A developer has used Anthropic’s Claude Code AI tool to port the classic racing game Need for Speed Underground 2 to run directly in web browsers, adding online multiplayer functionality in the process. The project demonstrates how AI-assisted coding tools are increasingly being used to tackle complex reverse-engineering and porting tasks that would traditionally require significant manual effort from experienced developers.
Need for Speed Underground 2, originally released in 2004, remains a beloved entry in the racing genre and has maintained a dedicated fanbase for decades. Getting it running in a browser environment required overcoming substantial technical hurdles, including adapting the game’s rendering pipeline and networking code to work within the constraints of modern web technologies such as WebAssembly.
Claude Code, Anthropic’s agentic coding tool, was used to guide and automate much of the porting work. The tool is designed to operate within a terminal environment and can read, write, and execute code autonomously across a project, making it well-suited to large-scale refactoring and compatibility tasks like this one.
The addition of online multiplayer is particularly notable, as it goes beyond simply making the game playable in a browser and restores a social dimension to a title whose original online infrastructure has long since been shut down. Players can now connect and race against each other through the browser-based version without needing to install the original game or any additional software.
The project highlights the growing potential of AI coding assistants to preserve and revive older games, potentially opening the door to similar efforts for other classic titles that have become difficult to run on modern hardware or operating systems.
