Need for Speed Underground is a classic street racing game released in 2003 by Electronic Arts. Known for its neon-lit city streets, custom cars, and adrenaline-pumping soundtrack, it remains one of the most iconic racing games of all time. Although the official servers are no longer active, the community keeps the game alive with modern multiplayer tools like Kickstart, enabling you to race against others online in 2025.
You can still enjoy Need for Speed Underground online with the Kickstart tool from NFS.onl. This tool makes it easy to host or join multiplayer races, regardless of the game’s age. The tool works best with version 1.4 US of the game, but it should work with other language versions as long as they are based on 1.4.
Installing Kickstart is simple: just download and extract it into your game directory. No additional patches or modifications are required.
Kickstart also allows you to track your best times in Freerun and Sprint modes. You can manually upload your hotlap times to the global NFS Underground leaderboard on nfs.onl. Once activated, it can automatically upload your times to the leaderboard.
Compete with other racers globally and see how you stack up against the best!
The most active community of NFS Underground players can be found on the Retro Racing Point Discord server. Join for discussions, multiplayer lobbies, and troubleshooting assistance.
The 1.4 US version is recommended for the best compatibility with Kickstart, though it works with other language versions as long as they're based on 1.4.
Yes, with Kickstart, you can easily host or join online multiplayer races with your friends.
No, Kickstart is a standalone launcher and connector that does not modify the game files.
Yes, it works perfectly fine on modern Windows systems with some minor compatibility tweaks.
Yes, you can run Kickstart on Linux using Wine or Lutris without any issues.
We cannot provide direct download links, but you can find the portable version through your preferred search engine.
Yes, check the pinned messages in the Underground channel on the Retro Racing Point Discord for detailed guides and resources.
You’ll need to forward UDP ports 3658–3659 to your internal IP address to host successfully. Many YouTube tutorials and detailed guides are available for this setup.