New Le Mans Game Coming December 2023

Le Mans Ultimate Header 2 Porsche 963.jpg
Image credit: Motorsport Games

We were promised a game for the 24 Hours of Le Mans back in mid 2021. It is now official, with Le Mans Ultimate set for a December 2023 release.

A couple of years ago, Motorsport Games and rFactor 2 developers Studio 397 announced they were developing an official standalone game of the World Endurance Championship and the 24 hours of Le Mans. With virtually no official word about the game since, many had reason to believe it would never come to be.

Other titles promised by Motorsport Games, such as one for the British Touring Car Championship and another for IndyCar, were delayed. This led to the community having fears about whether the game would ever see the light of day. However, those fears can now be put to rest with the announcement of Le Mans Ultimate.

What will be in Le Mans Ultimate?​

The game will immerse the player in the 2023 World Endurance Championship season. That means players can drive on all seven tracks: Monza, Spa-Francorchamps, Sebring, Bahrain, Portimão, Fuji and last but by no means least, the legendary Circuit de la Sarthe in Le Mans.

As for cars? Le Mans Ultimate will feature LMH and LMDh racers from Toyota, Ferrari, Porsche, Cadillac, Peugeot, Glickenhaus and Vanwall along with the Oreca 07 LMP2 and also Aston Martin, Corvette, Ferrari and Porsche GTE cars.

Le Mans Ultimate Ferrari 488 GTE.jpg

Le Mans Ultimate is coming this year. Image credit: Motorsport Games

There will be a feature called RaceControl, an innovative multiplayer service. It includes the ability to complete endurance races with friends via a collaborative asynchronous mode. But gamers who don’t want to compete in the online experience will also be accounted for with single player modes.

How to Play Le Mans Ultimate​

Motorsport Games have stated that the game will be PC-only for the first year at minimum. Content updates are expected in the second half of 2024. Afterwards, the developers will evaluate when the right time will be to bring the game to console.

With December 2023 expected to be the release window, sim racers can play the game early if they’re attending the 24 hours of Le Mans from 7-11 June. At the Circuit de la Sarthe, developers will be present, along with ten racing sims for fans and spectators to turn some laps. They can drive the Ferrari 488 GTE as well as the Porsche 963 LMDh, and can also provide feedback.

Before the release of the game, Le Mans Ultimate will be the new platform of the Le Mans Virtual Series. The first two full seasons and all three renditions of the 24 hours of Le Mans Virtual all took place on rFactor 2. The season will begin later this year, most likely in September like the previous two years.
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Luca Munro
Luca Munroe
Biggest sim racing esports fan in the world.

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Comments

Durge Driven
Gmotor is not going to change which makes all you people arguing about whether this will be good or not is nothing but hot air. lol
 
Durge Driven
Lefthook said:
5 years in to development and they are still fixing physics...uhhh no thanks.
Click to expand...

If you think rF2 is the only sim has physics issues I don't know what to say :)

People complain about fixing safety cars and full course yellow is now the latest rage.
I even mention for 10 years local yellows has a issue which makes fixing the other 2 kind of pointless.

But hey tell me how are the pCars and AMS versions of these features ?
Oh that's right, they don' t have them implemented.

I think Ian from the very start said something like " oh fixing AI for safety cars and flags would be a nightmare"
I guess they thought similar at AMS2 where people are still under the impression it will get implemented.



At least ISI had a go !!! :coffee:
 
T
MadDriver11 said:
iracing already twice (for LM24 and Indy 500), Nils Heusinkveld when he did a not do positive review of their software on YT. Probably more that I don't know of and I CBA to search for.
Like I said, luckily, despite all the lawyers and exclusives, talented developers will still offer enjoyable software with that content and hopefully the bullies will go belly up soon and let go of the simracing world to people who actually care about it.
Click to expand...
Nils never got contacted by lawyers from MSG afaik, he got a message from the Kartsim guys - totaly different company. Same goes for iRacing who just published statements about what they think they are allowed to do or not to do - once again no legal action by anyone.

If you don't have a lisence to host certain events under certain names or to release content that you have not payed for the IP, well then that's bad luck and how things usualy go. This has nothing to do with MSG. I allready mentioned it, but whenever there is someone stealing or ripping content everybody plays internet police and there is loads of drama, but if a company like Reiza tries to release cars that actually resemble real cars without having a lisence and get a slap on their fingers, everybody suddenly get's bent out of shape. This has nothing to do with bullies or some studios caring more than others. It's the complete opposite. How would you react if you pay a five-digit sum as a company to get a lisence for a certain car in your product and another company releases exactly the same car but just calls it Formula NA 2023. Do you think that's fair play of Reiza if iRacing and MSG pay an actual fee? I think most people just aren't aware that not just the name but also the shape of the car and the design are part of the lisence.
 
L
Durge Driven said:
If you think rF2 is the only sim has physics issues I don't know what to say :)

People complain about fixing safety cars and full course yellow is now the latest rage.
I even mention for 10 years local yellows has a issue which makes fixing the other 2 kind of pointless.

