It's no exaggeration to say that 2021 has gotten off to a rough start for racing video games. Gran Turismo 7 has been pushed back into 2022 and EA has made the decision to delay the expected Need for Speed 2021 release too.
Some developers haven't had these issues, though. Despite setbacks being commonplace for most companies, Milestone isn't one of them.
The Italian company has been churning out games even more regularly than usual, but how has this been possible?
Consistently excellent
When it comes to motorcycle games, there aren't any that do it better than Milestone.
MotoGP 20 was released in April of last year but this was when restrictions had only just come into effect, so it won't have affected this title much.
The real tests came with Ride 4 and MXGP 2020 later that year. Both had a significant amount of their development cycles during lockdown measures.
Those games also coincided with the release of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, so would presumably make their way onto them at some point.
This would've meant that Milestone's staff were working from home and having to create two video games, which is no mean feat.
Anybody that has worked from home during this period knows how frustrating it can be when you're not in the same building as your colleagues.
Milestone managed it seamlessly though, as both titles came out on time and were later upgraded to next-gen.
When you consider that giants like EA and Sony are delaying titles, Milestone's efforts are admirable.
Milestone have around 200 employees and are still consistently creating brilliant content and on-time.
Upcoming releases
Later this month, Monster Energy Supercross: The Official Videogame 4 will be released, but Milestone aren't stopping there. After rumours it might've been delayed to the Summer, MotoGP 21 will be released in April.
This is extremely impressive when you think about the effort that it would've taken to upgrade the game to next-gen and add new features such as Managerial career.
Finally, in September, Hot Wheels Unleashed will hit shelves. This will mark Milestone's first four-wheeled game since 2018's Gravel.
Whereas there's some doubt around upcoming games like Forza Motorsport, Milestone's releases look to be set in stone. They've consistently delivered in the toughest circumstances and kept racing gamers entertained throughout.
Milestone aren't just surviving; they're thriving and expanding their library beyond what we thought possible a year ago.
Trailers
If you want to check out the announcement trailers for MotoGP 21 and Hot Wheels Unleashed, we've linked them for you below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4N9zmT3uJk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSM7xUCum_c
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