World takes on the gameplay style of Most Wanted and Carbon, focusing on illegal racing, tuning and police chases, and adds classic MMO elements to the mix such as special abilities. World also features the cities of Rockport and Palmont, the cities of Most Wanted and Carbon into its map design. The game currently features 34 different cars. In December 2010, the car Performance Customization was made available to players. On March 16, 2011, the Visual Customization was also made available. On March 31, 2011, the game introduced a new game mode called "Team Escape", a co-op version of pursuits which up to four players must race as a team driving from point A to point B while avoiding numerous cops. For this mode, two co-op versions of the game's powerups have been released.
Before September 8, 2010, after reaching level 10 and access to only tier 1 and certain tier 2 cars, the player would not be able to progress further in the game and would cease to earn any more experience points or cash. To continue the game, the player had to purchase the Need for Speed World Starter Pack. Without it, the player was allowed to play the game for as long as he or she wants, but he or she would cease to earn experience and cash. On September 8, 2010 World had passed 1 million registrations. To celebrate that, the game was made free-to-play and the level cap was removed.
The game was first announced to be free-to-play. In October 2009, World was opened to public beta-testing limited to residents of Taiwan. There have been seven closed beta sessions in total. Except the first one, all were available worldwide to residents who sign up, meet admission criteria, and get accepted.