The more things change, the more they stay the same. As if to drive that point home, Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr first coined the term (“plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose”, in his native French), over 160 years ago. When we look back at 2015’s Year In Review, we can’t help but feel — with the required date changes — the opening paragraph is just as appropriate when wrapping up this year.
Of course, that does the past 12 months a great disservice. 2016 was, it’s safe to say, unlike any other year that had come before. Yes, we’re once again looking forward to GT Sport’s release in the upcoming calendar year … but we know a great deal more about it. We’ve seen the arrival of a new, more powerful version of an existing console (and the tease of another). Relatively affordable VR headsets are now available for console players. Not one, but two dedicated rally games landed!
It’s been a rollercoaster of a year in more ways than one, so without further ado — and in keeping with a yearly tradition — we’re going to take a look back at the past 366 days! You’ll want to settle in: this is a big one.
January
- Kicking things off in the world of Gran Turismo, a collaboration with Hot Wheels is leaked at the beginning of the year. While Sony’s racer is the first game to get the pint-size die-cast treatment this year, it won’t be the last…
- Microsoft announces its 2015 sim racer, Forza Motorsport 6, crests one million sales.
- In the quiet times since GT Sport’s initial announcement in October 2015, our community crafts some exceptional mock-ups of potential menus. We wouldn’t complain if the final game looks a little something like these!
- ESPN adds a dedicated eSports section to its website, as professional gaming is expected to reel in over 100 million viewers in 2016.
- Speaking of professionals: we interview Team Redline, a group of elite sim racers with numerous records to its name.
- Assetto Corsa’s (initial) console release date is revealed as April 22. Spoiler alert: it doesn’t make it.
- Forza joins in on the Hot Wheels front with its own dedicated set.
- FM6 online servers are hit with all manner of Walter White impressions as the Alpinestars Car Pack introduces the Pontiac Aztek to the game (as well as six other considerably less-ugly cars).
- Project CARS goes bonkers with the StanceWorks Track Expansion pack, which brings the “Radbul”, a 1000hp, quad-rotor MX-5 drift car into Slightly Mad Studios’ sim.
- Sebastien Loeb Rally Evo launches on PS4 and XB1. Milestone’s racer brings 58 rally cars with it, with courses from around the globe, including the daunting Pikes Peak.
- Polyphony’s Vision Gran Turismo project receives the Golden Marker Special Award at the Japan Car Design Awards.
February
- A mysterious Acura race car starts making the Canadian autoshow rounds with a Gran Turismo logo on its info screen. We find it in Toronto, but everyone we talk to has no information on any tie-in with GT Sport. The car has yet to appear in the game.
- While it technically wrapped up in the final hours of January, it’s listed here: the 24 Hours of Daytona kicked off the endurance racing season with a bang. Not only did it feature the closest margin of victory in the event’s history, but it also featured two Team Redline drivers and a GT Academy finalist!
- Over on the other side of the globe, the 12 Hours of Bathurst gets underway. Another hard-fought battle, the win eventually goes to McLaren, a first for the British marque.
- Wolfgang Reip — one of the most successful graduates of the GT Academy program — doesn’t have his contract renewed by Nissan.
- Alpine unveils the stunning Vision concept in Monaco. Given that name, is it any surprise a certain Mr. Yamauchi is in attendance?
- “Driving like robots” takes on a whole new meaning when NVIDIA announces Gran Turismo’s game engine has been used to aid autonomous car development.
- Some of the rarest rally cars in the history of the sport make their way into SLR Evo care of the Class S Prototypes DLC car pack.
- GTPlanet founder Jordan gets down and dirty at Rally School in Texas. To sum it up: he’s a big fan.
- The newest Civic Type-R and the last Skyline to receive the GT-R badge join Driveclub in the No Limits DLC pack. A Suzuki-themed bundle arrives for the Bikes expansion as well.
- Assetto Corsa’s console release suffers its first delay.
- Bugatti pulls the wraps off the Chiron, its 1500bhp, 261 mph Veyron successor before the start of the Geneva Motor Show. Sure enough, it bares a striking resemblance to the Bugatti Vision GT concept shown in 2015.
