Developer Milestone is going back to its roots, as they announced a new game with an old name at The Game Awards 2024.
Their new racing game, featuring cars and not bikes, is called Screamer. And it is based on the same IP as the 1995 PC MS-DOS racing game, which spawned three sequels. It was the Ridge Racer game for PC players, and the first game made by Milestone, albeit under its initial name Graffiti.
Milestone is partnering with Japan-based Polygon Pictures to “re-envisioned” this long-dormant racing game series. The result is a spectacular cinematic (not-in game visuals) featuring a cyberpunk world with the stylings of manga and anime.
There’s no music, just the sound of two cars vrooming and Troy Baker being a megalomaniac racing organiser monologuing to the racers, or as he calls it, Screamers.
The new Screamer will be an arcade racing game with “revolutionary gameplay dynamics and a deep storyline enriched by interwoven character arcs”. A racing game, with a story and character arcs? Screamer looks to building upon the foundations of late-90’s racing games which had you play as specific drivers instead of just selecting a car. Something that is somehow sorely lacking today.
Milestone is a development team dead-set focused on making racing games. Though these days, they mostly make games based on motorcyles like the official MotoGP games and the Ride series. Their latest run in making car games were with Hot Wheels Unleashed and its sequel.
The new Screamer will be out in 2026 for the PS5, PC and Xbox Series X|S. It’s a long ways ahead, but it’s a good time to be racing game fans.