Assetto Corsa

Assetto Corsa is set for release on the 19th of April in the US and on the 22nd of April in Europe.  This game is being developed by Kunos Simulazioni and published by 505 Games.

Back in November 2013 Assetto Corsa was let lose on the world via Steams early access program and just over a year later in December 2014 it got it's full PC release.  In June 2015, 505 Games announced that it was to bring the game to consoles.

Assetto Corsa comes from a PC sim background, in that it allows for massive customisation and community modding and was generally well received by both the gaming PC media and most importantly PC players themselves.  This game is well able to hold its own in a market that is bursting with top racing sims and a community that demands more and more from the games they love so much.

Bringing the game to both the Xbox One and PS4 consoles comes with a few challenges, porting the feel and weight of the cars to the controllers and getting both systems to do justice to the games visuals and frame rates presents its own problems.  On the graphics front, I believe that the PS4 version will run at 60fps and in full HD 1080p while I think the Xbox One game will capped at 60fps and 900p. Nothing has been confirmed regarding the numbers here so hopefully we can see the game on both consoles run in full 1080p.

In a recent interview with Red Bull, Marco Massarutto, co-founder and executive manager of Kunos Simulazioni talks about some of the challenges facing his team, he had the following to say.

"We had to completely rebuild the graphics engine and also the physics engine to have it working in multi-thread, in order to use all the cores of the two consoles." 

"We personally drive a lot of, not the racing cars, but the street cars that are included in the game.  And working directly with car manufacturers we've been able to create a very good suspension and tyre model." 

"The team have been focusing on optimising both builds and we are working toward matching the PS4 as closely as possible"

When Red Bull asked about the process of creating the soundtrack for the games, Marco Massarutto said the following.

"Starting last year, we used a device that allows us to record eight different channels at the same time, so that we can put different microphones into the cars.  We can use all the different recordings to create the perfect Assetto sounds, and with our studio on a track [Kunos is based near the ACI Vallelunga Circuit in Rome], it's easy enough for us when a team come for a private test, or a race weekend, to ask them for permission to record the sounds."

I highly suggest checking out the full Red Bull interview which you can find HERE, it gives you a brilliant impression of how the game actually plays.

The game when it lands will feature 20 beautifully laser scanned tracks including Brands Hatch and Spa, it will also come with over 100 of the worlds best sports cars like the  Sauber C9, Ferrari 458 and the McLaren P1.

When Assetto Corsa finally arrives in April, I think the likes of Forza and Gran Turismo might have to take a good hard look in their rear view mirrors, there might just be a new kid on the block looking to take the crown as the best racing sim on consoles.

Video By Assetto Corsa Official Media Channel