The new features F1 24 needs to entice players in a season of little change

The official Formula 1 game series, developed by Codemasters and published by EA, has become one of the biggest annual sports franchise releases of the year.

But while the F1 series is arguably up there alongside the likes of EAFC, NHL or even Madden as an annual release you can set your calendars by, there’s one big difference between Formula 1 and many other major sports.

Unlike soccer, NFL, basketball or ice hockey, Formula 1 regularly has substantial changes every year which serve as selling points for the official game. From the venues that host grands prix to the look and handling of the cars that make up the grid, each new F1 game typically requires more than just a roster update to fit the new season, unlike the likes of Madden with its same 32 teams and fundamental rule consistency.

But on paper the 2024 F1 season looks like a copy-and-paste affair compared to last year. Every driver who raced at the final round in Abu Dhabi last season will compete for the same team in this year’s season-opener in Bahrain. Also, while 24 rounds makes 2024 the longest season in the sport’s history, all 24 circuits – plus a handful more – were already included in last year’s game.

The rules are also largely untouched – though it remains to be seen what the latest change to the sprint race format will be. The new identities of Sauber and Red Bull’s second team, plus any coming livery tweaks, are the only changes of note for the new season.

Nor will F1 24 necessarily be able to deploy some of the new gimmicks it has rested on in the past. Its Braking Point story mode has thus far been based on a two-year development cycle, and the latest instalment appeared last year, so we may not see the third instalment of the saga of Devon Butler, Callie Mayer and Aiden Jackson in 2024.

So what enticing new angles could Codemasters add to the game for 2024 to make it a must-buy? Looking at other racing games on the market, there some interesting features that EA could take inspiration from.

Of course expectations need to be tempered by the constraints of producing a new game within a 12-month window. On top of that, EA recently laid off staff from Codemasters. With that in mind here are five elements from existing racing game franchises which could make worthwhile additions to the official F1 racing game series.

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Moto GP 23 – Pre-season testing

Forget ‘F1 World’ and multiplayer – career mode is where any F1 game is at its most immersive. We’ve enjoyed the ability to race as created characters or even as created teams for years, but career mode and MyTeam could do with a refresh to avoid them feeling stale as they have changed little since F1 2020.

One of the ways Codemasters could do this is by taking inspiration from Milestone’s Moto GP franchise. While it has its faults and frustrations for hardcore Moto GP fans, there’s a lot to like about the series and how authentic it can feel at times.

Once you reach Moto GP level and sign with a team, you can take part in a pre-season test that lasts for up to two hours and allows you to run unlimited laps with multiple specifications of bike. You ride both and decide which spec you prefer and that becomes the basis of your machine for the season ahead.

Not only would that be a great way to help F1 24 players get familiar with new physics and handling with a new game, it would also give players greater agency over their car development direction at the start of the season and add an extra level of authenticity to the career mode.

EA WRC – Builder mode

EA took over the official World Rally Championship licence last year, with mixed results. However, one unique feature never seen before in a mainstream motorsports racing game was the ability to design your own car to compete with.

Although quite simple in functionality, consisting of picking from a limited list of pre-designed options for the front, side, and rear of cars and small interior options, it would be great to see a similar feature in the F1 game.

While it would naturally be limited to MyTeam for licensing reasons, it would enhance the immersion of having your own team and car if you could choose from a variety of wings, sidepod designs, diffusers, even steering wheel designs. These could each have different attributes, and your team limited to only the least sophisticated items at first if you choose to begin as a backmarker and not a championship contender.

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Gran Turismo – Livery editor

You can safely file this among the least likely features to reach F1 24, but that does not make it any less desirable. A comprehensive – or even just a largely functional – livery editor would be a dream come true for many F1 game players.

While no one would be foolish enough to expect a Gran Turismo 7-level livery editor, with scheme sharing and decal upload functions, even just the ability to add basic shapes and colours to the multiplayer car to make it look how you want it to look would be an extremely popular revision. With EA’s own WRC game, the Moto GP series, every NASCAR game franchise ever, Assetto Corsa Competizione and pretty much every other racing game franchise you can think of having some kind of livery editor, it’s only more conspicuous that F1 is lacking.

Why is it so unlikely to happen? Adding a livery editor would defeat the point of the Podium Pass system which the game has been built around for the previous five iterations, with pre-designed liveries able to be unlocked through grinding gameplay or by purchasing through PitCoins. But with the most recent Podium Pass seasons not including a single livery, it’s natural that players want more freedom to create the looks they want.

Forza Motorsport – Accessibility

The latest entry in the Forza Motorsport franchise has not enjoyed the best reception from players on Xbox and PC. Naturally, there’s not a huge amount from the latest title that would necessarily enhance the new F1 game – except perhaps when it comes to its accessibility options.

EA and Codemasters have made big strides in recent years to try and make the game more accessible to all players regardless of their age, ability or if they live with accessibility requirements. However, Microsoft have invested a lot more than most in the gaming industry to open it up to everyone as much as possible. Their comprehensive suite of accessibility options for Forza Motorsport, from blind driving assists to audio narration and text size adjustment, deserves praise and should be adopted by other games.

As the most popular form of motorsport in the world, Formula 1 naturally has a lot of fans who live with disabilities, and many of those will be gamers. Making the official F1 game as open as possible to allow all fans to live out their racing driver fantasies in the real world may not benefit most players, but is no less worthwhile for it.

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Assetto Corsa Competizione – Driver rating

In recent years, Codemasters introduced a superlicence system for multiplayer which gave players a rating based on their speed and their safety. Those who are the quickest in races are grouped together with players of roughly similar ability, while those who take care to avoid accidents are – in theory – matched with other racers who are equally as clean.

However, Assetto Corsa Competizione takes things to a greater level by running a far more detailed ratings system across everything a player does in the game. Over every lap in every session, the game analyses your performance from your car control, how often you find yourself spinning or running off track, how consistently you can keep your lap times together in the race, as well as how closely you can race your rivals without causing accidents.

Your ratings for each area are constantly adjusting depending on how you do and contribute to your overall rating which can limit the multiplayer options available to you. As a serious racing simulator, this system helps to make sure you treat every session in the car like you’re a genuine racing driver with a genuine team relying on you. Something similar in the official F1 game could help to encourage players to be a little more careful out on track, or motivate them to improve their skills and get even faster.

Over to you

Are there any elements from other racing games – simulation, arcade or in between – that you would like to see added to F1 24? Let us know in the comments below.

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