A recent leak has revealed the release date for Criterion Games’ next Need For Speed title and also given us a glimpse into the game’s surprising art style.

A recent leak seems to confirm that EA’s Need for Speed: Unbound will arrive this December. The game, which is being developed by British studio Criterion Games, will reportedly be the studio’s first Need for Speed game since 2013’s Rivals.

The latest leak comes courtesy of Gematsu, who spotted the Need for Speed: Unbound product listing on the Japanese retail website Neowing.

Presumably posted too early, the site lists the game’s release date as December 2 2022, for PlayStation 5. There is no mention of an Xbox Series X/S or PC release, which seems to contradict previous leaks. However, it seems likely that Neowing is simply not distributing the other versions. There is also no indication that the game will arrive on the last console generations.

In addition to confirming the game’s release date, the product listing also includes some screenshots of the upcoming Need for Speed: Unbound. The four images are unfortunately a little low resolution, but you can see what the new game will look like. Previous titles, such as 2019’s Need for Speed: Heat, have generally gone as much as possible for photorealism. Unbound, however, takes a different approach, combining realistic cars and environments with anime or comic book-inspired characters and visual effects.

Twitter reactions to the leaked images have been decidedly mixed.

Some fans seemed pleased with the cel-shaded elements of the upcoming Unbound. Others were far less enthusiastic, with some fans saying the game was too similar to Fortnite. Others reacted with sarcastic quips along the lines of “it’s definitely a design”. Some commentators even took note of the contradictory responses.

Regardless of what fans think of the graphic design, at least it’s good to get a release date. Until then, fans have the official unveiling to look forward to. Unbound’s upcoming trailer will premiere on October 6 at 11 am on the game’s official YouTube account (see below). Hopefully, this will give fans a better insight into the upcoming game.

Source: Twitter

First screenshots of Need for Speed Unbound via Japanese retailer Neowing, which listed it early: https://t.co/q23uM1Ol7b

Launches Dec. 2. Currently only listed for PS5 (this is Japan—no Xbox physical edition). No PS4 version listed. Possibly new-gen-only? pic.twitter.com/aCWhuAh2oW

— Gematsu (@gematsu) October 5, 2022