Assetto Corsa Competizione’s creator, Kunos Simulazioni, was unaware of SRO’s deal to include the Nordschleife. Marco Massarutto explains the decision to push the second Assetto Corsa back to accommodate the much-requested DLC.
Images: 505 Games
“Someone pass the paper bag; I appear to be hyperventilating!”
“My wallet is ready”
A smattering of responses from Assetto Corsa Competizione fans posted to social media in the wake of confirmation, at last, that the venerated German circuit will be headings to the sim racing platform in a matter of days.
Since the monkeys were walking around monoliths at the start of 2001: A Space Odessey (or Barbie, take your pick), virtual racers have been requesting the Nürburgring Nordschleife for Kunos Simulazioni’s official GT World Challenge platform.
The answer was always a simple ‘no’, because the track was not part of SRO’s calendar, and Competizione’s content must fit into Stéphane Ratel’s plans.
But, in July 2023, that changed, when a partnership was announced to bring the 24 Hours of Nürburgring into the SRO-affiliated Intercontinental GT Challenge series.
Suddenly, it was possible.
There was just one problem – Kunos was putting the finishing touches to its GT2 pack and working flat-out on ‘Assetto Corsa 2’.
“My reaction was ‘Oh my god, not now, not now,’” chuckles Executive Manager at developer Kunos Simulazioni, Marco Massarutto, to OverTake-RaceDepartment.
“This was our initial reaction because our workflow is on a schedule, and we didn’t know anything about the announcement. It was even a surprise to us, even though we have worked with the SRO for many years. They wanted to make a surprise, and they did!”
Having the ability to implement such a fêted venue is one thing, pulling the trigger on the resources required to create it ahead of the next big project for Kunos, is quite another.
It required a significant interruption in planning, to the point where Kunos’ parent company Digital Bros issued a dedicated press release explaining the shift:
“The team at Kunos Simulazioni is completing the development of the new DLC for PC and consoles and, for that purpose, the next version of Assetto Corsa will be postponed,” it read.
“We had a 10-minute meeting, just to decide ‘What do we do?’ following the announcement,” recalls Massarutto.
“And it was a very short meeting, because after all these years that we say to our audience that ‘We’d like to create the Nordschleife, but it’s not in the GT World Challenge calendar’, now it is, we must do that.”
So, with that in mind, it will just be a case of ripping out the model from the now decade-old original Assetto Corsa and placing it within Competizione, right?
“It’s not a pain, it’s a privilege, but definitely, it is not a copy and paste operation from the first AC, because a lot of things have changed, and the structure of Competizione is completely different,” explains Massarutto.
“The production of the Nordschleife has been very, very, complex, but in the end, we are absolutely proud of the final result.
“Driving a GT car in Competizione around there in the day or at night, with the rain, I think is a thrilling experience. Thanks to the Nordschleife, ACC can express itself in the very best way.”
Sim racers won’t have to wait too much longer to experience it, either. As we reported on 13th March, the ‘Green Hell’ DLC will be available on PC (with consoles to follow) on 1st April 2024.
It remains something that publisher 505 Games and Massarutto are extremely tight-lipped about:
“To be brief, the codename [‘AC2’ is used in several game files and error notices for ACC] that was given to Competizione was wrong.
“The new Assetto Corsa is going to follow what we did with Assetto Corsa ‘1’.”
“Yet, it is not just a sequel, it is much, much, more. It’s definitely not a spin-off like Competizione.”
The Nürburgring Nordschleife in the original Assetto Corsa
Tantalising. Following the GT2 DLC, then the Nürburgring 24H Pack plus whatever is in store for ‘the new AC’, this year is pivotal for the franchise, something that its leader is acutely aware of:
“I would say that 2024 will be very important for us, because we have a lot of releases, like the new Assetto Corsa and the Nordschleife DLC – these are huge things.
“So, we are trying to do our best to make our audience very happy. Hopefully, we will manage it, but we need to wait and see.”
What would you like to see from the next Assetto Corsa title? Let us know in the comments below or on X, @OverTake_gg.