March
- Forza heads to the land of the PC master race with FM6: Apex, a cut-down, free version of Forza Motorsport 6. Unfortunately, it’s set to launch without wheel support (at first).
- Need For Speed gets another free update, bringing hot rods to the table. The update introduces a highly-requested feature too: manual transmissions. Yes, really.
- Porsches return to the Forza Motorsport franchise! 21 of Stuttgart’s finest land with a dedicated career mode as part of the FM6 Porsche Expansion Pack.
- Not to be left behind, Project CARS also gets new DLC at the beginning of the month. This one focuses on the stars and stripes, with the US Race Car pack bringing four new machines with it.
- Turn 10 partners with Lamborghini to announce the just-unveiled Centenario will be the next Forza game’s cover star. It’s going to be a few months before the game is officially confirmed as Forza Horizon 3.
- Slightly Mad Studios announce Project CARS Game of the Year Edition. As expected, the game bundles all previous DLC together, as well as a handful of new Paganis, including the Huayra BC, a video game first.
- 2011 GT Academy winner Bryan Heitkotter kicks off his season in the Nissan GT-R with a podium finish.
- You know what they say about hindsight: a French journalist makes a comment doubting GT Sport will manage a 2016 release after visiting Polyphony’s studios over the winter.
- There’s a small misunderstanding when vaunted watch-makers Bell & Ross tease an entire automobile. While reports tie the vehicle to Polyphony’s Vision Gran Turismo program, it turns out to have no relation.
- PlayStation VR is unveiled to the world, coming in at $399/£349/€399.
- Tying into the above, GT Sport enjoys a 581% increase in pre-orders on Amazon UK after the unveiling.
- Project CARS becomes an Oculus Rift launch title, solidifying its position as one of the VR front-runners on PC.
- What’s meant to be a simple, fun drift video in Forza Motorsport 6 goes viral when people begin to believe its footage of the US Secret Service. Some folks are just too gullible.
- Speaking of fun, how’s about some abandoned stunt tracks found in Gran Turismo 6?
- We say goodbye a racing game developer, as Sony shutters Evolution Studios, the creative team behind Motorstorm and, more recently, Driveclub.
- A rare GT Sport sighting, with — what else — a GT-R. The 2017 model, to be exact, as shown at the NYIAS. Our community quickly finds the Gran Turismo connection.
- Need for Speed includes the 2017 GT-R in a free update only days later. That was fast.
- Wolfgang “Wolfie” Reip’s time as a free agent is unsurprisingly short, as he signs with Bentley for the 2016 season.
April
- Always wanted one of the Red Bull X cars from Gran Turismo 6? Now you can have it, although it’s in 1/18 scale.
- Here’s a pairing we didn’t expect: Square Enix partnered up with Audi to produce a one-off Audi R8 in celebration for Final Fantasy XV.
- DiRT Rally releases for consoles, and we review it. Our man Brendan doesn’t mince words with his verdict, as he calls it the “definitive racing package available on console”.
- Codemasters picks up the now-former Evolution Studios crew. We’re still excited to see what’s in store from these fine folks.
- After racing with Nissan since as long as we can remember, Kazunori Yamauchi makes the switch to BMW power prior to this year’s Nürburgring 24H race.
- The ESRB outs Driveclub VR. Then promptly deletes its accident. Surely that’s as close to confirmation as we need!
May
- Assetto Corsa is delayed again, moving from June to the very end of August.
- After a year’s worth of updates, Project CARS relaunches with a Game of the Year edition.
- Only six months into its life, Need For Speed is proclaimed “complete”. There will be no 2016 title, as Ghost Games focuses on 2017.
- It begins! After a half-year of silence, Polyphony announces a GT Sport reveal event, to be held at the Copper Box Arena in London.
- We’re given a small amount of tickets to the Copper Box event, for GTPlanet community members. Needless to say, they disappear with a quickness.
- In honour of the Community Event, we declare the middle of May GT Week, taking a look back at the 18-year history of the franchise. No word on it being recognized as a national holiday… yet.
