Temperature's Rising as Assetto Corsa Evo Is Set to Debut Soon

I spend so much time with the latter because I have a VR kit for it. Otherwise, it would be the other way around. I'll never forget the first day I played Assetto Corsa. Thanks to this game, I made three lifelong friends. Sadly, one of them passed away last year. Another deals with high-end supercars, while the third is my regular go-to option for chase-car duty whenever I'm testing a new car.

Kunos Simulazioni made a game that filled a void in my life and that of many other people. With insufficient funds for racing in the real world, Assetto Corsa provided an addictive and rewarding environment to practice with any car on any track. We're talking about a game that has been around for 10 years and is still huge in the sim racing community.

The starting point was good, that's for sure. But we also have to thank all the modders who put in so many hours to replicate almost every vehicle you can think of. The same applies to the seemingly infinite list of racetracks or real-world roads you can tackle in the game. Earlier this year, I played a bit of Assetto Corsa Competizione, and it was great fun, but using a small laptop screen is killing me here.

Many years ago, I had my first VR experience in Assetto Corsa, and I'm sure it's the only way forward for a genuine connection with the game. And the latest title in the franchise (Evo) is now closer than ever. The trailer we saw didn't reveal anything about it, but the producer just released 28 screenshots from the game to hype things up.

It comes as no surprise that the Nurburgring Nordschleife is one of the "leaked" tracks. And I'm happy to see Imola in the shots, too. Most people expect to see some real-world locations in the game and, ideally, even an open-world setup for more freedom. If Kunos doesn't provide that, we can at least hope the platform will support modders and their work for continuous expansion.

And that's, of course, valid for the line-up of cars, too. The first few shots reveal a high level of detail which should make the racing experience much more immersive. But that may also mean you'll need a computer upgrade to enjoy the new world. You can spot cars like the Alfa Romeo Giulia GTAm, the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (992), and the Mercedes-Benz 190E Evo II.

While I think the driving dynamics will be on point, I'm eager to see how the developer handled the audio side. Assetto Corsa was already pretty good, but there's always room for improvement. The exact release date isn't unclear, but I hope to review the game as soon as it goes live and tell you all about it.