Although the real-world 2020 season of the Formula One World Championship is having a little trouble getting underway, the virtual version is on its way soon. Yes, Codemasters has announced the launch date for the F1 2020, the official game of the 2020 F1 season, and it’s coming July 10.
As usual, F1 2020 will allow you to experience the full breadth of the teams and tracks involved in the current F1 season. That includes the re-branded Alpha Tauri (Toro Rosso in 2019) team, and the new F1 circuits in Vietnam and at Zandvoort in the Netherlands.
Despite the disruption to the 2020 calendar, players will be able to play through a full Career mode season consisting of the original 22-race season. Truncated 16- and 10-race seasons are also available.
F1 2020 offers an all-new game mode however. Going by the name of “My Team”, players can get involved as the driver-manager of an 11th team on the F1 grid. Codemasters hasn’t revealed much about the My Team mode just yet, though it appears that players will be able to create their own custom F1 cars and liveries, and race them against the established pros.
To celebrate both the 70th seaosn of F1 and the career of Michael Schumacher — who currently holds the record for the most individual driver championship titles — there’s a special Michael Schumacher Deluxe Edition of the game. This includes some exclusive Schumacher-themed content, and three days early access
Players who buy or preorder the Deluxe edition get to drive four of Schumacher’s most famous cars. They are the 1991 Jordan 191 in which he made his F1 debut, the Benetton B194 and B195 which helped him to his first two championships, and the 2000 Ferrari F1-2000 which won his first F1 title at Ferrari — Ferrari’s first in 21 years.
There’s also a selection of Schumacher-themed car liveries and customization pieces, and a unique podium celebration available only in this edition. Players who pick up that or the F1 Seventy Edition also receive exclusive in-game items, and a steelbook version is also available in some territories.
F1 2020 will also feature new settings options to help the game’s accessibility, which run alongside the traditional hardcore options. Two-player split-screen returns, as does F2 content.
Lee Mather, game director for F1 2020 at Codemasters, comments:
“As huge fans of F1, we continue to innovate and develop game modes that bring players even closer to the real-world sport. We’ve also added new modes to enable more casual players to get up to speed more easily, and we’ve brought back split-screen for social play with friends. The additions reduce both the difficulty and time barrier to entry while retaining the car handling that our simulation players love.”
Pricing information for the base game and the various limited editions will be available nearer the July launch date. In the meantime you can enjoy the reveal trailer below (and you might want to turn your speakers or headphones down a bit):