- Forza Motorsport 6 receives its second expansion. After previously featuring Porsche, this one goes all-American with NASCAR. This pushes the car total past 600. The accompanying game update introduces new features like proximity markers.
- Gran Turismo joins Snapchat in anticipation for the Copper Box.
- Despite the console setbacks, Assetto Corsa continues to evolve on PC. This month brings the Japanese Car Pack, with a promise of more JDM goodness in the future.
- Festivities get underway in London. Up first is the tidbit people are most excited for: the GT Sport release date. Polyphony gets straight to the point, ear-marking mid-November for their PS4 debut.
- We get a rough track list for GT Sport, as well as a news the game will feature over 130 “Super Premium” cars.
- One of the biggest shocks from the event is detailed: GT players are finally getting a livery editor! Kazunori also introduces “Scapes”, which place in-game car models on real-world photography to further blur the line between virtual and reality.
- Thrustmaster shows off a mysterious wheel at the Copper Box. It’s later confirmed to be a direct-drive wheel. Fancy one? Bring money, lots of it.
- Our man Jordan sits down with Kazunori to talk GT Sport. Some bad news surfaces: the public beta that was earmarked for “early 2016” has been cancelled, to ensure the game maintains its November release schedule. More on that later…
- The Vision Gran Turismo project, first started in 2013, is “not even halfway done“. Unfortunately, it won’t be completed within GT6 as originally stated, with the focus instead going towards GT Sport.
- More bad news: the dynamic weather and time systems of GT6 will be dropped for Sport. Instead, players will be given a variety of pre-set weather and time-of-day combos.
- F1 2016 is announced, with a change: a public beta will be opening up over the summer.
- WRC 6 is also revealed, with an autumn release date planned.
- The 2016 Nürburgring 24 Hour race is exhilarating, with crazy weather causing issues for teams in the first half of the race. The results are determined on the final lap, after a huge lunge by Maro Engel put his Black Falcon AMG GT3 ahead of the one from HTP.
June
- In the month of E3, the rumour mill kicks into high gear. First up: Microsoft is apparently readying “Project Scorpio”, a pumped-up Xbox One with over 4x the original’s power.
- Jann Mardenborough continues to impress in the world of motorsports, claiming his first All-Japan Formula 3 victory.
- Prior to an all-out assault on La Sarthe, the Ford GT LM arrives in Forza Motorsport 6, free of charge.
- Mark Higgins smashes his previous record at the Isle of Man. We can’t help but notice his 600bhp Subaru is sporting Gran Turismo logos…
- Kazunori Yamauchi states GT Sport players “won’t be kept waiting” for DLC for the game.
- Not to be overshadowed, Sony confirms the existence of a more powerful PlayStation 4 prior to E3. It won’t be present at the gaming convention.
- A new GT Sport trailer, promising “the future of motorsport”, arrives online just before E3 kicks off.
- We get a confirmation from Nissan’s new Motorsport Director that GT Academy will adopt GT Sport in 2017.
- Microsoft starts E3 2016 with the new Xbox One S, the first console capable of (upscaled) 4K gameplay, as well as HDR.
- Playground Games heads to the Land Down Under with Forza Horizon 3, the series open-world arcade racer. It boasts over 350 cars — including more Aussie metal than any other game that’s come before.
- Scorpio is real. Microsoft teases its new uber-console at the end of its event, but gamers will have to wait until autumn 2017 before it hits shelves.
- While not much is shown for GT Sport — it did just have a dedicated event the month before — Polyphony releases a pile of screenshots, and some direct-capture video.
- Two of the most user-requested features from Forzas past will make their return in Forza Horizon 3 this September: the Auction House and the Storefront.
- GT Academy 2016 is confirmed. Not only that, but it’ll be one of the few chances for gamers to experience GT Sport before its retail release.
- Kunos Simulazioni skips E3, but has arguably the biggest news of the sim racing community: it has secured Porsche DLC for Assetto Corsa.
