The new edition of the official Formula 1 game, F1 23, will be released on June 16th – the earliest launch date since Codemasters took over the franchise.
The latest entry in the series, published by EA, will be released for PC and both the current and previous generations of consoles: PlayStation 5 and 4, plus Xbox Series S and X, and Xbox One.Among a series of changes to the gameplay, F1 23 will see the return of the Braking Point story mode, resuming the narrative mode that debuted in F1 2021.
With the addition of the Las Vegas Grand Prix to the 2023 calendar and the return of the Qatar Grand Prix, EA Sports have confirmed that both the Las Vegas Strip Circuit and the Losail International Circuit will be playable when the game launches on June 16th.
Three additional tracks not included on this year’s calendar – Paul Ricard, Shanghai and the Autodromo do Algarve – will also be featured in the game as raceable circuits from launch.
Following criticism from players over the physics model in last year’s title, in particular a perceived deficit in traction exiting corners even in higher gears, EA Sports says the latest entry in the long-running series will offer revised physics developed in collaboration with F1’s teams to offer a more “realistic” impression of aerodynamic behaviour and mechanical grip. The publisher also boasts improved throttle control that it claims will offer players enhanced feedback to judge when their car will break traction in acceleration zones.
A new race distance option of 35% has been added to the game to offer an intermediate between 25% and 50% distance races. The 35% distance races around Monza equating to around 19 laps. The game will also reintroduce red flag interventions to the series, last seen in F1 2014.
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A new system for earning upgrades for the player’s car will be added to career mode. Online play will benefit from the introduction of a new Assetto Corsa Competitzione-style driver rating system which will track how safe at driving a player is in their online and offline races.
The return of the Braking Point story mode will resume the story of fictional drivers Aiden Jackson and Devon Butler, who will assume the role of the protagonist. An all-new fictional team, Konnersport Racing, will be introduced to the game, with the two main characters joining together at the team as team mates.
F1 2023 will be the third F1 game released under the publication of EA Sports, which introduced ‘F1 Life’ to last year’s game – a feature that added customisable apartments with unlockable furniture and driveable supercars. In this year’s edition the feature has evolved into ‘F1 World’, which will be expanded throughout the various racing modes within the game.
Codemasters’ senior creative director Lee Mather says the new game will provide a more realistic experience than F1 22.
“The return of Braking Point allows players to immerse themselves in a racing story, which provides a unique look at F1 alongside the authentic race features our players know and love,” said Mather.
“Our close relationship with the teams has allowed us to refine our handling model, adding greater realism to pad-play, and implementing a new colour encoding system used in film and TV creates a more true-to-life experience.”
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Jere (@jerejj)
3rd May 2023, 16:33
Interesting & good thing the new game will also be on PS4.
Proesterchen (@proesterchen)
3rd May 2023, 17:05
I love me a good red flag. The less explainable the better.
Dominique (@tryneplague)
3rd May 2023, 17:37
We’ve had broken multiplayer for like ten years.. Brain dead AI.. AI cars teleporting around.. Difficulty settings being completely random from track to track… guess that’s not gonna change? Better to spend time developing cringe ‘Story modes’.. and adding MTX.
Dex
3rd May 2023, 17:59
Yeah, but then, that’s why I didn’t buy any F1 game since years ago and I won’t be buying them any time soon it seems. Sadly, they won’t sell the license to a more competent company. I don’t accept the “give me whatever you have” mentality. It’s laughable how you mention the same issues I remember from almost 10 years ago. They don’t deserve out money, yet I know that they will get more than enough. As long as people complain, yet can’t resist to surrender…
bernasaurus (@bernasaurus)
3rd May 2023, 18:16
The AI from track to track I think is Codemasters biggest problem. It’s reassuring when you see others highlight the same tracks. So often you’re 3 seconds faster than anyone, then 3 seconds off the pace.
I get that Polyphony and others are much bigger studios, and aren’t releasing on an annual circle. But GT7 can do hundreds of cars and tracks and they all feel different whether you’re messing with tyre compound, brake bias, lift and coast etc. The variables are way bigger than an F1 game.
In the F1 games, there are some tracks you just know you’ll be on pole. No matter what you do. Others, you just don’t bother.
I like them, and enjoy them. I’m not a hardcore sim racer or anything. But if you don’t grab pole in Montreal – you’re doing something seriously wrong.
MichaelN
3rd May 2023, 23:07
Over on YouTube, a guy by the name of Raycevick recently had a great video titled “I Love Racing Games, They S***” which touched on a lot of those points with a ton of great examples from various series. The racing genre has become so inward looking that it still thinks having 12 people in a race is a cool feature, and while other games seamlessly render entire cities, F1 games still struggle to load full models for all of the – wait for it – 20 cars. The bots people are racing against are indeed generally no better than they were dozens of years ago in the heydays of the GP series, and online lobby’s are full of cheaters and trolls, whilst game breaking bugs and connection issues are surprisingly common.
F1 22 now sees daily peaks of about 5.000 concurrent players on Steam, and its nowhere near the Top 100 most played games. Who cares about “adding greater realism to pad-play”? Make the game fun, varied and fair. Nobody is expecting realistic driving on a gamepad. That’s not the point.
SHR Modding
3rd May 2023, 18:26
Reiza Studios should get the f1 license
SoLiDG (@solidg)
4th May 2023, 6:56
The f1 licence shouldn’t be exclusive and mega expensive. So others can have a go for a more sim approach.
Bullfrog (@bullfrog)
3rd May 2023, 18:44
I revised Physics, but still got a D
Palindnilap (@palindnilap)
3rd May 2023, 19:09
Am I the only one who read “F1 gets 23 red flags” ?
RatSack
4th May 2023, 0:15
An average of 23 red fags per a race is targeted for greater realism
MacLeod (@macleod)
4th May 2023, 7:44
Untill you wrote this i had to look back but still F1 23 gets red flags, ect. for me :)
ferrox glideh (@ferrox-glideh)
4th May 2023, 14:48
If you are going to have red flags in an F1 video game, why not go all in and have random mechanical failures? Imagine leading a virtual race and then having to pull over due to a virtual hydraulic leak. Now, that might not be any fun, but it sure would be realistic!
JJL
4th May 2023, 15:31
F1 97 had that on PS1 26 years ago.
Sometimes you could nurse the car home or to the pits to be fixed. Great feature.
Will Wood (@willwood)
4th May 2023, 18:15
@ferrox-glideh In fairness, random failures are a current feature in the series today.
They aren’t as well implemented as, say, Grand Prix 4, but they are in F1 22 now.
ferrox glideh (@ferrox-glideh)
5th May 2023, 15:25
I guess that I can always “console” myself with a reset ;)