe.

* NamesTheSame: Although Lakeshore City is the name of the game's location, there is a similar name to a Challenge Series event named "Lakeshore Battle", and a Stage 8 race set in "Lakeshore Drive" in ''The Run''.

* AscendedFanon: One of the new customization options is to remove parts of the car's body, an option previously featured only in [[https://www.projectunite.net Project Unite]], a group of {{Game Mod}}s for the series's [[VideoGame/NeedForSpeed2015 three]] [[VideoGame/NeedForSpeedPayback previous]] [[VideoGame/NeedForSpeedHeat games]].

* FollowTheLeader: ''Unbound's'' storyline takes cues from ''[[VideoGame/SanFranciscoRush L.A. Rush]]''.
** The beginning has Rydell's Rydes with a large collection of cars and patrons that later got attacked with numerous cars stolen. This is similar to the premise of ''L.A. Rush'' where Trikz Lane owns a luxurious mansion full of his prized car collection, which was later repossessed and left the mansion in ruins.
** The Grand, a ultimate high-stakes event, segmented with 4 weekly qualifiers and held by Yaz is nearly identical to "Lidell Rey Street Slam", held by Lidell Rey himself and segmented into 4 stages.

* AscendedFanon: One of the new customization options is to remove parts of the car's body, an option featured in [[https://www.projectunite.net Project Unite]], a group of {{Game Mod}}s for the series's [[VideoGame/NeedForSpeed2015 three]] [[VideoGame/NeedForSpeedPayback previous]] [[VideoGame/NeedForSpeedHeat games]].

** On April 2022, a user on a Discord server with the username "ynk" posted images from a development build. One of the images includes a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX parked near a body of water with a view of the Lakeshore City skyline, and the another of a map for the game's setting with debug segment zones overlaid on top of the road network.

* WorkingTitle: During development, the game used the codename "Excalibur" as a placeholder before going for ''Unbound'' as the final title.

* WorkingTitle: During development, the ''Need for Speed'' game used the codename "Excalibur", possibly as a placeholder before it used ''Unbound'' as the final title.

* WorkingTitle: During development, the ''Need for Speed'' game uses the codename "Excalibur", possibly as a placeholder before it uses ''Unbound'' as the final title.

* ReleaseDateChange: The game was originally slated to be released in 2021, but the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic resulted in it being pushed a year to 2022. In addition, EA also delayed the game so that Criterion could assist Creator/{{DICE}} with ''VideoGame/Battlefield2042''.