- Toyota suffers a heart-breaking last-lap failure at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, handing the win to Porsche in the top class. Ford, amidst accusations of sand-bagging, wins its class with the GT LM, to celebrate 50 years since the original GT40 won.
- Kazunori Yamauchi details the “advanced matchmaking system” and “sportsmanship points” GT Sport will be built around. The features draw many (positive) comparisons with PC sim iRacing.
- Slightly Mad Studios teases its own Porsche relationship for Project CARS 2.
- GTPlanet heads to the Goodwood Festival of Speed — where GT Sport is playable — and takes it all in with Tom, the same man responsible for the commentating at Copper Box.
- “Jenkins”, the name given to the cat found in Gran Turismo 5’s Photo Travel, is finally given a proper backstory care of our exclusive story.
- “License Tests” could take on a whole new meaning in GT Sport, as Kazunori Yamauchi discusses the game’s FIA Digital Licensing program.
- Don’t expect any Gran Turismo spin-offs to complement the main series, a la the Forza franchise. Kazunori calls the idea “unthinkable”.
July
- Romain Dumas, seemingly unsatisfied with winning with Porsche at Le Mans, goes and wins the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb for good measure.
- GT Academy 2016 gets underway in Thailand and the Philippines.
- After leaving Nissan’s motorsports division, Darren Cox forms eSports+Cars, an all-digital racing team.
- Remember Aston Martin’s wild Vision Gran Turismo? That’ll look about as fast as a Cygnet in comparison to the AM-RB 001, the company’s ultimate road-car collaboration with Red Bull. The car is projected to lap Silverstone at the same pace as an LMP1 car!
- Forza Motorsport 6 focuses on the big and the small for this month’s “Turn 10 Select” car pack. The tiny BMW Isetta is featured, as well as a giant Mercedes race truck.
- The suitably-named “Red Pack” arrives for Assetto Corsa on PC. It features a selection of Italian cars — including two modern F1 racers — plus the Red Bull Ring.
- Our GT6 Track of the Week feature comes to a close, after 32 community-created tracks were given their chance to shine.
- We celebrate the 15th anniversary of the best-selling GT title of all-time: Gran Turismo 3. Yours truly even starts up a hot lap challenge.
- One of Kazunori Yamauchi’s teammates from the N24 race inadvertently confirms the team’s BMW M6 GT3 is coming to GT Sport.
- NASCAR Heat Evolution promises a return to form with original developer Monster Games back in the saddle. The game is set for a September release.
- Assetto Corsa’s console versions have gone gold: no more delays means it will land in players’ hands at the end of August.
- Driveclub VR is confirmed by Sony’s Japanese blog. And then, much like it was on the ESRB page, it’s removed.
August
- Kazunori Yamauchi drops a bombshell during GT Sport’s China tour: the game could (eventually) feature up to 500 cars. That’s quite a jump from the 140 it’s currently set to feature, wouldn’t you say?
- The partnership between Kunos and Porsche appears bigger than most expected: it will be spread across three packs, totalling 24 models across the company’s history.
- While on the same tour as mentioned above, Yamauchi states GT Sport is 70% complete. The release date is just over three months away.
- Forza Motorsport 6 receives its final car pack, as Horizon 3 is set to launch next month.
- One of the arguments that has raged on since GT Sport’s initial reveal can finally be put to rest: Yamauchi states it could very well have been called GT7. Of course, some still believe a “proper” GT7 will come after.
- Forza gets in on the eSports movement with the Forza Racing Championship. Season One takes place exclusively within Forza Motorsport 6, with a 2017 Ford Focus RS up for grabs for the winner, and thousands of dollars worth of prizes.
- Australian GT Academy events are announced.
- News that’s sure to warm the hearts of PS3 sim racers: Kazunori states the team is looking for ways to ensure older steering wheel compatibility with GT Sport.
- Gran Turismo 6 sales hit the 5 million mark, with franchise sales at 76.79 million total.
- Polyphony prepares a “Made From Reality” documentary for this month’s Gamescom event, detailing Yamauchi’s experiences at the N24 race. Yep, the M6 GT3 is in!
