Player counts for sim racing titles usually rise after updates. They did on June 10 for Le Mans Ultimate - but did increase even more after the actual 2024 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The hype for the 2024 24 Hours of Le Mans was undeniable: 23 entries in the Hypercar class alone, a qualifying that promised close racing, the prospect of rain mixing things up - fans seemed to be in for a treat. And they were, as the 92nd running of the endurance race had it all, including multiple cars still in the running for overall victory just a few hours from the end.
It would seem that this spilled over to the virtual Circuit de La Sarthe as well. Le Mans Ultimate is the official simulation of the WEC, and while it does not have the full 2024 grid yet, it does feature the 2024 liveries for the Hypercars that are already in the game since its June 10 update - and the BMW M Hybrid V8 that made its WEC debut this season, including the Le Mans-only Art Car livery.
The update was received well in general, and it did boost the player numbers. While LMU had usually peaked at around 500 concurrent players daily ahead of the update, the daily peaks never fell below 1.200 since the patch was released. However, the player number graph has another sharp increase on June 16 - right after the checkered flag flew in Le Mans.
Image: steamcharts.com
Indeed, compared to the days before, the game peaked at 2.043 concurrent players at 16:00 UTC, two hours after the real race had ended. The last time it had exceeded 2.000 concurrent players was in March, following a peak of 4.691 players on release in February.
Of course, this is still significantly lower than Assetto Corsa Competizione, for instance (as both titles focus on a specific type of racing instead of featuring many different ones). Interestingly, the ACC numbers shot up after the release of the Nürburgring-Nordschleife on April, the player peak doubling compared to the days before - but around the real-life Nürburgring 24h, the numbers remained relatively stable between about 5.000 and 6.500 concurrent players.
Could this translate to more awareness for the game? At least on the German broadcast on Eurosport, there was no mention of LMU, and the on-track ad banners highlighted Forza Motorsport (which also saw a slight increase immediately after Le Mans) instead. However, considering the big interest by fans at the LMU hands-on tents at the European rounds, the demand for a dedicated WEC game might be bigger than initially assumed.
The question is whether or not LMU can keep the player numbers up until the next big update.
Did the 2024 24 Hours of Le Mans make you hop in the rig for some laps in LMU following the checkered flag as well? Let us know on Twitter @OverTake_gg or in the comments below!
The hype for the 2024 24 Hours of Le Mans was undeniable: 23 entries in the Hypercar class alone, a qualifying that promised close racing, the prospect of rain mixing things up - fans seemed to be in for a treat. And they were, as the 92nd running of the endurance race had it all, including multiple cars still in the running for overall victory just a few hours from the end.
It would seem that this spilled over to the virtual Circuit de La Sarthe as well. Le Mans Ultimate is the official simulation of the WEC, and while it does not have the full 2024 grid yet, it does feature the 2024 liveries for the Hypercars that are already in the game since its June 10 update - and the BMW M Hybrid V8 that made its WEC debut this season, including the Le Mans-only Art Car livery.
The update was received well in general, and it did boost the player numbers. While LMU had usually peaked at around 500 concurrent players daily ahead of the update, the daily peaks never fell below 1.200 since the patch was released. However, the player number graph has another sharp increase on June 16 - right after the checkered flag flew in Le Mans.
Image: steamcharts.com
From Watching Le Mans To Driving It Virtually
It would appear that plenty of sim racers switched off their TVs and wanted to scratch the itch of throwing around their favorite Hypercars at the virtual version of Le Mans after an exciting race, with multiple online events set at the track available.Indeed, compared to the days before, the game peaked at 2.043 concurrent players at 16:00 UTC, two hours after the real race had ended. The last time it had exceeded 2.000 concurrent players was in March, following a peak of 4.691 players on release in February.
Of course, this is still significantly lower than Assetto Corsa Competizione, for instance (as both titles focus on a specific type of racing instead of featuring many different ones). Interestingly, the ACC numbers shot up after the release of the Nürburgring-Nordschleife on April, the player peak doubling compared to the days before - but around the real-life Nürburgring 24h, the numbers remained relatively stable between about 5.000 and 6.500 concurrent players.
Could this translate to more awareness for the game? At least on the German broadcast on Eurosport, there was no mention of LMU, and the on-track ad banners highlighted Forza Motorsport (which also saw a slight increase immediately after Le Mans) instead. However, considering the big interest by fans at the LMU hands-on tents at the European rounds, the demand for a dedicated WEC game might be bigger than initially assumed.
The question is whether or not LMU can keep the player numbers up until the next big update.
Did the 2024 24 Hours of Le Mans make you hop in the rig for some laps in LMU following the checkered flag as well? Let us know on Twitter @OverTake_gg or in the comments below!