But hey tell me how are the pCars and AMS versions of these features ?
Oh that's right, they don' t have them implemented.

I think Ian from the very start said something like " oh fixing AI for safety cars and flags would be a nightmare"
I guess they thought similar at AMS2 where people are still under the impression it will get implemented.



At least ISI had a go !!! :coffee:
Click to expand...
Not sure what you are on about dude. I was talking about AMS2.
 
M
tr1v1um said:
Nils never got contacted by lawyers from MSG afaik, he got a message from the Kartsim guys - totaly different company. Same goes for iRacing who just published statements about what they think they are allowed to do or not to do - once again no legal action by anyone.

If you don't have a lisence to host certain events under certain names or to release content that you have not payed for the IP, well then that's bad luck and how things usualy go. This has nothing to do with MSG. I allready mentioned it, but whenever there is someone stealing or ripping content everybody plays internet police and there is loads of drama, but if a company like Reiza tries to release cars that actually resemble real cars without having a lisence and get a slap on their fingers, everybody suddenly get's bent out of shape. This has nothing to do with bullies or some studios caring more than others. It's the complete opposite. How would you react if you pay a five-digit sum as a company to get a lisence for a certain car in your product and another company releases exactly the same car but just calls it Formula NA 2023. Do you think that's fair play of Reiza if iRacing and MSG pay an actual fee? I think most people just aren't aware that not just the name but also the shape of the car and the design are part of the lisence.
Click to expand...
Not sure why you keep rambling about AMS2, since they never got any message from lawyers and nor did I mention it. Actually, despite your kind of very one-sided view, they are in friendly terms with IMS to the point they gave them the license for Indianapolis and tried to support Reiza for a broader license without success.
Instead Niels officially got a C&D and that comes from lawyers. iRacing also seem to have had messages from MSG lawyers forcing them to avoid use of IPs they got license earlier than MSG, so that now iracing users can use the content but have to hide under a rock so that no one can see them streaming an Indy 500 in their own leagues and same for Le Mans 24.
Like I said, never mind, hopefully the bullies will be washed out of the market soon and in the meantime every other studio will work with the same content from different angles and show their talent (and MSG lack of it) for everyone else to enjoy.
December will come fast enough and then we will see what MSG has been able to put together in the past 2 years + on WEC.
 
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Wolfzz

Le Mans Ultimate – Interview with Gérard Neveu And Éric Mindjimba​

Last month, Studio 397 and Motorsport Games Inc. officially announced Le Mans Ultimate, the upcoming official World Endurance Championship (WEC) game.
During the Centenary edition of the Le Mans 24 Hours, visitors at the Circuit de la Sarthe were able to have a first look at a (work in progress) version of the Le Mans Ultimate game. At the Gaming Zone in the Le Mans 24 Family Area, Studio 397 and Thrustmaster set up 10 simulators on which the general public could either test drive the Porsche 963 Hypercar or the Ferrari 488 GTE.
Gérard Neveu, Executive Producer of the Le Mans Ultimate game and former General Manager of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) and European Championship (ELMS), and Éric Mindjimba, who is the e-Sport International Team Manager at Guillemot Corporation (Thrustmaster) reveal a few more details about the upcoming game.
Le Mans Ultimate is scheduled to become available on PC somewhere in December 2023. During 2024, Motorsport Games Inc will be evaluating if they can also bring this title to consoles.

 
R
Wolfzz said:

Le Mans Ultimate – Interview with Gérard Neveu And Éric Mindjimba​

Last month, Studio 397 and Motorsport Games Inc. officially announced Le Mans Ultimate, the upcoming official World Endurance Championship (WEC) game.
During the Centenary edition of the Le Mans 24 Hours, visitors at the Circuit de la Sarthe were able to have a first look at a (work in progress) version of the Le Mans Ultimate game. At the Gaming Zone in the Le Mans 24 Family Area, Studio 397 and Thrustmaster set up 10 simulators on which the general public could either test drive the Porsche 963 Hypercar or the Ferrari 488 GTE.
Gérard Neveu, Executive Producer of the Le Mans Ultimate game and former General Manager of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) and European Championship (ELMS), and Éric Mindjimba, who is the e-Sport International Team Manager at Guillemot Corporation (Thrustmaster) reveal a few more details about the upcoming game.
Le Mans Ultimate is scheduled to become available on PC somewhere in December 2023. During 2024, Motorsport Games Inc will be evaluating if they can also bring this title to consoles.

Click to expand...
Thanks for the video.
To make the point clearer, Neveu has been WEC's CEO since 2011, "manager" is too vague as a professional title. Executive producer being a legal title for a company, not for a person, in France, and a generic title for a person in the US, we don't really know what he is in charge of for this game, except showing that a French, with the most atrocious accent a French can deliver, is involved ; because, you know, if you want to make a Le Mans game, you need a French guy in charge, even if he has nothing to do with video games, that makes sense... :D

EDIT : he mentioned a joint venture, which would be another company, just for one game??? Or is it just a bad translation of joint efforts?

