After years of waiting for a sequel and months of silence, Assetto Corsa Evo finally has a release date.
Thanks to its realistic driving physics and accurately laser-scanned tracks, Assetto Corsa is regarded as one of the best sim racing games on console and PC even more than a decade after its initial release.
Technology has evolved rapidly since Assetto Corsa came out, and so the sequel to the acclaimed racing simulation is highly anticipated.
Latest news - Assetto Corsa Evo Has a Launch Date
While the Steam page for Assetto Corsa Evo went live in July, there was no firm date for release. Well, now there is.
After much speculation and some promises of a late 2024 release, Assetto Corsa Evo will enter early access on January 16 2025.
Early access isn't quite a full release. Kunos has not yet confirmed what will be available on the January 16 date, but we would be surprised if it was only a handful of cars and tracks. It does mean the game will evolve over time, perhaps taking another year before it is fully formed.
The Steam page also confirms the game will have VR support. This will add to the true immersion Assetto Corsa Evo promises to deliver.
New engine
Although Assetto Corsa Evo now has a release date, very little is known about the game. However, unlike Assetto Corsa Competizione, which focuses on GT racing cars, the car roster to feature a mix of road cars and thoroughbred racecars like the original game.
While some fans were hoping Assetto Corsa Evo would utilize Unreal Engine 5, Kunos SImulazioni has confirmed the sequel will instead run on a new in-house engine like the original.
This will lead to incredible graphics and even more lifelike physics within the title. This is in contrast to Assetto Corsa Competizione, which runs on Unreal Engine 4.
Will Assetto Corsa Evo come to consoles?
Assetto Corsa Evo's January 2025 release is for PC only. This isn't a surprise, as the original AC and Competizione were PC-only titles at first as well.
Assetto Corsa and Assetto Corsa Competizione received console ports in time. Assetto Corsa Evo will follow this pattern, with a Digital Bros financial report confirming a console port is planned in the "long term". However, this may be a few years away still.
When Assetto Corsa Evo eventually arrives on consoles, Gran Turismo and Forza Motorsport will have a new challenger. Since Kunos is a smaller team, we're expecting Assetto Corsa Evo to have fewer cars and tracks than Gran Turismo and Forza Motorsport, but its best-in-class driving physics should make up for this.
Car list
Assetto Corsa Evo's car list has yet to be confirmed. As it's the official GT World Challenge game, Assetto Corsa Competizione's car roster focuses exclusively on GT cars. We're expecting Assetto Corsa Evo to feature more vehicle variety with a mix of road models and racecars.
The first screenshots shown on the game's Steam page do confirm that Alfa Romero, Honda, Porsche, and Lamborghini will all have cars available to drive when the game launches.
Track list
Assetto Corsa Evo's track list is unconfirmed, but tracks from the original game will likely carry over such as Monza, Imola, Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Zandvoort, Spa, Brands Hatch, Silverstone, Laguna Seca and the Nurburgring.
The first look at the game's Steam page confirms both Imola and the Nordschleife will be present from launch. Both tracks look stunning, with the Imola images also showing off the different weather conditions in the game.
Like the original and Assetto Corsa Competizione, every track will be meticulously laser-scanned.
Will Assetto Corsa Evo have mod support?
Since it launched in 2013, an active modding community has kept Assetto Corsa alive. Over the years, talented modders have added an assortment of new cars and environments, from mountain passes cities to Mario Kart's Rainbow Road.
At the time of writing, Kunos hasn't confirmed if Assetto Corsa Evo will have modding support. However, since the sequel utilizes an in-house engine and isn't restricted to a single racing discipline like Competizione, it most likely will.
VR support
VR adds a new level of immersion to racing games. Thankfully, Kunos Simulazioni has confirmed that Assetto Corsa Evo will support VR from launch for players who have a powerful enough PC.
"Let’s say that…The VR fans [can be] rest assured,” Kunos Simulazioni founder Marco Massarutto told Italian magazine Multiplayer.it, confirming that Assetto Corsa Evo will have VR support from "day zero."