First Assetto Corsa EVO Trailer Confirms Early Access Release Date

F40 Competizione AC EVO.jpg
Image: Kunos Simulazioni
Today is the day: the reveal of Assetto Corsa EVO gameplay on the official AC YouTube channel, and with it, the early access release date.

Kunos Simulazioni has given a first glimpse of official gameplay for Assetto Corsa EVO, the upcoming follow-up to 2014's Assetto Corsa. From January 16 2025, Assetto Corsa EVO will be available in early access on Steam.

While only brief, the video released on the official Assetto Corsa YouTube channel provides us with plenty of new info regarding cars and other elements to expect. Here are the major takeaways.


New Cars & Additional Features​

There were plenty of vehicles we already knew from official confirmation, but several new cars are featured in the trailer. The first new car shown is the BMW M4 CSL (G82), shortly followed by the interior of a Mercedes, although not the previously-confirmed 190E Evo II. Instead, it is the AMG GT2, which is featured later in the trailer.

An old Mini is seen being thrown around a track, as is a Morgan Super-3, which will appeal to the lower power and weight car enthusiasts, along with both the original and current versions of the Volkswagen Golf GTI. Other new cars shown include the Lotus Emira, McLaren 765 LT and Ferrari 296 GTB, along with the Ferrari Daytona SP3, which will make its first official appearance in a racing title outside of the mobile market.

Despite not appearing in the trailer, the Ferrari F40 Competizione will also be in the game, as shown in an official screenshot.

AC EVO night racing.jpg

It will be possible in the AC EVO base game to do full 24 hour cycle racing, so you can drive at night! Image: Kunos Simulazioni

That is it for cars, but it does not end there. The original Assetto Corsa did not have nighttime or rain driving outside third-party mods, but both featured in the GT-focused sister title Assetto Corsa Competizione. In AC EVO, dynamic time and weather will feature in the game from launch. This will include a full 24 hour cycle like in ACC and seemingly more advanced rain, judging by the standing water in some of the shots.

Plus for the points in the video featuring the Emira and Alpine A110, the reflection work on the window is very detailed. Clearly the graphics team have worked their magic. As for tracks, Brands Hatch, Imola and the Nürburgring Nordschleife were showcased in the trailer, but these were already confirmed. But there appears to be some frames showcasing the likes of Suzuka and Fuji, but we cannot be sure.

However, a few shots in the trailer showed cars driving on a public road. A couple of people on our team who live close to Nordschleife were able to identify it as being near there.

AC EVO traffic.jpg

Those living close to the Nordschleife may recognise this strip of road. Plus, could this be confirmation of traffic? Image: Kunos Simulazioni

Open road tracks are nothing new to Assetto Corsa, with the original having the Trento-Bondone Hill Climb, the Highlands and Black Cat County. But with the road being so close to the Nordschleife, is this an indication that we can leave the confines of the track and go onto public roads?

Not only that, but the shot in the trailer featuring the Morgan on that road has the M4 travelling in the other direction. Might AC EVO feature proper road traffic implementation that we have become used to in major open world racing games like Forza Horizon, Test Drive, The Crew etc.?

If you want to check out our deep dive stream we did, it is on our YouTube channel to replay.

AC Evo Google Maps screenshot.jpg

Here is the road that may have been identified as being in the AC EVO trailer, close to the Nürburgring. Image: Google Maps

Assetto Corsa EVO Early Access Release Date​

Assetto Corsa EVO launches on January 16, 2025, in early access on Steam. It is not clear how many tracks or cars will feature in the initial early access release, but we should find out more in the run-up to release. Initially, Assetto Corsa EVO will be PC-only, with a console version planned later on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S.


Is there anything we may have missed in the Assetto Corsa EVO gameplay reveal announcement trailer? Let us know in the comments below or join the discussion in our forum!
About author
Luca [OT]
Biggest sim racing esports fan in the world.

Comments

Looks like a poor atempt at being the italian Gran turismo (ironic that pun).

Bunch of cars and some nice scenary. No talks about features ,no showcase of any technical inovations, not even outlines of what the game will have or be.

