Need for Speed: Most Wanted is developed by British games developer Criterion Games, released on October 30, 2012. The game picked up on the Most Wanted IP, as opposed to the Hot Pursuit extension that Criterion had worked on in previous years.[178] This was the first game that was made when Criterion Games took over Need for Speed, dethroning Black Box.

It features open world racing, and most of the cars in the game are available from the start, hidden in different locations.[179] It also features a blacklist of 10 instead of 15, and there is no story for the game. It is powered by Autolog 2.0. Performance upgrades are available for all the cars in the game, such as chassis, tires, nitrous, and bodywork.[180] Milestones and achievements are unlocked through completion of races, breaking through billboards, speeding past speed cameras, and beating friends in several multiplayer and single player races and "SpeedLists."