rFactor 2 is coming to Steam, Stock Cars out this weekend

[Alex Franchini]

Image Space Incorporated have just announced that their PC simulator rFactor 2 will be coming to Steam in the near future.

The team's flagship racing sim will be joining rFactor 1 on Valve's popular digital store soon, even though there's no further details or a release date for now.

ISI is putting rFactor 2 on Steam to make the game more accessible to an ever-growing user base. A launch trailer has been created for the purpose, and it contains a sneak peek of the much anticipated Stock Cars, which will please the oval racing crowd on RaceDepartment. Get ready to make lots of turns soon!

The Stock Cars are going to be available this weekend! For our early impressions on the Stock Cars, check out our review of rFactor 2.

Are you going to switch your rFactor 2 copy to Steam? Let us know in the comments!

 

[William Wester]

Hmm, they're keeping the online-subscription thing, and not offering upgrades to "Lifetime" on Steam from an 'Offline' copy...

Not sure if I like that, why put MP behind a paywall ?, it's not even a full-on 'service' like Xbox Live or PS+, or what iRacing does either. What if I want to get it during a Steam sale, try things out off-line when I have time, and then down the road go-online for a league or something ?

I don't see the problem, I don't have to pay for online multiplayer unless I'm sure I want to. I can start with offline then add a 1 year subscription when I'm ready for online. rFactor 2 always had an extra fee for online multiplayer, the extra fees help cover the costs of their online services.

 

[Will Mazeo]

I'm pretty sure we had people joining our leagues (and now race online in other forums) after trying one or two races because we invited them (not rF2). With this sytem you keep people away, it's a terrible idea. A DLC model would make much more sense.

 

[Tobbe Bergman]

So am I understanding this right

When rF2 goes Steam I cant buy the lifetime thingy ?

 

[Kurei]

I don't see the problem, I don't have to pay for online multiplayer unless I'm sure I want to. I can start with offline then add a 1 year subscription when I'm ready for online. rFactor 2 always had an extra fee for online multiplayer, the extra fees help cover the costs of their online services.

My personal issue, is that their decision essentially locks you into either:
A.) having to re-up a re-occurring subscription.
B.) pay for the Lifetime right off the bat without 'testing the water' or anything, or
C.) not enjoy MP at all.

I don't have to pay for MP in SCE or R3E, so why do I have to do so for rF2 ?, it's literally just paying extra for access to a feature other sims offer for free, while (to my limited experience, admittedly) not being something so 'far above' the others to warrant it.

If it put iRacing to shame or something, then yeah there's worth there, but as it stands now, there isn't.

Plus if I wanted to do online stuff here at RD, I'd have to pay for the online, AND THEN pay for RD Premium as well... like... Where does it end ?

 

[Will Mazeo]

So am I understanding this right

When rF2 goes Steam I cant buy the lifetime thingy ?

You can. You just can't upgrade the "non lifetime" one

 

[Tobbe Bergman]

You can. You just can't upgrade the "non lifetime" one

Thanks

 

[Tobbe Bergman]

B.) pay for the Lifetime right off the bat without 'testing the water' or anything, or

You can always try the trial version for free !

 

[BoogerMac]

Well, I am excited for rF2 on Steam; however, all that excitement will be crushed if I'm forced to pay an online subscription fee or ~$84 for lifetime access. No thanks ISI!

 

[Gringo]

I am thinking that ISI has made some choices based on the past sales experience. They understand the market they are in and I doubt that the focus is on multiplayer.

Multiplayer people using rF2 are for the most part not looking for pickup / open server type racing. They are more hard core types that don't have an issue with the cost.

IR / R3E are subscription and those guys pay though the nose continuously, so the ISI approach is much cheaper in the longer term.

Edit (R3E you pay for each piece of content but the online is free I think) ISI content to date has no cost.

 

[Kakha Jomardidze]

So am I understanding this right

When rF2 goes Steam I cant buy the lifetime thingy ?

you can buy right now > off 40% http://us11.campaign-archive1.com/?u=dbba55b7ad7e6c91360821937&id=eba1cd04a2 ...and is free to merge at STEAM, when will released

 

[jimortality]

So am I understanding this right

When rF2 goes Steam I cant buy the lifetime thingy ?

Yes you can and the yearly one too. You can transfer over your lifetime from non steam to steam but not the yearly one.

 

[Ole Marius Myrvold]

The pricing might have change, the currencies value have changed etc. But I paid less for a lifetime of rF2 when it was new, than I paid for GTA V on release day, I don't get the pricing issue.

 

[Radu Oros]

I don't see the problem, I don't have to pay for online multiplayer unless I'm sure I want to. I can start with offline then add a 1 year subscription when I'm ready for online. rFactor 2 always had an extra fee for online multiplayer, the extra fees help cover the costs of their online services.

When you decide you're ready for online racing, you'll have to join a league.

 

[xnorb]

38.99€ for rF2 + lifetime MP with the code provided by Kakha - that's a nobrainer.

 

[Tobbe Bergman]

38.99€ for rF2 + lifetime MP with the code provided by Kakha - that's a nobrainer.

Yeah -Buy now and convert to Steam later

 

[DaVeX↯]

Yeah -Buy now and convert to Steam later

Done!!!(except the convert...lol)

 

[Kurei]

You can always try the trial version for free !

Oh believe me, I have, extensively, but AMP & the Formula Renault 3.5 get repetitive quickly, and I'd like to see what the rest of rF2 offers, without committing to one of those 3 options 'off the bat'.

Plus the principal here is just wrong, it's 2015, why are paywalls for common gaming features still accepted ?

 

[xnorb]

Plus the principal here is just wrong, it's 2015, why are paywalls for common gaming features still accepted ?

Consumers have way too much money to spend.

 

[John-Eric Saxén]

I don't have to pay for MP in SCE or R3E, so why do I have to do so for rF2 ?, it's literally just paying extra for access to a feature other sims offer for free, while (to my limited experience, admittedly) not being something so 'far above' the others to warrant it.

If it put iRacing to shame or something, then yeah there's worth there, but as it stands now, there isn't.

Plus if I wanted to do online stuff here at RD, I'd have to pay for the online, AND THEN pay for RD Premium as well... like... Where does it end ?

rF2 is not SCE or R3E. In R3E you have to pay for every car, which is worse imo. Why are paid DLC packs for content that used to be free game updates accepted? It wasn't either the norm 5 years ago, but business changes. The monthly fee alone for iRacing is almost same as the yearly payment of rF2, plus additional fees for content. People are clearly willing to invest hundreds of euros into iRacing and buying xx number of DLC packs for other games such as AC & pCars, so clearly ISI sees yearly payment of $12 as a sensible business model.

 

[Frederic Schornstein]

rF2 is not SCE or R3E. In R3E you have to pay for every car, which is worse imo. Why are paid DLC packs for content that used to be free game updates accepted? It wasn't either the norm 5 years ago, but business changes. The monthly fee alone for iRacing is almost same as the yearly payment of rF2, plus additional fees for content. People are clearly willing to invest hundreds of euros into iRacing and buying xx number of DLC packs for other games such as AC & pCars, so clearly ISI sees yearly payment of $12 as a sensible business model.

Absolutely and they at least offer a demo and at the moment have a 7 day refund policy. Try that with pCars or AC...
What I would prefer if the basic purchase on steam would come with 1 year online for free as it has been in the past, so nobody hesitates to drive online.