Phone requirements & FPS
What the three ports need from your phone, which GPUs work, the frame rates the developers measured, and which chips the crash reports come from.
- Android 10+
- arm64 (ARMv7 for two)
- Vulkan 1.1
- 4 GB RAM
All three ports need far less than an emulator would: the game’s code is already compiled for ARM, so the work left is graphics through Vulkan and sound. These figures come from each project’s README and release notes, and from the device data in the codepdbh trackers.
Minimum requirements
| Component | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Android | Android 10 or newer for all three ports. Saves and game folders need file access (“all files access” on Android 11+). |
| Processor | 64-bit ARM (arm64-v8a) for all three. Most Wanted Recompiled and Underground 2 also publish an ARMv7 (32-bit) APK, not yet tested on a phone by the project. Most Wanted for Android is arm64 only. |
| Graphics | A Vulkan 1.1 driver. RanggaCasper names Adreno 6xx or newer, Mali-G7x or newer and Samsung Xclipse. The codepdbh launchers can also load a custom Turnip driver ZIP for Adreno. |
| Memory and storage | Most Wanted for Android: 4 GB of RAM and 4 GB of storage for the game files and saves. The codepdbh APKs are 62.0 MB and 70.4 MB, plus your PC game folder. |
| Game | Your own copy. Most Wanted for Android: the Xbox Black Edition (USA) as a disc image or default.xbe + NFS folder. The Recompiled ports: your PC installation folder. |
Measured frame rates
| Port | Device | Result | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Most Wanted for Android | Xiaomi Pad 7 (Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3) | about 60 FPS in a race | README |
| Most Wanted Recompiled | Galaxy S25 | about 75 FPS in a race | v0.1.13 notes |
| Most Wanted Recompiled | Galaxy S25 | 80–90 FPS in menus and a challenge | v0.1.9 notes |
| Underground 2 Recompiled | Galaxy S25 | 120 FPS | v0.14.13 notes |
| Underground 2 Recompiled | Galaxy S24 Ultra (Snapdragon 8 Gen 3) | 35–51+ FPS at 1170×540 | README |
| Underground 2 Recompiled | Redmi Note 8 | 34–36 FPS (from 28) in a lighter race | v0.14.7 notes |
These are the developers’ own figures on their own phones, not benchmarks under matched conditions.
GPUs and chip makers
| GPU | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Qualcomm Adreno | Best supported | Adreno 6xx or newer named by RanggaCasper; the codepdbh launchers can load a custom Turnip driver ZIP. |
| Arm Mali (MediaTek, Exynos, Tensor) | Works, more reports | Mali-G7x or newer named by RanggaCasper. Audio buffers were enlarged for MediaTek and Mali in v0.1.8 / v0.14.10. |
| Samsung Xclipse | Named as supported | Listed by RanggaCasper with Adreno and Mali. |
| PowerVR (some MediaTek, e.g. Dimensity 7020) | Fallback added | The driver crashed creating the first pipeline; v0.1.13 / v0.14.13 retry with simpler settings. Untested on a PowerVR phone. |
| Unisoc | Many reports | Frequent among crash reports; same audio-buffer fix as MediaTek. |
Who is filing reports
The codepdbh report form records each phone’s chip. Counts from the 92 most recent Most Wanted Recompiled reports and 92 Underground 2 reports with that field, on November 9, 2026:
| Chip maker | Most Wanted Recompiled | Underground 2 |
|---|---|---|
| MediaTek | 51 | 36 |
| Qualcomm Snapdragon | 26 | 30 |
| Unisoc | 11 | 13 |
| Other | 2 | 9 |
| Samsung Exynos | 1 | 3 |
| HiSilicon Kirin | 1 | 1 |
Android versions in those reports run from 10 to 17; Android 16 is the most common (62 reports). A chip that appears often has many players as well as problems; read it as where to expect rough edges, not as a list of phones that fail.
Storage and memory
- APK sizes: 33.8 MB (Most Wanted for Android), 62.0 MB and 70.4 MB (arm64 codepdbh ports); the ARMv7 builds are larger.
- Room for your game folder plus a shader or pipeline cache that grows as you play.
- Most Wanted for Android gives the recompiled game 128 MB of guest memory (twice the Xbox’s 64 MB) and asks for 4 GB of phone RAM.
A controller to play with
Touch works, but a pad is easier for long pursuits. The Xbox Wireless Controller matches the Xbox port’s layout; a DualSense, the 8BitDo Ultimate 2 Wireless and the GameSir Cyclone 2 work as standard Bluetooth pads. See controllers and touch setup.
As an Amazon Associate, this site earns from qualifying purchases. Controller links go to Amazon; this site is not connected with the projects or the controller makers.
Frequently asked questions
What phone do I need for NFS Most Wanted on Android?
Android 10 or newer on a 64-bit processor with a Vulkan 1.1 GPU. RanggaCasper’s port asks for 4 GB of RAM and 4 GB of storage and names Adreno 6xx+, Mali-G7x+ and Xclipse GPUs. Most Wanted Recompiled also has a 32-bit ARMv7 APK, not yet tested on a phone.
Does it work on MediaTek Helio and Dimensity phones?
Yes, and they file the most reports: about half of recent Most Wanted Recompiled reports come from MediaTek phones, many from the Helio G85/G99 class (MT6769, MT6789). Use the newest release; several MediaTek-specific crashes and audio problems have been fixed.
Does it work on Snapdragon?
Yes. The projects’ own tests use Snapdragon devices (Xiaomi Pad 7, Galaxy S24 Ultra, S25) with the best results. Some Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 phones report frame drops after a few seconds in Underground 2.
Can I play on a 32-bit phone?
Only the codepdbh ports have ARMv7 APKs (68.1 MB and 80.8 MB), and the project has not tested them on a phone. Most Wanted for Android is arm64 only.
How do I get more FPS?
Lower the internal resolution in the launcher or settings panel, cap the frame rate at 30 or 60 to keep the phone cool, turn off rain and screen raindrops (rain lowers FPS on the Xbox port), and keep the newest release: v0.14.7 and v0.1.6 raised FPS by about 25–30% on a Redmi Note 8.
Can I run it on a PC?
There is no Windows download. The codepdbh projects build a Windows test host from source; RanggaCasper’s Most Wanted builds natively on Linux x86-64. For playing Underground 2 or Most Wanted on a PC, the original PC games remain the way.