How F1 24’s New Fanzone Mode was Influenced by FIFA Games

One of F1 24’s most talked-about new features is the revamped career mode. For the first time, players can step into the shoes of their favorite F1 drivers, with improved likenesses and real voice audio clips enhancing the immersion.

While career mode has been Codemasters’ primary focus in response to fan requests, F1 World will also see some changes. Introduced in F1 23, F1 World combines Time Trials, Grand Prix, and online multiplayer into a central hub with unique weekly and daily challenges inspired by events in the real-life championship.

F1 24 will introduce Fanzone, a new mode in F1 World that rewards players who are loyal to a particular team or driver while connecting them with other like-minded fans.

For the fans

As you enter Fanzone in F1 World, you’ll be asked to enter your favorite driver and team. You’ll then be put into a Fanzone space with other players supporting that driver and team working towards a shared goal.

“The thinking behind Fanzone was that the drivers are now such big celebrities. They transcend the world of Formula 1,” senior creative director Lee Mather explained to RacingGames.

“People have favorite drivers and have always supported them. But they have become bigger celebrities than ever before. People are really getting behind a team – you’ll see more people wearing teamwear than ever before. We wanted to let players come together in the game and showcase who they support.

"You might see someone at a racetrack wearing a Lewis Hamilton hat, and someone else is wearing a Lewis Hamilton t-shirt. We wanted to get that across in the game.” 

Everything you do in any F1 World mode earns you Fan Points as you climb the leaderboards and compete with other Fanzone teams on the leaderboards, with rewards for predicting results from the real-life F1 season.

“I could be in a Charles Leclerc Fanzone and we’re doing well in the leaderboards. We want to do better, so I’ll play more in F1 World to try and boost our points and get our Fanzone to the top. If I do, you’ll see next to my name in any of the leaderboards that I not only support Charles Leclerc, but we were part of the winning Fanzone in the previous season and I get a gold expression next to my name.”

“It’s a love letter to the teams and drivers to let players show who they support. It also brings in some collaborative play as you feel like you want to support your group and get yourself up there.”

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Balancing the competition

A balanced points system in Fanzone Championships means that the less popular teams still have a chance to win. Feedback from the favorite team system in past FIFA games, now known as EA FC, helped Codemasters balance the teams. 

“We have regular conversations with the other sports titles. They gave us some interesting insight into how FIFA’s implementation went, the pitfalls they had, and what they learned, so we were able to work out ways to balance it out,” said Mather.

“We’ve always said this isn’t a popularity contest. It’s not the driver with the most fans that wins, it’s the driver with the most effective fans in the game that will win. That was something that they learned - the balancing between skilled players picking weaker teams was quite interesting. There was some interest around that in the FIFA games, so we’ve implemented similar systems.”

What do you think of F1 24’s new Fanzone mode? Let us know in the comments below.

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