Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit is the third major installment in the franchise.
Electronic Arts released the game in 1998 as the direct successor to Need for Speed II. It was developed for PlayStation by EA Canada and for Windows by EA Seattle. The Roman numeral “III” in its title also makes the numbering unusually explicit, although “third major installment” is the standard series description.
Hot Pursuit expanded the police-chase idea that had appeared in the original game. Police could use roadblocks, spike strips, coordinated tactics, and multiple patrol cars. The Windows version also allowed players to take the role of the police and pursue racers, a feature that helped define the franchise's later identity.
Players sometimes confuse it with later games carrying the Hot Pursuit name. Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 followed in 2002, while a separate reboot titled Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit arrived in 2010. Neither changes the fact that Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit is number three in the main early sequence.