- Bryan Heitkotter takes back-to-back Pirelli World Challenge wins in Utah. Go Bryan go!
- Driveclub VR is (finally) made official. Paul Rustchynsky confirms the original team at Evolution Studios is responsible for the new version.
- Polyphony releases another batch of GT Sport images. Key here, beside the M6 GT3 confirmation, is the christening of the latest PD-designed rally course: Fishermans Ranch.
- F1 2016 launches, and is quickly hailed as the best game in the series.
- PS4 Slim is real!
- We ask the tough questions: should motorsports and eSports be in the Olympics?
- Forza Horizon 3 players can look forward to a lot of “Only Fools and Horses” homages, as Playground Games confirms the Reliant Supervan III three-wheeler is heading to Australia.
- The original Forza Horizon joins the XB1 Backwards Compatibility program, and is a free download for all Gold subscribers in September.
- Assetto Corsa launches on consoles (in Europe first, then in North America).
- After appearing in every game since the original, Volkswagen will be absent from the Forza franchise’s latest entry, Forza Horizon 3.
- GT3 is recognized by TIME Magazine as one of the 50 all-time best video games.
- In a surprise announcement on the PlayStation Blog, Kazunori Yamauchi announces Gran Turismo Sport has been delayed until 2017. No exact date, or even month, is given.
September
- In light of the news late last month, Sony begins cancelling digital GT Sport pre-orders.
- Aurélien Mohammedi-Mallet — better known as Laige — wins the inaugural ForzaRC, and the keys to a 2017 Ford Focus RS because of it. Shortly after the victory, he’s poached (as many top drivers seem to be) by eSports+Cars.
- It took months, but wheel support finally comes to Forza Motorsport 6: Apex on PC. Turn 10 promises compatibility in Horizon 3 from day one.
- The PlayStation Pro is confirmed at a dedicated event in NYC. Key stats: $399 (only $100 more than the just-redesigned “vanilla” PS4), and a November 10 release. Oddly, Sony does not include physical 4K-capable hardware.
- Project CARS partners with auto manufacturer Ginetta for a new eSports championship. Ginetta’s Creative Director sees the amount of influence sim racing has in the real world.
- We review Assetto Corsa. We find it a great simulation, but the appeal is limited. You better have a wheel!
- The “Road To Vegas” eSports event is announced, with a massive $1 million in prizes.
- We go Across The Horizon with Xbox Canada. The trip takes us up a mountain in British Columbia, around an oval in Saskatchewan, and off-roading in Northern Ontario.
- NASCAR Heat Evolution launches for PS4, XB1, and PC.
- For the first time since the delay news, GT Sport has another racing event, this time in its homeland during the Tokyo Game Show.
- The Grand Tour, the new Amazon-exclusive show by the former Top Gear hosts, gets its first teaser trailer.
- GT Academy Team RJN clings onto a podium finish in the Blancpain finals.
- Forza Horizon 3 launches, on XB1 and PC. Ultimate Edition owners gain access a weekend before the rest of the players.
- We launch our own Instagram account!
- We review Forza Horizon 3. “A big breath of fresh air”, it’s the arcade complement to the numerous serious sim racers also released this year.
- Not wanting to limit ourselves to just software, we review Fanatec’s CSL Elite line. It’s a quality mid-range item for XB1 and PC, and we still miss it.
October
- Forza Horizon 3 gets its first monthly car pack. The Aston Martin Vulcan may be the supercar headliner, but the Ford Crown Vic Police Interceptor proves very popular online.
- Our man Brendan goes hands-on with PSVR. While he has reservations, he calls it a “fine entry-level starting point”.
- Barcelona Game World holds a rather unique GT Sport contest: the winner wins a copy of the game. When they’ll be able to collect is anybody’s guess…
- The Japanese Car Pack comes to Assetto Corsa’s console versions. Players can now enjoy the Mazda, Toyota, and Nissan additions.
- WRC 6 releases for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.
- GT Sport news has been incredibly quiet on the VR front all year, so our attention is thoroughly grabbed when Polyphony’s racer (not Driveclub) is featured in a PSVR ad.
