Asphalt (series)

Common elements

The series puts emphasis on fast-paced, arcade-style street racing in the vein of Need for Speed, along with elements from other racing games such as Ridge Racer and Burnout; the spin-off game Asphalt Xtreme takes place in an off-road racing setting, with open-wheel buggies, sport-utility vehicles and rally cars in lieu of supercars as in previous games. Each game in the series puts players behind the wheel of licensed sports cars from various manufacturers, from entry-level models such as the Dodge Dart GT, to supercars like the Bugatti Veyron, and even concept cars such as Mercedes-Benz's Biome design study.

Police chases are a recurring gameplay element especially in the early games, but were de-emphasized in favour of stunt jumps and aerobatic maneuvers as of Airborne; they made a return, however, with Overdrive, Asphalt 9: Legends and Nitro, the latter of which combined elements from Airborne and previous games in the series.

Over the course of the games, players are gradually given access to various race courses, most of which are modelled after real-world locations and major cities, and upgrades for vehicles which can be bought from money earned in a race, or in later games, points or through in-application purchases using real currency. Events are presented in increasing difficulty as players advance through the game, sometimes requiring them to complete bonus challenges, e.g. taking down a given number of opponent racers or finishing the race without wrecking their vehicle.

History

The first mainline game in the series is Asphalt: Urban GT, which was released for the Nintendo DS and N-Gage in 2004, with simplified versions for J2ME mobile phones being released on December 2. A video on Gameloft's YouTube channel however lists their mobile phone adaptation of Speed Devils as the first game in the series.

Asphalt 5 was the first game in the series to be released for Android. Asphalt 4: Elite Racing was the first game in the series to be released for iOS. Asphalt 6: Adrenaline marks the first game in the series to be released for macOS; later home computer releases in the series are exclusive to Microsoft Windows, with Asphalt 7: Heat being the first to be released on the Windows Store.

Asphalt 8: Airborne, the eighth main installment and tenth title overall, was released in 2013 for iOS, Android, Windows and Blackberry platforms to critical acclaim, becoming one of the bestselling games on the iOS App Store and Google Play Store. Asphalt Nitro, the twelfth title in the series, was quietly released on Gameloft's own app store in May 2015 for Android, alongside a 2.5D J2ME version of the game for feature phones. A main selling point of Nitro was the game's small resource footprint, which was aided by the use of procedural generation.

A free-to-play spinoff entitled Asphalt Overdrive was released for iOS and Android in September 2014. Unlike prior titles in the series, the game is presented as an "endless runner" similar to the Temple Run franchise and Subway Surfers, and does not offer a traditional racing mode. Overdrive was then followed by Asphalt Xtreme, which focuses on arcade-style off-road racing, and in 2016 with Asphalt: Street Storm, a rhythm-based drag racing game in the vein of NaturalMotion's CSR Racing. Street Storm was quietly released in the Philippines in December 2016 for iOS devices.

The ninth and latest mainline game in the series, Asphalt Legends, was released worldwide on July 25, 2018, for Nintendo Switch on October 8, 2019, for macOS on January 17, 2020, for Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S on August 31, 2021, and for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 on July 17, 2024; the latter platforms were given a release following the Legends Unite expansion update.

Games

Main series in chronological order:

• Asphalt: Urban GT (N-Gage, Nintendo DS, J2ME, BREW, DoJa)
• Asphalt: Urban GT 2 (N-Gage, Nintendo DS, Symbian, PSP, J2ME)
• Asphalt 3: Street Rules (N-Gage 2.0, Symbian, Windows Mobile, J2ME, Android)
• Asphalt 4: Elite Racing (N-Gage 2.0, iOS, DSiWare, Symbian OS, Windows Mobile, J2ME, BlackBerry OS)
• Asphalt 5 (iOS, Android, Symbian, Windows Phone 7, Bada, webOS, Freebox)
• Asphalt 6: Adrenaline (iOS, OS X, Android, Symbian, J2ME, BlackBerry Tablet OS, Bada, webOS, Freebox)
• Asphalt 7: Heat (iOS, Android, Windows Phone 8, Windows 8, Windows 10, BlackBerry 10, BlackBerry Tablet OS, Fire OS)
• Asphalt 8: Airborne (iOS, Android, Windows Phone 8, Windows RT, Windows 8, BlackBerry 10, Windows 10, Windows 10 Mobile, tvOS, macOS, Tizen, Fire OS)
  • Asphalt 8: Airborne+ (Apple Arcade/iOS)
• Asphalt Legends (iOS, Android, Windows 10, Nintendo Switch, macOS, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Arcade, PS4, PS5, Fire OS)

Spin-offs and other titles in chronological order:

• Asphalt: Import Tuner Edition (J2ME, BREW)
• Asphalt Online (DoJa, BREW)
• Asphalt Audi RS 3 (iOS)
• Asphalt 3D (Nintendo 3DS)
• Asphalt: Injection (PS Vita, Android)
• Asphalt Overdrive (iOS, Android, Windows Phone 8, Windows 8, Windows 10, Windows 10 Mobile)
• Asphalt Nitro (Android, Java ME, Tizen, Fire OS)
• Asphalt Xtreme (iOS, Android, Windows 8, Windows Phone 8, Windows 10, Windows 10 Mobile)
• Asphalt Street Storm Racing (iOS, Android, Windows 8, Windows 10)
• Asphalt Retro (Browser)
• Asphalt Nitro 2 (Android)
• Asphalt Moto Blitz DX (Arcade)

Reception

76/100 (NG) 82% (Java) 67% (BREW) 72% (NG) 62% (MOBI) 35% (PSP) 90% (iOS) 74/100 (iOS) 73% (iOS)

In April 2008, Gameloft reported that the series has had 10 million downloads, making it the most popular mobile game franchise in the world at the time.

In 2020, Pocket Gamer wrote that "The Asphalt series has been one of the biggest names in mobile gaming for, oh, 15 years now."

Notes

References

References

1. (2026). "Asphalt - Gameloft".
2. Nelson, Jared. (27 August 2014). "'Asphalt 8: Airborne' Updated with New Dubai Track, 5 New Vehicles, and More". Touch Arcade.
3. "Enjoying Asphalt 8? We compare it to earlier games in the series!".
4. (13 May 2010). "10 Years of Gaming Evolution - Trailer by Gameloft".
5. Android, HD. (November 15, 2009). "Asphalt 3 Street Rules on Android - Gameloft - Android Game".
6. Davis, Justin. (22 June 2012). "A Visual History of Gameloft's Asphalt - IGN". [[IGN]].
7. Hoff, John. (12 May 2015). "Asphalt Nitro racing game launches exclusively via Gameloft store". Android Community.
8. (September 25, 2014). "Asphalt Overdrive Now Available to Download for Android and iOS". NDTV.
9. Calimlim, Aldrin. (28 December 2016). "Prepare to Be Fast and Furious in Gameloft's Asphalt Street Storm Racing". AppAdvice.
10. Android, HD. (November 15, 2009). "Asphalt 3 Street Rules on Android - Gameloft - Android Game".
11. Yin-Poole, Wesley. (2024-03-26). "Asphalt Legends Unite Marks Series Debut on PS4 and PS5". IGN.
12. "Gameloft and Audi Shift Gears To Launch A Free App, Asphalt Audi RS 3, on iPhone/iPod Touch Devices Offers Consumers A Chance to Win A Brand New Audi A3 Sportback". Gameloft {{!.
13. Androvich, Mark. (2008-04-23). "Gameloft's Asphalt series tops 10 million".
14. Bald, Cameron. (2020-05-05). "Asphalt series celebrates its 15th anniversary with special events and the return of Asphalt Urban GT".