Asphalt Legends

The game was developed by Gameloft's Barcelona Studio, which also made Asphalt 8: Airborne and co-developed Asphalt Xtreme with Gameloft Madrid. The game uses the Bullet physics engine and the Jet game engine. Continuing the tradition from Asphalt 8, the game features licensed soundtracks with a few removed due to their licenses being expired.

The first rumors of Asphalt Legends began in 2016, with Gameloft posting pictures on Twitter, showing Gameloft Barcelona making a map that had not been seen in Asphalt 8: Airborne. According to a Gameloft press release, the game was scheduled to be released in the summer of 2017, under the name: Asphalt 9: Shockwave. In February 2018, a trailer was revealed for Asphalt 9. On 1 April 2016, Gameloft posted an April Fools joke trailer on their Facebook page that the game was going to be called Asphalt 9: Foolspeed, accompanied by outdated footage of Asphalt 4: Elite Racing.^[1]

The game was first released for iOS as a soft launch on 26 February 2018 in the Philippines, then in Thailand on 22 March 2018. It was later released for Android as a soft launch in the Philippines on 17 May 2018.^[2][3] Pre-registration for the worldwide launch began on 29 June 2018. Around the same time, users could pre-register the game on Google Play. On 24 July 2018, Gameloft announced the game's release date of 26 July on a Facebook and YouTube Livestream. However, the game was released a day earlier than planned, and reached 4 million downloads across all platforms within a week.

On 6 June 2019, Gameloft announced that the game would be available on Nintendo Switch. It was released on 8 October 2019. The game permitted Joy-Con and Touchscreen controls when using the Switch in Handheld Mode, allowing use of either the screen itself or of the controllers.^[4]

A version for macOS Catalina was released on 17 January 2020.^[5] An Xbox One and Series X/S version was announced in April 2021 and released on 31 August 2021, with cross-progression with the already released Microsoft Store version.^[6] An arcade adaptation, developed by IGS and Wahlap Technology under a license from Gameloft, was released worldwide in 2021 under the name Asphalt 9 Legends: Arcade DX.^[7]

A Steam version was announced in July 2022 and released on 2 August.^[8]

Gameloft announced that an expansion update would be released on 17 July 2024, featuring cross-play compatibility, cloud-based progression besides PlayStation and Switch versions, dynamic lighting for the game's graphic engine, a brand new user-interface, and a new Singapore track.^[9] The expansion also changed the title of the game to Asphalt Legends Unite, and the game was also released for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5.^[10] However, Gameloft announced on 16 July 2024 that the Nintendo Switch version of Asphalt Legends Unite would be delayed due to unforeseen circumstances.^[11] It was finally released on 19 August 2024.^[12]

An Epic Games Store version was released on 14 July 2025. Beginning with the 'Legacy of Speed' update released on 24 July 2025, Gameloft discontinued the Unite branding and retitled the game to Asphalt Legends.

A Nintendo Switch 2 version of the game was released as an upgrade to the already existing Switch version on 16 February 2026.

The gameplay in Asphalt Legends is similar to other Asphalt games. Some differences include the new "nitro" system, a greater emphasis on jumps (which are higher and more numerous), and new features such as double-tapping the brake pedal to force vehicles into a 360-degree flat spin, which can be used to knock out other cars, boost the nitrous bar, or gain extra height on large jumps. Players can choose between three drive modes: Tap-to-steer (which requires the user to tap on the left and right sides of the phone to move it in that direction or brake), Tilt-to-steer (which uses the gyroscope of the phone to steer), and TouchDrive, intended for beginners or casual players (in which the player selects routes and stunts by swiping left and right).

There were 48 cars featured in the game when soft-launched, but this increased to 52 by the time of its worldwide release. There are currently 300 cars, as of the 'Legacy of Speed' expansion update.^[13] As in previous games, each of the cars belongs to one of five classes, progressively higher performing and less common: D, C, B, A, and S. The player starts with the first car in the lowest class (Class D), the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X and ends with the car in the highest class (Class S), the Arash Imperium.

The game features several race tracks, with new locations for this edition including: Cairo (including Giza), the Himalayas, Wyoming (named U.S. Midwest), Scotland, the Caribbean, Osaka, Auckland (featuring race track-inspired aesthetics), Buenos Aires, Greenland, Tuscany and Norway. Several locations from previous games were also brought back, such as San Francisco, Rome, Shanghai, New York, Nevada and Paris.^[14] The Legends Unite expansion introduced a new location, Singapore, which was subsequently followed by Chicago, San Diego Harbor (reintroduced from Asphalt 8: Airborne) and India.

The game offers five game modes: Career, Multiplayer, Daily Events, Gauntlet, and Seasonal Events (Grand Prix, Starway, Special Event, and Drive Syndicate), and includes nine race types.

Asphalt Legends was praised for its improved graphics, new lighting effects, gameplay, and introduction of cross-platform play, private lobbies, and cross-save. However, players also criticized blueprint grinding, limited energy refills, and aggressive monetization that made progression feel like pay-to-win.^[17]

Prasad of GSMArena.com wrote: "Visually, Asphalt 9 is stunning and quite possibly the best-looking game on the mobile platform today",^[18] while TechCommuters' review stated, "Regardless of the platform you're playing on, the game delivers...With a wide variety of cars, accessories, tracks, and events, you can play this game for a long time without any dull moment."^[19] Nick Tylwalk of Gamezebo also praised the graphics, but wrote that the "blueprint system can be a mixed bag and there are times when you feel stuck, progression-wise." Vishal Mathur of News18 mentioned "every time you run a wheel off the road, the dust that gets thrown up is finely detailed. The cars look very realistic too... However, it isn't exactly easy to get exotic cars. As with most racing games, you start from the bottom of the pyramid and then work your way up. In many races, the rewards that you get are blueprints of vehicles. You will need to collect the required number of blueprints for the car that you are eyeing before you can unlock it. This is slightly difficult, and we feel that element has been added to ensure that players remain active for longer on the game, in the pursuit of their favorite car."^[20]

The game won the award for "Sports Game" at the 2019 Webby Awards.^[21]

Asphalt Legends also won a 2019 Apple Design Awards.^[22]