- Simbin Studios rises from the ashes! The good news is that the focus will be on multi-platform racing titles, not PC exclusives.
- Driveclub VR launches alongside the Sony headset. It also appears in a new ad.
- Word out of Sony South Africa has GT Sport pegged for an unusual January 2017 release date. This is looking pretty unlikely now.
- We haven’t seen much on Fishermans Ranch since it was first given a name in August, so this off-screen footage provides a better idea of the large track’s layout.
- Sounds have long been a weak point of the GT series. Some more off-screen footage appears, but with direct-audio capture this time, showing off a remarkably realistic-sounding Mercedes-AMG.
- Another developer closes its doors: United Front Games, best known for ModNation Racers, says goodbye.
- After a short delay, the first Porsche pack for Assetto Corsa arrives (at least, on PC).
- Project CARS hits a sales milestone of its own, with 2 million copies sold.
- Johnny Guindi Hamui is crowned the 2016 GT Academy champion after a week-long race camp in the United Kingdom.
- A year review within a year review: we look back at the time since GT Sport’s initial unveiling at the end of October 2015. Surely, Xzibit would approve.
- You can’t argue with “free”: Project CARS launches a cut-down Pagani Edition for free on PC, including Horacio’s models and even VR.
- Remember that Thrustmaster direct-drive wheel from the Copper Box? Kazunori heads to Brazil for an interview with Senna TV, and shows it off in action.
- As a final goodbye, the original Driveclub receives 30 new tracks for free, all coming from the VR version of the game.
November
- Snow is set to arrive for the first time in the Forza franchise as Playground Games teases what will be known as Blizzard Mountain Expansion for Forza Horizon 3.
- Kazunori Yamauchi surfaces in a dedicated PS4 Pro event in London. He announces GT Sport will support 4K resolution as well as HDR on Sony’s pumped-up system. We’re given our first (brief, off-screen) look at it in action shortly after, including VR.
- After originally calling the idea of getting outside help “unthinkable” earlier in the year, Kazunori Yamauchi admits that it has at least been considered, though “it is difficult”.
- GT Sport’s VR capabilities will be limited to a dedicated “VR Tour Mode”. What this means in terms of limitations has not been expanded on.
- The team at Polyphony is embracing HDR. Not only does it involve creating a dedicated camera to better capture all the information needed, it means car colours will be more accurate than they ever have been before.
- A deeply desirable 1951 Ford Coupe wins the 2016 Gran Turismo Award at SEMA.
- aTTaX Johnson — one of the fastest Forza players in the world — wins the WRC 5 eSports championship. His prize? A Hyundai i20. Not quite a Focus RS, but it’s still a free set of wheels!
- PS4 Pro launches worldwide, with numerous PS4 games receiving Pro-enabling patches.
- Jordan gets to try Fishermans Ranch at SEMA. He finds it a lot of fun, and watching his video, we have to agree.
- F1 2016 goes mobile for iOS devices. Featuring the entire lineup of teams and tracks, it’s a surprisingly good-looking port. How far mobile gaming has come…
- The original Xbox celebrates its 15th birthday. The original giant-X design is quite possibly the most 90’s thing you’ll see all year.
- Sega’s bringing back a racing classic. Say it with us now: DAAYYYYYTONA.
- Remember how many people scoffed when Sony said the PlayStation 3 would have a 10 year lifecycle? Well, it hit the decade mark, still with plenty of life left.
- Jezza, Captain Slow, and Hamster return with The Grand Tour. The first episode reels in record numbers for Amazon.
- Assetto Corsa’s Porsche Pack Volume 2 lands on PC. Volume 1 finally shows up on PS4 a few days later, while XB1 players wait until December.
- Porsches are once again spotted in Forza Horizon 3, but there’s no official word on when (or even if) they’ll arrive.
- Super GT cars have been a staple of the GT series since it began. While we haven’t seen one in bit of GT Sport media, Polyphony was spotted recording the Lexus RC F that contests the top GT500 class.
