The WEC is the highest level of endurance racing and the 24 Hours of Le Mans is its premier event. It's surprising, then, that we haven't seen an official WEC game in a long time.
That's changed this year, though, as Le Mans Ultimate - the first WEC game in over 20 years - is now available in Early Access.
From the cars and tracks to the release date and platforms, here's everything we know so far about Le Mans Ultimate.
Latest news - Free update adds BMW Hypercar, 2024 content plans confirmed
Studio 397 is focusing on 2024 content updates for Le Mans Ultimate. This started on June 10 with a free update adding the BMW M Hybrid and 2024 liveries for the existing Hypercars.
After this, there are more 2024 cars and tracks that will be added in four paid DLC packs. The first of these is Tifosi Italia, which includes Imola as well as two new cars.
Details about the game's Season Pass have also been confirmed. You can get a first look at Le Mans Ultimate's new 2024 content in the trailer below:
Le Mans Ultimate Early Access Review
After months of anticipation, Le Mans Ultimate has raced into Early Access. Find out if the official WEC game lives up to the hype in our Le Mans Ultimate review.
To celebrate the launch, Studio 397 has released a rousing trailer, which you can watch below:
Le Mans Ultimate guides
Struggling to get to grips with Le Mans Ultimate? We've compiled a series of guides to help you out:
- If you want a change of view while racing, check out our how to change camera view guide.
- Want the best wheel settings for Le Mans Ultimate? Check out this guide.
- If you want to enable a radar to avoid collisions, use this guide to prevent that last-lap crash.
- We also have a how to change control scheme guide to help you perfect your setup.
- If the FOV is too disorientating for you, we have a guide on how to change the FOV.
- For the true sim racing experience, check out this guide for how to play Le Mans Ultimate in VR.
- Finally, if you want to change the session length for practice, qualifying, or the race itself, we have guides for all three!
Le Mans Ultimate - Official WEC game announced
Motorsport Games first announced it was working on a new Le Mans game back in 2021. Since then, news on the official WEC game went quiet - until now.
In June 2023, Motorsport Games announced Le Mans Ultimate as the official 2023 WEC game. As such, Le Mans Ultimate will include all drivers, teams and tracks from the 2023 World Endurance Championship.
Development is being handled by Studio 397, the developer of rFactor 2. The new Le Mans game will also feature "cutting-edge physics" from rFactor 2 for an authentic driving experience.
Trailer
After only showing the game off in screenshots, the first Le Mans Ultimate teaser trailer has dropped showing in-game footage. Running on rFactor 2's engine, the trailer showcases the Toyota GR010, Ferrari 488 GTE, Peugeot 9X8, and Porsche 963 Le Mans Hypercars battling it out.
Gameplay
Studio 397 has finally revealed the first glimpse of gameplay of Le Mans Ultimate. This gameplay clip shows the Cadillac V-Series.R thundering around the track. We also get a look at Sebring, with multiple classes racing each other around in the Floridian sun.
This set of gameplay clips also shows off the Glickenhaus SCG 007 LMH Hypercar that will be featured in Le Mans Ultimate.
The new FAQ has established that controller support will be in the game for those without racing wheels. Menu navigation will only be possible via mouse and keyboard, however, so players will still need to be within reach of their desks.
Mod support has also been announced as not being in the game, so players will not be able to import their own cars and tracks into Le Mans Ultimate.
Cars and drivers
2021 saw the introduction of the new top Hypercar class in the WEC. For the first time in a racing game, you'll be tearing up the track in Le Mans Hypercar (LMH) and Le Mans Daytona class cars from Toyota, Ferrari, Porsche, Cadillac, Peugeot, Glickenhaus and Vanwall.
Joining these are 2023 WEC season GTE cars from brands such as Aston Martin, Corvette, Ferrari and Porsche as well as LMP2 class cars.
Former champions such as Michael Christensen, Brendon Hartley, Sebastian Buemi and Andre Lotterer will make up the driver lineup.
Cars shown off in Le Mans Ultimate include the Ferrari 488 GTE Evo, Oreca 07 Gibson, Peugeot 9X8, Porsche 963 LMDh, and Toyota GR010.
What's unique about WEC races is that each event has several classes. With Hypercars, LMP2 and LMGTE cars all on the same circuit, the challenge of navigating slower competitors is huge.
