Which Need for Speed game first featured an open world?

Need for Speed: Underground 2 was the first game in the series to feature an open world. Released in 2004, it introduced Bayview, a large urban environment where players could freely drive between races, shops, garages, and other activities.

This represented a major change from Need for Speed: Underground, whose events were selected from a more structured menu and track-based system. In Underground 2, players had to explore Bayview and physically drive to many event locations. Winning races unlocked new areas and helped advance the career, making free-roam driving part of the progression rather than a separate option.

Bayview is a fictional city influenced by San Francisco and Los Angeles. The game expanded the series’ tuner culture with deeper visual customization, performance upgrades, SUVs, street challenges, and new event types such as Street X and the Underground Racing League.

Most Wanted (2005) and Carbon later built on the open-world formula, but they did not introduce it. Underground 2 is also distinct from the original Underground, which connected events to a city-themed presentation without offering the same fully explorable free-roam world.