GTR Revival has taken a big step closer to release, with the announcement that developer Straight4 Studios has signed a publishing agreement with Plaion.
The title is a follow-up to 2006’s GTR2, with much of the core team behind that title working on development of the new game. That of course includes studio head Ian Bell, released from Slightly Mad Studios in 2021 following EA’s buyout of parent company Codemasters.
SMS itself was subsequently shuttered by EA, ending the Project CARS series but allowing Bell to pick up many of his old colleagues to work on his new venture, S4S.
For those not keeping up with industry name changes, Plaion is the recent rebranding of the Koch Media group. Among Plaion’s many subsidiaries is Milestone, developer of the MotoGP, Ride, and SBK racing game series, as well as Hot Wheels Unleashed.
In turn, Plaion is a subsidiary of the Embracer Group, formerly known as THQ Nordic. That means the upcoming GTR Revival title — which may yet prove to be a placeholder name — is now under the same publishing umbrella as Wreckfest and the in-development Wreckreation title.
Plaion won’t be taking a stake in S4S, with the deal — described as a “strategic partnership” — relating only to development and publication of a “yet to be announced sim racing title”. While not confirmed as GTR Revival, this is Straight4’s only known project, and the title is described as “a spiritual return to the glory days of sim racing’s past while featuring a new, bespoke physics engine and cutting-edge graphics”.
However the release confirms that the game will launch on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox, with no room for eighth-gen consoles. There’s no launch date yet, but we wouldn’t be expecting it until 2024 at the earliest.
See more articles on GTR Revival.
