WEC Game Expected in 2023

WEC 1.jpg
Motorsport Games’ Motorsports Advisor Gerard Neveu has revealed that a racing game based on the WEC series is in the works and scheduled to be released in 2023.

Former FIA World Endurance Championship CEO Gerard Neveu now works as Motorsports Advisor for racing game developer Motorsport Games. He has shared with Motorsport.com that based on the success of the 2020 Le Mans Virtual event, the team is looking to extend the involvement of WEC in the virtual world.

This is the latest in a series of major announcements from Motorsport Games, which had previously announced development of games based on the BTCC, NASCAR, and IndyCar race series. These titles hold special promise for sim racers, since Motorsport Games has acquired rFactor 2 developer Studio 397 and plans to use their renowned physics engine for at least the forthcoming NASCAR title.

The WEC series has been partially represented in the virtual racing world across a variety of titles dating back many years, but a complete title based on the series is a popular request from fans of the series. Currently, WEC classes such as GTE and LMP1 can be found in titles like Assetto Corsa, the Project CARS series, RaceRoom Racing Experience, iRacing and Automobilista 2.

The game development announcement comes at a time when the World Endurance Championship is undergoing significant changes. The series has recently replaced its top class of cars. Gone are the popular LMP1 class cars, which competed for 16 years and broke several lap records in that time. The LMP1 class has been replaced by the LMH, or Le Mans Hypercar, class. These new Hypercars have yet to compete at Le Mans, so Motorsport Games will have to start anew with performance data collection and implementation.

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Like the other titles under development by Motorsport Games, it’s still too early to tell whether the upcoming WEC title will be aimed more toward hardcore sim racers or casual gamers. Wherever it lands, it’s certainly a welcome announcement for fans of endurance racing.

In the interim, Motorsport Games will be hosting another Le Mans Virtual event this winter, with more details to be released following the real-world 24 Hours of Le Mans event in August.

Are you excited for this announcement? Let us know your thoughts on the forthcoming WEC racing title in the comments below.
About author
Mike Smith
I have been obsessed with sim racing and racing games since the 1980's. My first taste of live auto racing was in 1988, and I couldn't get enough ever since. Lead writer for RaceDepartment, and owner of SimRacing604 and its YouTube channel. Favourite sims include Assetto Corsa Competizione, Assetto Corsa, rFactor 2, Automobilista 2, DiRT Rally 2 - On Twitter as @simracing604

Comments

Premium
Do people here really think this will have the same simulation depth as RF2? I sure do hope so but I firmly believe this aims for a larger audience and thus will be much more accessible (I try not to say arcade… :D if you didn't notice). Glad if I'm wrong though.
 
Jesus! Another game, or hopefully another simulator, from these guys... How big
is their staff? Hmm... I wish they could focus more on rFactor.
 
I think its not only simracers who are "greedy". I see some other being greedy here, namely the big series you talk about and Motorsport games.

Anyhow ita a pity the only atudio who have done this single series concept well, Kunos, are not doing some of these.
yea i was hoping that Kunos would do the Indycar game. Kunos would probably go away from the engine and develop something better for VR... let’s see if MG can pull it off.... they probably gonna need 3-5 years to master it. So let’s hope we can enjoy Indycar 2025 guys!

good news is rf2 engine finally gonna die and we get fast loading games again. :D
 
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You are wrong, i bought Racing Usa for AMS2 and now i can drive 3 GTE and one DPI/LMP, one of the most interesting dlc for Ams2, we are just waiting Lemans and driver swap and Ams2 will be the new king of simracing games
Modern LeMans is so overrated it is and feels like any other FIA track. I only enjoy the historic version and legacy cars at LeMans... not even following much WEC.
 
yea i was hoping that Kunos would do the Indycar game. Kunos would probably go away from the engine and develop something better for VR... let’s see if MG can pull it off.... they probably gonna need 3-5 years to master it. So let’s hope we can enjoy Indycar 2025 guys!

good news is rf2 engine finally gonna die and we get fast loading games again. :D
Nascar, based upon rF2. Indycar, based upon rF2. BTCC, based upon rF2. you think WEC will go in an entirely different direction?*
*all with unreal graphics I will admit.
 
Yea I meant they probably gonna ditch the rf2 isi engine and just migrate their physics tire model calculations over to the new engine. The same way what Kunos did?
 
One series, one sim, I'm all in, trying to do everything with one sim has proven a fool's errand
 
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Wasn't that Grand Tour game based on the rf2 physics engine?

Anyway, not sure how I feel with the Motorsports Games powergrab. Do think people are giving their hopes up in regards to simulation value that we will see in these titles: previous page screenshot + the Heat series. Think it will fall near the current Heat games which would be disappointing for what series they have locked down. Devs going to be focused on the console side, port to pc, contorller > wheel, would expect cross platform multiplayer, and a possible mobile versions.

As long as other sims are allowed to consume said series cars/tracks I’m all for it. Will bring more drivers into our little corner of the video game world. Do not hope to see more of what happened with the iR 24Hr Lemans. Similar to EA and the NFL licences over the past 15+ years.
 
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In some ways someone making use of the RF2 engine in a more focused way is exactly what RF2 actually needs itself. It's very thin and the content quality is varied, some mods are pretty poor. At least Raceroom has content packs to keep things of a similar quality. Their touring car packs are pretty good if for example you only like tintops.
 
Splitting the licenses into separate games is a good idea because it better allows for tailored rules, AI, & career modes.
 
Premium
I don't mind the single game for wec but personally i am past the point of buying every game out there to support the developer hoping it will encourage more development.

I only race in VR and have bought everything that supports it. I also really only do MP so most of the games just sit there as I give a car/track combo a whirl from time to time. ACC disappointed me for for it's bad VR and AMS2 for its very variable VR performance. It looks fantastic but FPS suffer or it looks more ordinary trying to achieve a constant 90. Thats not a harsh criticism of AMS2 though, it is what it is and will run better on another generation of hardware (just talking VR here)

Point is I keep buying stuff and and it just sits around. Not sure why I keep supporting stuff that I dont use. Maybe I am part of the problem that they keep pushing stuff I dont use :)

To be honest, I fully know that as I only do MP these other titles dont offer much for me and keep me away. If I was a SP racer I think they would get a lot more use (other than ACC and bad VR)

Seeing the chart that had it covering the same area as F1, forza, GT with iracing well out of its area and guessing ACC, rf2 would also be well outside the area it is trying to cover I think this may be the first one I dont buy just to support it.
 
People saying a single series sim is needed so you can enjoy proper "racing rules" and AI make me laugh... no wonder devs keep under developing some stuff.
 
People saying a single series sim is needed so you can enjoy proper "racing rules" and AI make me laugh... no wonder devs keep under developing some stuff.
You're misunderstanding. Separating those special features makes development easier and avoids the complications like the mess that rF2's stock car rules made or AC's lack of AI rolling starts. The developers can concentrate on what is needed for that particular series rather than dealing with the unintended interactions of a general-purpose module.

I'm not absolving developers of their duty to complete initiatives, but I'm also not blind to the realities of development.
 
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