As much as we love realistic racing games like Gran Turismo 7, we miss arcade racers. Indie developers have helped revive this lost sub-genre of racing with retro-inspired games like Slipstream, Hotshot Racing, and Horizon Chase Turbo.
Aside from Need for Speed, there’s been a disappointing lack of big-budget arcade racers like Burnout, Blur, and Ridge Racer over the last few years. There is a new hope, however.
Stellar Entertainment, the developer behind Burnout Paradise Remastered and Need for Speed Hot Pursuit Remastered, is cooking up a new AAA arcade racer.
Stellar Entertainment working on AAA arcade racer
Stellar Entertainment is advertising roles for a Senior Technical Artist, Technical Artist, and Lighting Artist to work on an “unannounced AAA arcade racing game.”
According to job listings, the project is “pushing the boundaries of arcade racing games for a truly AAA experience.” Moreover, the studio’s shiny new arcade racer will run on Unreal Engine 5.
Unfortunately, the job listings provide no further details about Stellar Entertainment’s mystery arcade racer. But a studio working on a big-budget arcade racer powered by Unreal Engine 5 is an exciting prospect.
A new Burnout game?
Given the studio’s experience with remasters, fans are speculating that Stellar’s unannounced arcade racer is a remaster of Criterion Games’ Need for Speed Most Wanted.
This makes sense as it would coincide with the game’s tenth anniversary. Burnout Paradise Remastered and Need for Speed Hot Pursuit Remastered also celebrated those game’s tenth anniversaries.
It's also sparked speculation that Stellar is remaking an old Burnout game like Burnout 3 and Burnout Revenge.
However, a Lighting Artist job advert describes the project as a “new unannounced IP,” ruling out the possibility of a new Burnout game. It could still be inspired by Burnout, however.
Dangerous Driving 2
Another possibility is that Stellar could be involved with Dangerous Driving 2, a spiritual successor to Burnout Paradise in development by Three Fields Entertainment headed by former Burnout developers Alex Ward and Fiona Sperry. Whereas the first DD game was heavily inspired by Burnout 3, the sequel will feature an open world like Burnout Paradise.
Dangerous Driving 2 was announced at the start of 2020 and slated for a release later the same year before it was delayed. After a lengthy silence, Sperry recently confirmed in an interview with UkieTV that the team is still working on a new driving game, this time with a publisher.
In the interview, Sperry said the new driving game “started as a sequel” for Dangerous Driving 2 but the vision has “changed significantly” since lockdown, possibly indicating a new IP.
Are Three Fields and Stellar joining forces to make a new AAA arcade racer in the vein of Burnout? We certainly hope so. Let's hope we don't have to wait long to find out more about Stellar's new AAA arcade racer.