We didn’t get an Assetto Corsa 2 released this year. Instead, we getting two Assetto Corsas.
505 Games announced Assetto Corsa Rally, a new entry to the sim racing series focused on rally racing.
The game is developed by Supernova Games Studios, a relatively new studio based in Milan, Italy established by 505 Games’ parent company Digital Bros in 2021. This is their debut game, in technical partnership with Assetto Corsa series devs Kunos Simulazioni.
Assetto Corsa Rally will run on Unreal Engine, but the physics engine is derived from the Assetto Corsa physics engine “specifically refined and fine-tuned to tackle the unique challenges of rally driving,” with Kunos provided supervision and support, the press release states.
For a game bearing the Assetto Corsa name, expect Assetto Corsa Rally to be a realistic simulation of rally racing. Rally stages are laser scanned and will feature “real-world terrain formations” and “road surface irregularities and characteristics.”
The cars, featuring contemporary rally cars as well as iconic legends of the sport, are also laser scanned. The developers also have access to official CAD files to these vehicles, allowing them to recreate them with accuracy.
And since this is a rally game, cars will be visually deformed as part of the damage system, which will also affect car behaviour, as you’d expect from not only a racing sim, but a rally game.
As this is a rally game, you can expect the voice of a co-driver reading those pacenotes. No names were dropped, but Assetto Corsa Rally is working with professional co-drivers, and their voices will be featured in the game.
Assetto Corsa Rally, similar to Assetto Corsa Evo, will launch in Steam Early Access first. On launch, it will feature the following content:
- 33km of fully laserscanned real life roads.
- 4 Special Stages with 18 variants, set across gravel roads in Wales and tarmac roads in Alsace.
- 10 iconic rally cars, including Group B, WRC and Rally2 vehicles
- The Lancia Delta HF, the 2003 Citroën Xsara, the Hyundai i20 Rally2 and Peugeot 208 Rally2 are spotted in screenshots, among a few classic rides
- 5 game modes, triple screen support, and more
The full game will feature the following:
- Over 120 km of faithfully recreated rally stages using laser scan technology
- 10 Special Stages with over 35 variants set across 5 international rallies, with new roads and content added continuously
- A full car roster featuring over 30 vehicles selected from the most iconic rally cars of the past and present
- New game modes, a rally school, a career mode, and complete VR support
Assetto Corsa Rally is coming just at the right time. EA has stopped development of its official World Rally Championship (WRC) game, and has closed down the division of developer Codemasters responsible for that game as well as the legendary Colin McRae/Dirt series. Meanwhile, the official WRC license has landed back to Nacon and developer KT Racing will be back releasing annual WRC titles. With little competition, and according to hardcore rally sim goers the bar for the best game is still a title from 2004.
That said, the Assetto Corsa name isn’t in the best light yet. The Early Access release of Assetto Corsa Evo wasn’t received well and reviews on Steam, at the time of writing, is still sitting at Mixed.
Supernova has the quite the weight to prove Assetto Corsa Rally is a deserving spin-off that elevates rally racing, as it is destined to be. No pressure.
Assetto Corsa Rally will release on Steam via Early Access on November 13. In Malaysia, it will be priced at RM72.