"We are working with the major OEM’s who have provided us with an exhaustive level of data to replicate the cars, not just that, we have direct feedback from engineers and teams to nail the feeling of the cars, Dom Duhan, Head of Studio 397, said in a developer blog.
Although Le Mans Ultimate runs on the same engine as rFactor 2, Studio 397 promises the cars will sport greater levels of fidelity, with dirt gradually building on the body and windows.
“We are doing things that haven’t been seen on other sims concerning cars,” said Studio 397’s Mirza Rustemovic. “One thing is that we recognise these cars – none of them are painted as they are carbon fiber and Kevlar with wraps/livery on top. We are adding that weave under the paint so it has the same texture, look and feel.”
At launch, Le Mans Ultimate will feature 12 cars across three classes with over 100 liveries. You can check out the full car list here.
Tracks
As well as cars and drivers, Le Mans Ultimate will include all tracks from the 2023 season. This means there will be seven circuits, all of which are familiar to racing gamers.
Here is the full Le Mans Ultimate track list:
- Sebring (USA)
- Portimao (Portugal)
- Spa (Belgium)
- Le Mans (France)
- Monza (Italy)
- Fuji (Japan)
- Sakhir (Bahrain)
These seven events take place across three continents. Each one is at least 1000 km or six hours long, with the 24 Hours of Le Mans being the most prestigious.
Le Mans is arguably bigger than the series itself and celebrates its 100th anniversary this year. This is the reason why Motorsport Games are aiming to replicate WEC and Le Mans in their own game in 2023.
Some tracks will carry over from rFactor 2 and updated for Le Mans Ultimate, while Portimao and Fuji are being built from scratch with laser scanning technology.
Online multiplayer
Online multiplayer will be powered by Motorsport Games’ new RaceControl online platform for an “interactive multiplayer experience.” This will provide both competitive and casual races and the ability to host private sessions.
Thanks to a co-op asynchronous race mode, players can compete in online endurance races at scheduled times that suit each player in different time zones. However, co-op multiplayer won't be ready for the Early Access launch.
Since 2020, rFactor 2 has hosted the Virtual Le Mans esports series.
This event was massive by anybody's standards with unheard viewing figures for an esports meeting. After this year's disastrous event was branded as a "clown show" by Max Verstappen, Le Mans Ultimate will serve as Le Mans Virtual Series platform in the future.
Platforms: Will Le Mans Ultimate come to consoles?
Le Mans Ultimate will initially be PC-only. This isn't surprising as rFactor 2 is also a PC-only racing simulation.
However, Motorsport Games isn't ruling out a future Le Mans Ultimate console release. The publisher is currently evaluating the right time to release Le Mans Ultimate on PS5 and Xbox consoles, adding that the “performance of current generation machines makes this a real possibility.”
We're not expecting Le Mans Ultimate to come to consoles until 2024 at the earliest, however.
Le Mans Ultimate's PC sales may decide its fate on consoles: "Our focus is the PC at this stage, we know that PC’s have been traditionally the only platform that can run our physics engine to a great degree, however, the latest generation consoles can also now do it," Dom Duhan, Head of Studio 397, said in a developer blog.
"We have had many comments about delivering on console and it could be an option at some stage depending on how well the game does."
VR
Despite running on the same engine as rFactor 2, Le Mans Ultimate won't support VR at launch. This will be disappointing for fans who were hoping to experience an extra layer of immersion.
While you won't be able to play Le Mans Ultimate with a virtual reality headset at launch, it may get VR support in the final release after it leaves Early Access, but Studio 397 has yet to confirm this.
Release date
Originally set for a December 2023 release, Le Mans Ultimate will launch on February 20 2024. This has now been confirmed as the date that Le Man Ultimate will be entering Early Access on PC.
Studio 397 is yet to state how long Le Mans Ultimate will be in Early Access. Players will be able to provide feedback during their experience playing, with all data gained used to improve the overall game.
Instead of annual releases, Studio 397 plans to "continually evolve" Le Mans Ultimate, with content updates planned for the second half of 2024. Motorsport Games says it wants the official WEC game to have a “lifespan longer than a yearly released game.”
The full release date of the game is set as June 10 2024.
You can wishlist Le Mans Ultimate on Steam here.
Have you tried Le Mans Ultimate yet? Let us know in the comments below!
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