The year 2022 within racing video games was evidently marked for that arrival on our PlayStation 4 and PS5 of the latest installment of the Gran Turismo saga, undoubtedly one of the most special since GT7 coincided with the 25th anniversary of the title developed by Polyphony. The start of 2023 also lets us glimpse that this year there will be a benchmark release within the car racing game scene, although there will be many others that have surely gone under the radar for more than one.
Forza Motorsport, the rival of Gran Turismo:
Dakar Desert Rally, NFS Unbound or F1 Manager were some of the big stars in Sim Racing and the racing-themed video games that have animated the past 12 months, however, this year also promises to come loaded with news. The main reference will undoubtedly come from Microsoft and from Turn 10 Studio with the release of a new installment of the popular Forza Motorsport, which will arrive for both PC and Xbox and is expected, if the original date for which it was projected is respected, next spring.
It will be Forza’s opportunity to unbalance that duel that it has already had for years with Gran Turismo, in this case, taking advantage of the fact that its PlayStation rival has perhaps not met the expectations that had been set by unconditional fans of the saga, so that at Microsoft they see this option of going head-to-head against those of PolyPhony when we talk about titles that are highly oriented towards competition and less about exploring the open world available with the car as a connecting thread. Tomorrow, January 26, it is expected to know much more about the title in an event dedicated to it in its entirety.
Test Drive Unlimited, in search of the Solar Crown:
For those looking for this option, now that the fervor for the launch of Need For Speed Unbound has passed, we find the return of ‘Test Drive Unlimited’, this case through its new title baptized with the name of the ‘Solar Crown’ and that will be developed by some old acquaintances in the world of virtual racing, Kylotonn Racing, more specifically for his work in recent years with the official games of the WRC. Despite the fact that postponements are never welcome (date in 2023 still to be specified), it seems clear that the players they have not viewed with bad eyes the decision to have delayed the development in order to achieve a good result in the return of a franchise that has been on hiatus for more than a decade.
More arcade court racing, luxury, supercars, a completely open map (this time it will be Hong Kong) and many details regarding the modeling of the vehicles. These have always been the main characteristics of the Test Drive Unlimited, which is why we have chosen to have the services of Alain Jarniou, who was already involved in TDU2. The bar is very high, not only because of the origins, but also because of the scarcity of this type of titles within the current offer.
Formula 1 and World Rally Championship, the great hope:
The year 2023 will also bring a good plethora of official titles. The Formula 1 World Championship will once again feature this year with both a sequel to the F1 manager developed by frontier (last year was a pleasant surprise), as for the usual F1 2023, this developed by Codemasters Racing. The debut of the new single-seater regulations left a bittersweet taste in its virtual counterpart, so it is expected that this year all the meat will be put on the grill with the aim of counteracting these negative opinions of F1 2022. Normally the launches have been early summer so F1 2023 should start it should also show up in late June early July.
Still without confirming its release dates and waiting for an officialization that the project finally goes ahead, we must take into account that 2023 should be the launch year of the official IndyCar Series titledeveloped in this case by Motorsport Games, the same people responsible for the games with official licenses from the NASCAR, of which a delivery is also expected in principle for this year, already restricted to PC and consoles of the new generation. Slid the option to have a official title of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, also created by the same developer and taking advantage of the centenary year, however, there has been no more information about it beyond all the controversy that has been generated recently with the dispute of the virtual 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Also undated is what will mark the beginning of a new era for rally video games. 2022 was the last year that Kylotonn (WRC Generations was the end) had the rights to the WRC, so it will be already this year when Codemasters Racing is expected to make use of it over the next 11 months. There is no estimated arrival date, not even a teaser or something similar from this new WRC 2023 dand EA Sports / Codemasters, but it is known what the developer can do after seeing what is embodied in DiRT Rally and DiRT Rally 2.0. Fans of the discipline have been waiting for years for a title that is realistic and that allows them to calm the desire to compete in the World Cup stages with physics that is closer to simulation than to Arcade.
Motorcycles will also have their place:
As for the motorcycles, we will have the return of already veteran sagas such as the MotoGP official video gamethe second consecutive year with sbk (the World Superbike video game), both from Milestone and very consistent with respect to what was seen in previous years or the always enjoyable Monster Energy Supercross 6, a title focused on those exciting dirt and mud races so iconic in the world of North American motorsport and that took a great leap forward in terms of sensations in 2021.
To all of them is added a very niche game such as the official title of the TT Isle of Man – Ride on the Edge 3, a sequel that also already has a lot of experience and that this year has promised not only to stick to the scanned route that is usually part of the Tourist Trophy races, but that there will again be a free mode that will allow us to browse the entire island, as well as 31 additional places that will complete the offer of a section that does not always have too many alternatives. In this case, it is expected for the month of May and will be developed by Nacon’s studio in Milan, formerly known as RaceWard Studios.
In the most negative part of the matter, we find those titles that will not go beyond the project phase or that will be delayed. It is not expected that there will be a Project Cars 4 after the third installment had such poor acceptance and in principle, Asset Corsa 2 It will not arrive until 2024 at the earliest. Finally, we must not forget that it is also expected that during this year, looking in this case at the end of 2023, that the launch of Rennsportan evidently German title, developed by Competition Company only for PC and that will seek to attract all that public of iRacing, RaceRoom or rFactor 2 that focuses more on simulation and online racing. wreckreationthe natural heir to the Burnout saga (with permission from Danger Zone and Dangerous Driving), may be the answer for those who are already looking for an alternative to wreckfest.
