After kicking off gamescom 2024 with a community event at our office in Cologne, the event had lots in store for sim racers. Here's our roundup of sim racing news from gamescom 2024.
As one of the biggest gaming events in the world, gamescom shifts the attention of the gaming world to Cologne each year. And while the biggest stands usually belong to Triple-A publishers and their titles, there is a healthy does of sim racing to be found as well.
Before things got going at the main event, we set the mood for gamescom 2024 at our office: Our second community event saw a great mix of those from the sim racing industry and our community. Five rigs with different hardware configurations and sims running, a tasty barbecue to enjoy the warm summer night outside - and surrounded by exciting show cars, too.
A Porsche Mission R and a 963 Hypercar - currently leading the overall standings in both WEC and IMSA, might we add - flanked the entrance to our HQ, and they were absolute eyecatchers. These race cars were supported by a gamescom-liveried Porsche Macan, so car enthusiasts were in for a nice surprise.
We welcomed YouTubers like Gamermuscle, a friend of OverTake's for quite a while now, industry professionals from companies like Simucube, Fanatec, Carrera and many more, and those involved in past, current and upcoming racing titles like Le Mans Ultimate - and even Aris Vasiliakos paid us a visit.
The coolest part: There were no fears of contact - community members had relaxed chats with devs, hardware manufacturers, content creators and ourselves, all contributing to a highly enjoyable atmosphere.
It will not have been the final community event at our Cologne office - we will make sure to let you know once the next one is lining up on the grid!
But for now, let's get into the sim racing news roundup from gamescom 2024.
MOZA Racing Shows Active Pedal & Porsche Mission R Wheel
Certainly the biggest surprise in the sim racing sphere of gamescom 2024 was MOZA’s unveiling of not only their new CRP2 pedal set, but also the option to upgrade it to an active pedal. Without any springs or elastomers and software-side adjustability, this type of pedal was previously only made by Simucube, so the battle in this area seems to be on now.The active pedal was available to test at the MOZA booth, and it did feel good in the McLaren GT3 car we got to drive with it. We were able to feel exactly when the ABS kicked in, and with the right customization possibilities, this could kick off a revolution for more affordable active pedals.
Image: MOZA Racing
Meanwhile, MOZA also showed its first piece of licensed kit, that being the Porsche Mission R sim racing steering wheel – although it was just for show and behind protective glass. We hope to get our hands on it as soon as possible, though!
Nacon Brings Optimized TDU Solar Crown, Revosim Hardware, Endurance Motorsport Series
With the release of Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown on September 12 being around the corner, many are wondering about the state of the game, as the latest demos and open betas were not exactly confidence-inspiring for many. Performance seemed to be an issue, and Hong Kong Island seemed not as lively as it should have been.The publisher had an optimized version of the game ready to try at gamescom, and we could not spot any performance issues. We also had a chat with Game Director Guillaume Guinet, which you will see and hear more of very soon.
On the simulation side of things, Nacon brought examples of its Revosim hardware for the first time. A 9 Nm direct drive wheel base, load cell pedals and a 30 mm round wheel were present at Cologne.
Furthermore, the first pre-alpha version of Endurance Motorsport Series, a sim set to cater to both drivers and engineers, was playable at gamescom. We are already looking forward to sharing our hands-on impressions of both the Revosim hardware and Endurance Motorsport Series with you in video form!
PXN Debuts New 10 Nm Wheel Base
Mostly known for affordable entry-level hardware, PXN has slowly been branching out to more serious kit, such as the V12 Lite we reviewed last year. Their latest wheel base continues this trend, as the company showed a direct drive wheel base capable of 10 Nm of torque at gamescom. This included a new round wheel as well, which sported a nice build quality.To add to this, PXN also had a new shifter at their booth, which reminded us of the MOZA HGP shifter in its design. Another peripheral that might be interesting to sim racers is the button box PXN showed, meanwhile – including plenty of buttons, switches, rotary dials and even an engine start/stop button.
