Gamescom 2017 is over. Thousands of people passed through the doors of the Koelnmesse last week — including the German Chancellor.
With the Cologne-based show being one of the last of its kind before the autumn racing game onslaught, it was a great opportunity to learn more about upcoming titles. And learn we did.
Here are all the biggest bits of news from the event that you may have missed.
Sony Reveals Special Gran Turismo Sport PS4 Bundle
With GT Sport less than two months away, we were wondering when a hardware tie-in would materialize. After a brief bit of teasing earlier on in the week, Sony pulled the covers back on the two-tone system you see above. Boasting a matching DualShock 4 and a copy of the game, the bundle utilizes the 1TB base PS4.
Currently, Sony has only confirmed the GT Sport Limited Edition PS4 for the UK, Europe, and Australia. In addition, if you’re hoping to snag the controller a la carte, Sony has stated that will be an option. No word yet on availability in other regions yet, nor if a PS4 Pro version is planned.
Of course, this wasn’t the only news out of the Gran Turismo camp this week. While Sony didn’t hold a dedicated presser, it did release new GT Sport footage. The new clip gave us our first glimpse of the Nürburgring Nordschleife at night. As we’ve come to expect from Polyphony, it’s a visual treat.
Forza Motorsport 7 Details More PC Compatibility, Expanded Career Mode
Turn 10’s seventh iteration of the long-running Forza Motorsport series will be the first full one on the PC. It arrives in October, after the toe-dip in the pool that was Forza Motorsport 6: Apex last year, and the full release of the open-world Horizon 3.
Released at the same time as Microsoft’s pre-Gamescom press event, the full PC spec sheet brought with it a handful of surprises. Not at the high end, no — it’s the low end minimum requirements that were unexpected. Turn 10 has broadened the requirements to the extent that players will be able to play on a Windows Surface 4 Pro. This does mean a reduction to 30fps, however: luckily, all console versions will remain at the 60fps that has been standard this generation.
In addition to the specs of the hardware itself, Turn 10 also revealed the supported accessory list for FM7. Sporting the expected modern controllers — from both Microsoft and Sony — the full list includes over 30 modern steering wheels.
Finally, Turn 10 expanded on the game’s redesigned Career Mode later on in the week. With the largest collection of cars this generation (700+), the game will embrace the car-collecting approach. Players will move through different Car Collector tiers, and the more vehicles in their collections, the better prizes they’ll get from events. Check out our detailed breakdown of the new Career Mode right here.
Project CARS 2 Gets Ready for Action
Gamescom’s media day (Tuesday August 22) was an important date for the PCARS2 camp. You see, it meant exactly one month until the game touches down on all major platforms.
The folks at Slightly Mad Studios celebrated by launching a trailer before the event, which you can watch above. It gives a great overview of the huge amount of variety the game will offer. Sports cars, race-bred machines, open-wheelers, karts — all are part of the 180-strong car list.
Not only that, PCARS2 will feature the largest collection of race tracks this generation — a list we recently compiled. Thanks to LiveTrack 3.0, players will be able to experience these circuits at different times of the year, too. Did someone say snowy Nürburgring?
While not strictly part of the Gamescom festivities, a recent live stream from Slightly Mad Studios also cast light on the online gaming aspects of the game. You can read up on that here.
Project Scorpio Lives On — Xbox One X Pre-Orders Go Live
Microsoft used Gamescom to finally open up pre-orders for the most powerful gaming console ever. Not only that, but it brought back the system’s codename — Project Scorpio — for a special edition of the console. Featuring a few choice design changes, it’s a nice reminder of the system’s origins. We admit, we still like that name more than the one it ended up with.
The One X promptly sold out at many online retailers, in regular and Scorpio flavors. It remains to be seen if it will turn the tides for Microsoft in the console sales war this generation.
Racing game fans looking to pick up the new system got a bit of good news too. Microsoft released a list of over 100 titles set to benefit from the new system via patches. On that list, there were nine racing titles. Expect improved eye candy and better performance for those games, including two we’ve yet to mention…
New Trailers for the Arcade Racers
Yes, sim racers will be spoiled for choice over the next two months. But if you’re looking for something a little lighter to complement the experience, that part of our favorite genre will be growing too. Both The Crew 2 and Need For Speed Payback showed off new trailers; we’ve included the former’s up top.
Ubisoft’s surprise open-world racer is doubling down on the crazy this go-round. Not satisfied with just cars (and bikes), the team at Ivory Tower has added planes and boats to the mix for the sequel. According to the company, players can swap between modes of transport at the press of a button. If that sounds nuts, don’t worry — it is. But it should make exploring the USA a fun, laugh-filled experience when the game touches down in March 2018.
Need For Speed Payback launches much earlier (and closer to the sim-racing Big Three). The game will land in mid-November, and apparently features an improved handling model over the divisive 2015 game. Electronic Arts focused on the law enforcement aspect of Payback at Gamescom, with the relentless Rhino taking the spotlight in the latest trailer.
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