A story mode video teaser, a cover athlete announcement – and now, the full reveal: F1 23 is due to drop on June 16th, and with it, all the teams and drivers of the 2023 Formula One season. After a year's absence, a story mode returns as 'Braking Point 2'.
Image Credit: EA Sports
The sim racing community had been curious about when the announcement was about to be made for the new title, as previous entries into the series had been released in July. Now, they have certainty, and F1 23 is even going to be the game that will see the earliest release since Codemasters took over the series. Previously, F1 2019 held that record with June 28th release. Outside of the EA/Codemasters era, F1 2000 was released even earlier - namely on March 24th, 2000, just 12 days after that year's season opener.
Legacy Circuits & New Additions
A new entry to the series also means two all-new tracks: As the Las Vegas street circuit and the Lusail International Circuit in Qatar make their debuts on the F1 calendar in 2023, so do their digital versions in the official game. Three legacy tracks will also be on board at launch in Paul Ricard (last run in 2022), Shanghai (2019) and Portimao (2021).Braking Point Returns
On the other hand, Braking Point 2 marks the return of the popular story mode last found in F1 2021. The career of Aiden Jackson continues with the newly announced, fictional Konnersport team, with series antagonist Devon Butler being Jackson's teammate this time around. "The return of Braking Point allows players to immerse themselves in a racing story, which provides a unique look at F1 alongside the authentic race features our players know and love", says Lee Mather, Senior Creative Director at Codemasters. A bit like the successful Netflix series 'Drive to Survive' then.More Realistic Gameplay
Meanwhile, more work has been put in to the core gameplay as well. "Our close relationship with the teams has allowed us to refine our handling model, adding greater realism to pad-play", Mather continues. Precision Play technology is supposed to immensely improve the latter. Unrelated to the controller type in use, cars in F1 22 could feel unpredictable at times, especially on the throttle, where it was challenging to get the input right to not spin up the rear tires because of a lack of feel.
Throttle control should feel more authentic and offer "a greater level of connection to the car", according to EA Sports. "By incorporating actual F1 team feedback, a greater balance between aerodynamics and tyre grip results ina more realistic feel."
Throttle control should feel more authentic and offer "a greater level of connection to the car", according to EA Sports. "By incorporating actual F1 team feedback, a greater balance between aerodynamics and tyre grip results ina more realistic feel."
Red Flags May Change Strategy
Another element that could be seen more frequently in real F1 races of recent years is red flags forcing a stop to the proceedings. They will feature in F1 23 as well, introducing another layer to tactical possibilities for players' race strategies.F1 World & Pre-Orders
The menu will see the addition of the F1 World hub, which connects game modes and features a progression system based on challenges through which players can unlock car upgrades, liveries, race suits and helmets. Additionally, EA and Codemasters attempt to tackle the often chaotic nature of online lobbies by introducing a safety ranking system, which is supposed to link both offline and online races to encourage clean racing.
F1 23 is set to be released for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC, as well as the older PlayStation 4 and Xbox One systems. Players who opt for the digital Champions Edition will receive dual entitlement just like in F1 22, meaning that if they buy it for the older generation of consoles, they are able to upgrade it to the newer version at no additional cost.
The Champions Edition features limited edition Las Vegas content for pre-orders by May 31st, as well as a Max Verstappen Race Wear Pack, Braking Point 2 Icons and Vanity Item Pack, four new My Team Icons, XP Boost, F1 World Bumper Pack, 18.000 PitCoin and three days early access from June 13th.
The Standard Edition is available as a physical copy as well and comes with an F1 World Starter Pack and 5000 PitCoin as a pre-order bonus.
F1 23 is set to be released for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC, as well as the older PlayStation 4 and Xbox One systems. Players who opt for the digital Champions Edition will receive dual entitlement just like in F1 22, meaning that if they buy it for the older generation of consoles, they are able to upgrade it to the newer version at no additional cost.
The Champions Edition features limited edition Las Vegas content for pre-orders by May 31st, as well as a Max Verstappen Race Wear Pack, Braking Point 2 Icons and Vanity Item Pack, four new My Team Icons, XP Boost, F1 World Bumper Pack, 18.000 PitCoin and three days early access from June 13th.
The Standard Edition is available as a physical copy as well and comes with an F1 World Starter Pack and 5000 PitCoin as a pre-order bonus.