December
- Microsoft gets in on the VR market with its own headset.
- The silence has been broken, as GT Sport arrives at the 2016 PlayStation Experience with its first 4K-resolution trailer. Polyphony’s website is updated to show off the various times of day available on the game’s circuits, while we nab some exclusive direct-capture footage, showing off nearly all the tracks currently known in the game.
- More than a few new cars are shown at PSX. We sift through the reveals to bring you our own personal top five most exciting ones.
- Sony brought Acura’s new GT3-class NSX racer to the GT Sport exhibit. A sign of things to come? We hope so.
- Another three-wheeler arrives in Forza Horizon 3 in the shape of Morgan’s, er, 3-Wheeler. It’s joined by a new AMG sports car, a Bentley concept, a rare Aussie extrovert, a classic muscle car, and a Jaguar crossover.
- Forza Horizon 3 wins the Sports/Racing Game of the Year title at the 2016 Game Awards.
- Jann Mardenborough wins the prestigious Richard Seaman trophy at the British Racing Drivers’ Club awards. Congrats, Jann!
- Undoubtedly helped by a strong Black Friday run, PlayStation 4 sales figures crest the 50 million mark.
- The finalist for the $1 million “Road to Vegas” event are locked in. The event, which utilizes rFactor 2, kicks off the new year next weekend.
- News on Project CARS 2 begins to trickle out. Creative Director Andy Tudor tells eSports+Cars the game will feature eSports right out of the box.
- Christmas comes early for sim racers the globe over with possibly the biggest news for the genre: Porsche and EA’s exclusivity deal has finally come to an end. Huzzah!
- Laige defends his title in the second ForzaRC grand finals. No Focus this time, though!
- Winter cometh: Australia gets a blanket of snow as FH3’s Blizzard Mountain expansion goes live. It brings eight new cars alongside a whole new map.
- It was a little late, but we celebrated our own anniversary this year: GTPlanet turned 15! There are some seriously big plans for the new year, starting with a site redesign next month.
- GTPlanet T-shirts, you say?
- While not as big as the news of the EA deal ending, Porsche’s interest in a dedicated eSports team is certainly interesting.
- Test Drive Unlimited is coming back, care of BigBen Interactive.
- Assetto Corsa’s Red Pack and second Porsche Volume are scheduled for “early January” console releases.
- Kunos Simulazioni’s sim racer picks up Racing Game of the Year via Red Bull’s Readers’ awards. Kudos to Kunos.
- The third and final (for now?) Porsche Pack arrives on PC for Assetto Corsa.
- We get our first mention of Forza Motorsport 7 — expected to arrive as a Scorpio launch title in autumn 2017 — care of Fanatec. It sounds like good news for wheel users.
- The BMW i8 is set to make its console racing game debut with FH3. Turn 10 teases the car before the January car pack launches early in the new year.
- We have our own awards! This year, we even included some new gaming categories. You can check out the full list of recipients here.
- After Kazunori Yamauchi initially stated open-wheel cars won’t feature in GT Sport, our community finds hints of one buried in an official screenshot. But what could it be?
- Sparco, famed automotive accessory manufacturer, announces plans to join the sim racing landscape with a variety of options in 2017.
Still with us? Good, because we’ve still got big news. Not only is 2017 set to be a big year for GTPlanet itself — as mentioned above, the site will be receiving a massive redesign next month — but it’s looking to be a great year for sim racing.
Obviously, there’s GT Sport. Polyphony’s sim racer could very well be the driving game that brings the genre into the eSports limelight. We can’t wait to see what it brings to the community.
There’s also the continued growth of Assetto Corsa. There’s the likely chance of Project CARS 2 arriving before the year closes out. Forza Motorsport 7 could be massive in terms of car and track count, with improved wheel compatibility and the sheer horsepower of Scorpio behind it.
Oh yeah, and all of these titles could (or already do, in the case of AC) feature Porsche. As we began 2016, who would’ve expected that in only 12 months’ time?!
Strap in and hold on: 2017 could be the best year yet for our favourite genre.
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