Carrera Goes Hybrid
Many racing fans know and love Carrera for their slot car racing tracks – the brand is iconic for this. The classic Carrera track has moved on from simply having two lanes in which the cars would drive in recent years, adding overtaking capabilities and car settings to the recipe.Their latest venture, however, completely eliminates the need for these slots, instead using relatively simple mat-like pieces of track. The cars used in the Carrera Hybrid system feature a sensor on their floor that scans the track pieces for a barely noticeable pattern and the markers for track limits, so they always know where they are. They are controlled via smartphones – but they are also not quite like RC cars at the same time.
Where it gets really interesting is the setup screen. Wait, what? Much like in sim racing, setup work can be carried out in the accompanying app, featuring tire compounds and other settings sim racers should be rather familiar with. We will look at how Carrera Hybrid works in more detail soon!
Corsair Debuts Own Sim Racing Rig
Gaming hardware and peripheral giant Corsair has shown its first bit of sim racing kit for the first time at gamescom. The yet-to-be-named rig was ready for sim racers to test and built to a few different specifications, from the base model to one featuring all accessories that are available.The rig does have quite a large footprint and is less flexible in where you can mount things compared to aluminium extrusion rigs, and the black version seemed sleeker to us. What did stand out when trying the cockpit, though, was the ease of adjustment thanks to the use of ratchet levers at basically any point that influences the mounting height or angle of the wheel, pedals or seat.
FlashFire Tests The Waters
A new name for most sim racers, FlashFire attended gamescom as a test run. The Taiwanese hardware manufacturer has been creating peripherals and entry-level sim racing wheels for a while, but is now considering branching out to become more international.To mark the occasion, they brought a brand-new direct drive wheel base to Cologne, as well as several of their other racing wheels and pedals. The big plus with FlashFire’s gear: It is compatible with PC, Xbox One and Series X|S, and PlayStation 4.
Image: Speed Capital
Coach Dave Delta For Gran Turismo 7
While not represented with a booth, we ran into SimGrid's Steve Worrell in Cologne, and he gave us insight on Coach Dave Delta for Gran Turismo 7 - the first time the system is implemented for a console title. It is not a surprise, either, as David Perel himself stated: "I've been playing Gran Turismo for pretty much my whole life. Gran Turismo is what made me fall in love with racing video games and eventually sim racing".The system aims to help those who want to improve and maybe get into real-life racing down the road, allowing players to compare their data with that of the best drivers on GT7. To use it with the game, Delta needs to be running on a Windows PC in the same network as the PlayStation 5 (or PS4) that is running GT7 - this allows players to analyze their telemetry in great detail.
Even racing lines are a part of the analysis, and they can be compared against each other to show how different approaches to the same corner might be reflected in lap time, for instance. Delta will also be able to show data from any leaderboard replay - simply play the replay, Delta records the telemetry, and you will have it available to compare it with your own.
Fanatec, WRC & ADAC Join Forces For gamescom Booth
One booth in Hall 10.1 acted as a bit of a sim racing hub at gamescom 2024 as ADAC was joined by EA Sports WRC and Fanatec, with RaceRoom simulators also available on the other side of the booth. Our own @Michel Wolk was on commentary duty for the daily WRC leaderboard challenge, which saw racers compete for a top spot on the leaderboard to qualify for the daily final.They did this in Fanatec's CSL cockpits. The entry-level sim rigs were kitted out with Fanatec's CSL Elite Steering Wheel WRC, ClubSport Shifter SQ V1.5 and ClubSport Handbrake V1.5 for sim racers to tackle the stages. At the same time, it was a good opportunity to sample the entry-level rig, surrounded by Luca Stolz's DTM Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo, a Hyundai i20 N Rally1 showcar, and an ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup car.
Of course, it would not have been a proper gamescom visit for OverTake without a little challenge, so Michel and Yannik went head to head in EA Sports WRC - watch our video to find out who prevailed in the duel!
Were you at gamescom 2024? What do you think is the most interesting bit of news from the event? Let us know on Twitter @OverTake_gg or in the comments below!
