Need For Speed World to hit the streets this summer

Racers, get ready to crank the metal up to 11, as Need For Speed World is revving up to zoom onto PCs this summer. Yes, indeed — the street date for EA‘s upcoming freewheeling MMO is set at July 20th. Of course, as with most MMOs, those who decide to pre-order the title will get early access to the game starting July 13th. Along with early access, pre-orders will additionally be granted a special car based on what retailer you pre-order through, a permanent VIP mark on your profile, and a week of bonus “rep” (their term for experience).

The other thing that seems interesting to us is that EA and Black Box Studios are apparently planning to offer an unlimited trial at launch. Anyone who is curious about the game — but not quite interested enough to plonk down the $20 for the pre-order — will have the ability to download the game at the Need For Speed World site. From there, you’ll be able to play the first 10 levels of content for free and decide if this is a game you want to invest further in. Will that attract enough racers and automotive fanatics into an MMO all about tricking out cars and zipping around 150 miles of different tracks? Time will tell.

Still, at least it isn’t another WoW clone.