It's been radio silence from Codemasters about the new game, but a recent F1 23 leak suggests some big changes could be coming to the Formula 1 franchise this year.
While entirely unconfirmed, the leak suggests a major change to the R&D system in career mode & My Team is coming. This would be huge for players, who have had the same system for a few years now with only minor tweaks.
So what exactly is on the way for F1 23? Well, let's take a look at the report and see if we should trust it or not.
New upgrade system coming?
The last change we had to players making car upgrades was in F1 2021. The previous R&D tree with a 'fog of war' covering the future upgrades was replaced by a more opaque structure where choosing one upgrade might open up others, but you never really knew which would do that.
However, R&D points were still accrued in the same way. Weekly practice programs giving you the bulk of your points, with race performance against rivals then topping it up. This could well be changing if the leak is to be believed.
The leak comes from Insider Gaming's Mike Straw, who is usually a reliable source of information on games. Insider Gaming also has a good track record when it comes to Codemasters and F1 titles, so we should probably see this leak as true.
In the report, Straw says that "Coming to the game this year is a new car upgrade system that sees players earn parts to change their vehicle's attributes."
"These upgrades, Insider Gaming sources say, can be earned through challenges and by winning races and meeting win conditions. Car performance in this mode will be labeled as 'Tech Points'."
This could mean a big change, it could mean a small one. The idea of earning based on race results rather than practice programs is great, so long as the targets are realistic. Getting out of Q1 as a Williams or into Q3 with Alfa Romeo are lofty but attainable goals. Getting a podium just isn't going to happen.
There needs to be a careful balance between being too slow and too quick to give you these Tech Points. We all want a meaningful journey to winning championships, but make it take seven seasons and many players will simply never get there.
"As you play, there will be strategists and sponsors that you contract out in order to benefit your team. As you race and complete challenges, you’ll earn money, tech points, and expertise. If you happen to get parts you don’t want to use, you can salvage them for extra money or expertise."
The addition of emphasis on sponsor goals is a good next step, especially for My Team where sponsors are so crucial. The idea of outright earning parts that may be useless is a worry. It has an eery echo of Gran Turismo 7's roulette tickets which often provide useless rewards.
What else is coming?
Elsewhere, the leak talks about F1 World. This isn't a shock, as a next-step from F1 Life was expected. Apparently F1 World "encompasses all online aspects of the game.".
This wouldn't be surprising, as F1 Life was originally pitched as a hub for multiplayer and online social play but it never really materialised. The controversial supercars remain in the game, but the leak says it doesn't look like any additional ones will be added.
The leak also says that Braking Point will be returning. Again this isn't a shock, as the story mode has been an odd-year inclusion since it was first introduced in F1 2019.
There is also mention of a new license system that rewards clean driving and racing with fewer assists. This would be nice, but given the in-race penalty system can punish clean driving in many instances it may not be as big a leap forward as players want.