How to play NFS Carbon online

Need for Speed: Carbon's official online servers were switched off years ago. NFS Carbon Online runs its own server in their place, so the game's own online screens work again, right in your browser: Custom Match races, EA Messenger with friends and invites, and free roam with other drivers.

Race in Custom Match

1. On the home page, switch on Play online and choose the name other players will see.
2. Press Play.
3. In the game's main menu, choose Custom Match. You are signed in to "EA Nation" automatically with your name: no account, no password.
4. You land in a game room with everyone who joined. The leader picks the mode, the track and the settings, then starts the race. Up to 8 players race together, and every screen shows the same results.

Someone already racing? You get a room of your own and can start the next race from there.

Every online mode works

Sprint

Point to point. First to the finish line wins.

Circuit

Laps around a closed course.

Speedtrap

Hit the speed cameras along the route as fast as you can. The highest total speed wins.

Canyon Duel

Two heats on a canyon road: chase in one, lead in the other.

Pursuit Tag

One player is the racer, everyone else drives a police car. Bust the racer to take their place. Whoever stays the racer longest wins.

Pursuit Knockout

Racers against the police. Busted racers join the police, and the last racer still free wins.

Friends and invites: EA Messenger

Press M in the online menus to open the game's own EA Messenger.

• Add a friend: press 2 to search for their name and send a friend request. It shows in their list with a "?" until they accept.
• See who's online: friends show as Online, Online playing Need for Speed Carbon, or Not Signed In.
• Invite a friend to your race: in your room, pick a friend and choose Send Game Invite. The invite shows the mode, track and laps, and Accept brings them straight into your room.
• Chat: send private messages to friends. Messages are passed on live and never stored.
• Blocked list: click the arrows on the bar under the list to switch between Friends, Blocked and Search Results.

Free roam with friends

With Play online on, you drive the open city with other players.

• Type the same Room name as your friends to drive together, or leave it empty to meet everyone.
• Pick a Crew name: the same name means the same crew.
• Press Y for quick chat and hold H for the horn.
• Friends show on the minimap and on the big world map, and cars collide like real traffic.

Your name is yours

The first browser to use a name keeps it, so nobody else can sign in as you. A name nobody uses for 30 days becomes free again.

What you need

• A desktop or laptop computer with a recent Chrome or Edge (the game uses WebGPU).
• A keyboard, or a PS5, PS4 or Xbox controller. Change keys and buttons in the game under Options → Controls.
• Press F9 or F10 in the game for settings, full screen and online options.

Not there yet

The game's Leaderboard and Player Stats screens are not built yet, so every room is unranked.