Images: 505 Games
“Someone pass the paper bag; I appear to be hyperventilating!”
“My wallet is ready”
A smattering of responses from Assetto Corsa Competizione fans posted to social media in the wake of confirmation, at last, that the venerated German circuit will be headings to the sim racing platform in a matter of days.
Since the monkeys were walking around monoliths at the start of 2001: A Space Odessey (or Barbie, take your pick), virtual racers have been requesting the Nürburgring Nordschleife for Kunos Simulazioni’s official GT World Challenge platform.
The answer was always a simple ‘no’, because the track was not part of SRO’s calendar, and Competizione’s content must fit into Stéphane Ratel’s plans.
But, in July 2023, that changed, when a partnership was announced to bring the 24 Hours of Nürburgring into the SRO-affiliated Intercontinental GT Challenge series.
Suddenly, it was possible.
There was just one problem – Kunos was putting the finishing touches to its GT2 pack and working flat-out on ‘Assetto Corsa 2’.
“My reaction was ‘Oh my god, not now, not now,’” chuckles Executive Manager at developer Kunos Simulazioni, Marco Massarutto, to OverTake-RaceDepartment.
“This was our initial reaction because our workflow is on a schedule, and we didn’t know anything about the announcement. It was even a surprise to us, even though we have worked with the SRO for many years. They wanted to make a surprise, and they did!”
Having the ability to implement such a fêted venue is one thing, pulling the trigger on the resources required to create it ahead of the next big project for Kunos, is quite another.
It required a significant interruption in planning, to the point where Kunos’ parent company Digital Bros issued a dedicated press release explaining the shift:
“The team at Kunos Simulazioni is completing the development of the new DLC for PC and consoles and, for that purpose, the next version of Assetto Corsa will be postponed,” it read.
“We had a 10-minute meeting, just to decide ‘What do we do?’ following the announcement,” recalls Massarutto.
“And it was a very short meeting, because after all these years that we say to our audience that ‘We’d like to create the Nordschleife, but it’s not in the GT World Challenge calendar’, now it is, we must do that.”
So, with that in mind, it will just be a case of ripping out the model from the now decade-old original Assetto Corsa and placing it within Competizione, right?
“It’s not a pain, it’s a privilege, but definitely, it is not a copy and paste operation from the first AC, because a lot of things have changed, and the structure of Competizione is completely different,” explains Massarutto.
“The production of the Nordschleife has been very, very, complex, but in the end, we are absolutely proud of the final result.
“Driving a GT car in Competizione around there in the day or at night, with the rain, I think is a thrilling experience. Thanks to the Nordschleife, ACC can express itself in the very best way.”
Sim racers won’t have to wait too much longer to experience it, either. As we reported on 13th March, the ‘Green Hell’ DLC will be available on PC (with consoles to follow) on 1st April 2024.
The Second Assetto Corsa
Once that is released, speculation is then set to ramp up for the launch of ‘Assetto Corsa 2’, listed in the studio owner’s Digital Bros half-year earnings report this week as “scheduled for Summer 2024.”It remains something that publisher 505 Games and Massarutto are extremely tight-lipped about:
“To be brief, the codename [‘AC2’ is used in several game files and error notices for ACC] that was given to Competizione was wrong.
“The new Assetto Corsa is going to follow what we did with Assetto Corsa ‘1’.”
“Yet, it is not just a sequel, it is much, much, more. It’s definitely not a spin-off like Competizione.”
The Nürburgring Nordschleife in the original Assetto Corsa
Tantalising. Following the GT2 DLC, then the Nürburgring 24H Pack plus whatever is in store for ‘the new AC’, this year is pivotal for the franchise, something that its leader is acutely aware of:
“I would say that 2024 will be very important for us, because we have a lot of releases, like the new Assetto Corsa and the Nordschleife DLC – these are huge things.
“So, we are trying to do our best to make our audience very happy. Hopefully, we will manage it, but we need to wait and see.”
What would you like to see from the next Assetto Corsa title? Let us know in the comments below or on X, @OverTake_gg.
