Gaming

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zfqdpr8UYpo

Ah the festive period — is there a better time to be merry for days on end? We sincerely doubt it. With parties left, right and center, one may expect that big organizations also get in on the fun. It seems Polyphony Digital is no exception, based on tweets by original GT Academy winner Lucas Ordóñez and Super GT driver Satoshi Motoyama. Both racers attended the annual party, held at the Japan offices of the Gran Turismo creators.

2016 was quite the eventful year for Assetto Corsa. After successfully touching down for PS4 and Xbox One players after a series of delays, the title continued to expand with a number of content releases. The highlight was without a doubt the addition of Porsche: 24 vehicles spanning across three packs, showcasing a selection of the historic machinery from the Stuttgart brand. With the previous year said and done for, many may be wondering what’s next for Assetto Corsa.

Now that we’re all suitably re-hydrated from New Years celebrations, it’s time to look forward: this year is going to be great. 2016 wasn’t bad by any means — you can read all about it in our Year In Review — but we truly believe 2017 will be looked at as a high-water mark for the sim racing genre.

Forza Horizon 3 is set to kick off the new year with its fourth monthly car pack tomorrow. The BMW i8 was already teased last month, confirming its place as the star of the pack, but a leak on the Windows Store has now outed the other six cars that will be arriving in 24 hours:

Well, 2017 is certainly off to a good start!

Whether you saved a little bit of spending money for yourself this holiday season, or received PSN gift cards, Sony’s got a gaggle of racing game discounts going on right now to lighten the load. Starting (rather confusingly) earlier this week, the January Sale covers most of the regions outside of North America.

Polyphony have pulled the trigger on the latest Seasonal Events for Gran Turismo 6. This week’s events are a combination of time trial and drifting challenges, testing your mettle at a variety of racing venues. Whether it be rally-bred machines or GT Originals, this week’s events has a little bit of something for everyone.

Italian automotive equipment and accessory manufacturer Sparco has announced it’s entering the simulation racing market for 2017. With three sophisticated gaming seats and a new gaming rig, Sparco is more than prepared to enter the highly-demanding world of sim racing.

If you’ve been waiting for an opportunity to snag either F1 2016 or DiRT Rally with a little money to spare, the fourth and final week of the PlayStation Store Holiday Sale has you covered. Both Codemasters titles are featured in this week’s sales finale, with up to 60% in savings.

Back at the beginning of the month, Polyphony Digital released 124 new screenshots of Gran Turismo Sport. One specific image has caught the attention of our community, as GTPlanet members have been trying to unravel a mystery.

‘Tis the night before Christmas, but thanks to the massive Steam Winter Sale, there will be plenty of creatures stirring. The annual discount bonanza has started, and for racing fans on PC, it offers one of the best opportunities of the year to grab all sorts of titles.

‘Tis the season for giving, and the Humble Store is doing their fair share of giving with a free copy of Race Driver: GRiD up for grabs for the next 18 hours.

The beautiful Australian plains of Forza Horizon 3 got all wrapped in snow and ice as Turn 10’s new Blizzard Mountain Expansion kicked off last week. Over 50 new challenges and eight new vehicles proved to be just the tip of the iceberg, leaving Forza supporters plenty of new achievements to aim for. If you’ve been particularly interested in record hunting, the video above should be just the ticket.

Sometimes you just know when you’re right. Just last week Turn 10’s Brian Ekberg began speaking of the team’s plans for the new year, confirming a new Forzathon event for Forza Horizon 3 in January featuring “the most requested BMW in Forza history.”

According to a very pushy guy in a red suit at the mall, it’s the holiday season. One of the hardest things at this time of year — other than fighting off the endless waves of sweets — is buying gifts. Maybe you’ve got a fellow racing game fan that needs something new, or maybe your family and friends don’t have a clue what to buy you. Either way we’re here to help, collaborating with GT Channel to provide you with the best racing games on offer this year, in an easily-digestible short video.

The news of a seventh entry in the Forza Motorsport franchise — expected to release within the next year — is unlikely to come as a surprise to anyone. What is surprising is the first mention of the team’s next project doesn’t come from Turn 10 itself, but has been outed by Fanatec CEO Thomas Jackermeier.

Recent eSports events like the ‘Road to Vegas’ focus on a merger of sim racing athletes and actual racing drivers competing on a single platform, providing a place for both to compete that doesn’t require either party to have years of training in the other discipline. However, a cross-dimensional approach could happen as soon as two years time according to Formula 1’s Chief Technical Officer, John Morrison.

It’s as they say: all good things must come to an end. After several days of teasing, PC players now have access to the third and final Porsche Pack for Assetto Corsa. Arriving alongside today’s finale is update 1.11 for the game, bringing with it an all-new Championship gameplay mode in addition to the following vehicles from the Stuttgart manufacturer:

We admit it: these slipped through the cracks. Amidst all the news surrounding GT Sport during the PlayStation Experience earlier this month — a new 4K trailer, a massive selection of screenshots, and new car reveals — there was a small collection of new Scapes images shown off by Kazunori Yamauchi himself during a presentation.