Well, to be fair, at least the WEC's CEO must know the rules which have to be included in the game, S397 obviously needed that input. :D

And the French guy partnering with a French hardware company, that can't go wrong... :D

I wonder who this communication crap is aimed to.

I just hope the feedback from players at the event is pure communication, because if MSG really expects something from that, these people are more usless than I ever thought. Poor S397, so much money spent for crap communication would be more useful in the development...

EDIT : at least the video shows how obsolete these companies communication departments are. Or, and I hope so, it was just an ego job asked by Neveu himself, which would explain such a waste of time and money.
 
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M
roadyroad said:
To make the point clearer, Neveu has been WEC's CEO since 2011, "manager" is too vague as a professional title. Executive producer being a legal title for a company, not for a person, in France, and a generic title for a person in the US, we don't really know what he is in charge of for this game, except showing that a French, with the most atrocious accent a French can deliver, is involved ; because, you know, if you want to make a Le Mans game, you need a French guy in charge, even if he has nothing to do with video games, that makes sense
Click to expand...
He was hired by MSG obviously because of his links with ACO executives and sponsors. Those links are invaluable if you want to negotiate a 10 years exclusive without even having released the first product or if you want Total to sponsor your 250k prize virtual series no one in the universe watches on youtube and twitch.
There is quite obviously no financial sense in all that, but if you have the right friends things get easy.
 
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R
MadDriver11 said:
He was hired by MSG obviously because of his links with ACO executives and sponsors. Those links are invaluable if you want to negotiate a 10 years exclusive without even having released the first product or if you want Total to sponsor your 250k prize virtual series no one in the universe watches on youtube and twitch.
There is quite obviously no financial sense in all that, but if you have the right friends things get easy.
Click to expand...
He probably did not resign from such a position to go to MSG, that would be a big mistake. It is just a win / win deal (and an ego thing to get the "executive producer" title), firstly in terms of image. Obviously in such an IP licence contract, both parties ensure a fluid collaboration, the licensee having paid a lot of money and requiring licencer's collaboration, and the licencer probably wanting to be involved in the products' creation to control that the job is rightly done (especially after nascar ignition), as its image is on the line.

MSG is part of Motorsport Network, as everybody usually forgets, which is since a few days partially owned by a capital investment company (GMF Capital) it is a big player, it obviously already has all the contacts in the racing scene.

I keep my previous statement, these are just communication and ego things, no game developper would want to work for a "real" executive producer without gaming experience. As MSG is a US company, for sure this title is used to name him as a consultant. But the "producer" title is much cooler than "consultant" ; and what a CEO can't be and would like to be? Yes, "producer"...

Anyway, good for them, but nothing interesting for the game.
 
Wolfzz
Its looking good
 

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Botmeister
Any news on gaming/graphics engine etc.?
All I have to say is... please don't be a downscaled copy-paste from RF2 with new network features. Please don't.
 
Wolfzz

Le Mans Ultimate – New Hypercar Teaser​

Studio 397 has shared a teaser picture hinting at new content for the upcoming Le Mans Ultimate racing title.

The developer posted a shadow screen showing what looks to be a Peugeot 9X8 Hypercar, as it competed in the 2022 FIA World Endurance Championship. If you think its something else, let me know in the comments.

Le Mans Ultimate is being developed by Studio 397 and Motorsport Games Inc. The game will feature (some or all) official cars and circuits of the 2023 FIA World Endurance Championship WEC season, with the 24 Hours of Le Mans as its headline event.

The cars list will consist of Hypercars from Ferrari, Peugeot, Porsche, and Toyota, alongside all the cars of the 2023 full-season WEC championship. You can expect high-fidelity models of iconic tracks such as Spa-Francorchamps, Monza, Fuji, and of course the Circuit de la Sarthe.

The Le Mans Ultimate game is scheduled to become available on PC somewhere in December 2023. During 2024, publisher Motorsport Games Inc. will be evaluating if they can also bring this title to consoles.
Interesting fact about the name of the PEUGEOT 9X8 Hypercar.

The “9” continues the series employed by the manufacturer for its recent topflight endurance racing cars, namely the PEUGEOT 905 (which raced from 1990 until 1993) and the 908 (2007 until 2011), both of which became icons of the brand.

The “X” refers to the PEUGEOT Hypercar’s all-wheel drive technology and hybrid powertrain which embodies the brand’s electrification strategy in the world of motor racing.

The “8” is the suffix used for all of PEUGEOT’s current model names, from the 208 and 2008, to the 308, 3008, 5008, and, of course, the 508 which very recently passed through the hands of the engineers and designers who crafted the Hypercar to become the first car to sport the Peugeot Sport Engineered label.

53223927488_e47c0e2174_c.jpg
 

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