It's amazing how many column centimeters people read and right over a trailer that shows absolutely nothing of interest, besides that it looks ok,but not ground breaking graphics wise.
Kinda like when Ian Bell hypes up a new project that might or might not see the light of day :D
 
My big question will be "Why?". Why am I coming to this game, and driving an Austin Mini, or Golf GTI or Alfa Romeo Guilia?

With Gran Turismo, there's the collecting aspect and upgrading, and progressing through the campaign (tedious though it may seem at times).

Why am I doing anything in AC? Another half-baked career mode? Do I want to be in an online series for Morgan 3-wheelers or Porsche Macan street versions? Just give me something original.
That's TBD for everyone. If I had to venture hopeful and optimistic guesses...
- A truly modernized engine with underlying simulation that takes a step beyond the franken-engines most every sim is currently built on, with decade+ old foundations.
- Performance that makes full use of modern CPUs instead of being limited by single core performance (even newer titles tend to have 2 to 3 cores/threads handling a bulk of the processing workload).
- All sorts of varied fun to be had, especially online. Think cruising servers, track races with antique cars, etc.
- A new foundation for the modding community to go nuts with.
- Seemingly amazing graphical fidelity. If the above guesses pan out, has the potential to be the most impressive VR driving experience to date. Interiors look extremely detailed.
- A driving/racing simulation sandbox

No hate for our console-bound brethren who love the Forza and GT experience. They are not exactly sim-focused titles though. Why would you play the latest GT title when all of the previous GT titles exist? You can go collect cars in all manner of games stretching back decades. We're all in the dark about the nitty-gritty details, but given Kunos' track record I expect to be impressed by the level of simulation they have built into the new title, from the tires to the suspension to the aero. Looking forward to finding out the same as everyone else.
 
Last edited:
I've got to admit I'm not sold on the graphics here. To shiny shiny for my tastes, which makes everything look rather artificial and plastic. It's a bit like "hey, we've got a new graphics engine, lets push everything to eleven"

I'm weird though, I actually like the original AC vanilla graphics, mainly because for me the muted colour grading actually looks more realistic in many ways. I also think that of iRacing and R3E.

I'm semi watching an LMU stream at the moment in wet weather, and honestly it looks pretty bang on - nothing is really over emphasised which gives it an appearance that could almost fool you into thinking it's real on board footage.

With graphics we've reached the stage where less really is more in many ways.
 
Last edited:
If it pushed graphics to new territory like heavy ray tracing and especially Path Tracing and HDR, I'd be impressed. It doesn't seem like it will, given the OK graphics (that I agree looks a bit too clean and "plastic") but nothing we haven't already seen in other sims.
Though I hope that whatever comes from Ian Bell new sim adventures will push graphics in the direction I mentioned, like PC2 did (and that still holds quite well to this day).
 
Last edited:
Kinda like when Ian Bell hypes up a new project that might or might not see the light of day :D
Yes, like that, so the shoe can fit on the other foot on this one also. I am not going to cut them any slack, this game is 10 years in the making as far as i am concerned.
 
Last edited:
I am not overly interested in the graphics of AC Evo. What I hope to get is a solid driving experience, a refinement and evolution of what AC did so well. AC was born as a "platform" where drifting works as good as hillclimb, road cars drive as good as formula race cars. If this is still the case in AC Evo, and the title is moddable, then to me it can repeat the success of AC. If it's all bling and "career" and "upgrade your car" then to me there is no point.
 
from what I understand, it's AC with CSP patch, FFB from ACC, new textures, sound from ACC improvement, nice AC EVO ! I dont like too much AC, but I like ACC, it seems this AC EVO is for me :D
 
Two things I hope for more than anything else:
- a high quality console release with good FFB
- inclusion of real-world roads. I don't care for traffic but would love to climb the Stelvio or other proper driving roads
 
It looks like a Gran Turismo trailer. Graphics are all super shiny and not realistic at all, no race cars. Mostly a car modeling trailer. Also some visible clipping and a hyperactive flag waving.
I'm more stoked about AMS2 1.6.
AMS2 is nowhere at the level of AC or ACC, it's comparable to project cars 2 only. Dont compare the LORD KUNOS with REIZA, it's an insult for the king :D
 
Last edited:

Latest News

Article information

Author
Luca Munro
Article read time
3 min read
Views
5,094
Comments
99
Last update
Back
Top