Assetto Corsa 2 is set to see the light of day in 2024 – but not with Aristotelis Vasilakos on board with Kunos Simulazioni: The Head of Vehicle & Handling R&D has resigned from the studio.
Image credit: Kunos Simulazioni
Many sim racers, particularly fans of Assetto Corsa and Assetto Corsa Competizione, know Aristotelis Vasilakos as Kunos Simulazioni’s guru for car physics, setups and more. As the studio’s Head of Vehicle & Handling R&D for the Assetto Corsa titles, Aris, as he is known, frequently provided deep-dive insight into the finer details of ACC in particular.
It is on his Aris.Drives YouTube channel that the developer now announced a big change for 2024. With his most recent video having been uploaded in October of 2022, Aris took to his channel again with a video titled “So long and thanks for all the sims!” to shed some light on his radio silence.
“After 15 amazing and incredible years, I have resigned from my position at Kunos Simulazioni. I will never be able to express my feelings and gratitude towards this company. [It] made my dreams come true and helped me to become the professional figure that I believe I am“, states Aris in his video. “Most importantly, I will never be able to thank the sim racing community enough.“
Additionally, Aris and Kunos worked together to create guidelines and templates “to fill any kind of gap that I may leave.” Where does this leave Vasilakos, though? Well, he provided an answer to this question as well, stating that he would not join a direct competitor. After having worked in sim racing for 20 years, it was time to move on.
That means that the developer is taking up another role as part of a “much bigger project, which will hopefully make me grow professionally.” While he will supposedly stay connected with car culture, Aris will not be involved in a sim racing title, instead focusing on a “very big and ambitious metaverse project.“
Still, the studio has shown that it can and will commit to a title long-term, probably more so in ACC than in the original Assetto Corsa. Not much is known about Assetto Corsa 2 yet, but the title is intended to see the light of day in Summer of 2024. Before that, the Nürburgring-Nordschleife should make many sim racers’ hearts jump with joy.
What do you make of Aris’ departure from Kunos Simulazioni? Let us know on Twitter @OverTake_gg or in the comments below!
Image credit: Kunos Simulazioni
Many sim racers, particularly fans of Assetto Corsa and Assetto Corsa Competizione, know Aristotelis Vasilakos as Kunos Simulazioni’s guru for car physics, setups and more. As the studio’s Head of Vehicle & Handling R&D for the Assetto Corsa titles, Aris, as he is known, frequently provided deep-dive insight into the finer details of ACC in particular.
It is on his Aris.Drives YouTube channel that the developer now announced a big change for 2024. With his most recent video having been uploaded in October of 2022, Aris took to his channel again with a video titled “So long and thanks for all the sims!” to shed some light on his radio silence.
“After 15 amazing and incredible years, I have resigned from my position at Kunos Simulazioni. I will never be able to express my feelings and gratitude towards this company. [It] made my dreams come true and helped me to become the professional figure that I believe I am“, states Aris in his video. “Most importantly, I will never be able to thank the sim racing community enough.“
Aris Resigns From Kunos: Gaps Will Be Filled
Aris did work on Assetto Corsa 2 content until recently, however, and offers a very broad teaser for the title. “The company is very, very healthy. It’s working on the most amazing sim racing content that you’ve ever seen. Believe me when I say that 2024 is going to be incredible. You guys are going to be blown away by what is being released.”Additionally, Aris and Kunos worked together to create guidelines and templates “to fill any kind of gap that I may leave.” Where does this leave Vasilakos, though? Well, he provided an answer to this question as well, stating that he would not join a direct competitor. After having worked in sim racing for 20 years, it was time to move on.
That means that the developer is taking up another role as part of a “much bigger project, which will hopefully make me grow professionally.” While he will supposedly stay connected with car culture, Aris will not be involved in a sim racing title, instead focusing on a “very big and ambitious metaverse project.“
Big Task For Kunos
Aris resigns from Kunos – a sentence that seemed unthinkable. Vasilakos leaves behind an enormous legacy, which will surely shape Assetto Corsa 2 as well. However, as sim racing titles are subject to constant improvement even after release, filling Aris’s shoes for those developments is going to be a difficult task.Still, the studio has shown that it can and will commit to a title long-term, probably more so in ACC than in the original Assetto Corsa. Not much is known about Assetto Corsa 2 yet, but the title is intended to see the light of day in Summer of 2024. Before that, the Nürburgring-Nordschleife should make many sim racers’ hearts jump with joy.
What do you make of Aris’ departure from Kunos Simulazioni? Let us know on Twitter @OverTake_gg or in the comments below!
