Need for Speed: Carbon is a 2006 racing video game and the tenth installment in the Need for Speed series. Developed by EA Black Box, Rovio Mobile and published by Electronic Arts, it was released on October 31, 2006, for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox, Xbox 360, GameCube, Windows, and Mac OS X, and on November 19, 2006 as a launch title for the Wii and in 2008 for arcade cabinets. The game sees players conducting illegal street races within the fictional city of Palmont City, with the game's main story taking place after the events of Need for Speed: Most Wanted and focusing on the player's character taking control of the city from various street-racing gangs. While the gameplay is similar to its predecessor, Carbon introduced a number of new features, including crews and racing wingmen, Touge-styled racing events, and greater customization options.

Need for Speed (NFS) is a racing game franchise published by Electronic Arts and currently developed by Criterion Games, the developers of Burnout. The series generally centers around illegal street racing and tasks players to complete various types of races while evading the local law enforcement in police pursuits. The series is one of EA's oldest franchises not published under their EA Sports brand. The series released its first title, The Need for Speed, in 1994. The most recent game, Need for Speed Unbound, was released on December 2, 2022. Additionally, a free-to-play mobile installment released in 2015, Need for Speed: No Limits, is actively developed by Firemonkeys Studios, the developers of Real Racing 3.