The FIM Motocross World Championship has been missing an official video game for nearly three years – but two months from now, that will mercifully no longer be the case.
Fans of the premier off-road motorcycle have been bereft of a virtual experience since MXGP 2021, released in November of that year. That was by Italian studio Milestone, using the same Unreal Engine technology platform as its Monster Energy Supercross releases.
November this year will see a new title – MXGP 24 – The Official Game – and there has been more change than the rider’s market silly season.
Behind the scenes, the rights to make the licenced bike title have changed hands, now moving to Kylotonn (KT Racing) under the Nacon umbrella. Unreal has been jettisoned too, replaced by the French company’s proprietary KT Engine.
That is the same toolset that powers Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown, which will receive road-going motorcycles at a later date. Perhaps more pertinently, this was also used for TT Isle of Man: Ride on the Edge 3.
A MXGP series reset
“We start from scratch at KT, and we try to keep similar things as before, but add our own take,” said a Nacon representative to Traxion.
“I like to say the development has been 10 months so far [at the time of speaking], so it’s been busy.”
During our hands-off preview session at the German Gamescom event (despite the version we were shown far from final) bike detail looked more than up to matching, or even exceeding, past MXGP instalments.
The track recreation looked authentic, on the surface matching real-world counterparts, down to the trackside sponsor vehicles and marshalls waving yellow flags. Each has been recreated using photogrammetry to, says Nacon, 10cm precision.
The surface notably deformed when our rider repeatedly rode over the dirt sections, something the development team is particularly proud of. The dynamic system impacts the physics of you and your AI-controlled rivals.
Weather is not changeable mid-race, but you can select from a mixture of conditions, including rain.
We couldn’t help but notice a familiar KT Engine quirk of the surrounding environment in the distance looking decidedly featureless. Something that affects the aforementioned TT Isle of Man: Ride on the Edge 3, but perhaps an element you only pick up on when not engrossed in gameplay.
Detailed career mode
It will feature quick race, time attack and season modes, as expected, alongside a fleshed-out career mode.
Its structure seems reminiscent of Overpass 2, a game published by Nacon last year, and also KT Racing’s 2022 WRC Generations. Also reminiscent of the latter game is the ability to customise rider stickers, more of which unlock as you earn experience points and advance through levels.
The structure requires creating a unique rider and visiting a centralised ‘home’ hub after each round of a season. There’s a calendar system, a social media feed plus branching development paths for both rider and team abilities.
You start in a series of junior races for a fictional team, before signing up to a real-world (and real-world only) MX2 team. Ultimately, the aim is to progress further and become an FIM MXGP world champion.
We can’t speak to the physics yet, we didn’t ride the game ourselves. But, we did see a customised setup screen for motorcycle settings. What wasn’t present during our time with the game were scrubs or whips, but we were told they would be included at launch.
“We want the game to be like a simulation, but have help with assists to make it more accessible for the rider,” continued Nacon.
A manual physics option is set to require two-stick control the shift rider weight, whereas an automatic option will see the player just focus on acceleration, braking and turning.
Unique online multiplayer mode
Perhaps in a surprising move, online multiplayer will not see a traditional lobby browser or creation system.
With the stated aim of simplifying the process and avoiding waiting times for a race, instead, there is a daily challenge mode. The development team sets up the format every 24 hours, and you try to beat your score against up to nine other players.
European open-world area
Alongside actual MXGP venues sits a 4 km² open-world environment. It’s not based on anywhere specifically, aiming to simply be ‘European’.
It’s a luscious area, with lakes, forests, farmers and a quarry. Inside there will be six tracks to also mess around on. There are plans to include some varied game modes, such as last-person-standing and hidden letters to collect.
There is more to discover here, and once again, what we saw was very obviously an earlier build not representative of the final product. However, considering the time constraints placed upon the creation team, the potential is obvious.
More importantly, there is a new official MXGP game, and it’s set to arrive sooner rather than later.
MXGP 24 – The Official Game at a glance
- Currently aiming for a November release on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S
- Official motorcycle racing game of the 2024 FIM Motocross World Championship season
- Created from scratch by Nacon and KT Racing, using the proprietary KT Engine
- Five camera, views, the angles of which can be adjusted on the fly using the D-Pad. Photo mode
- 21 circuits and more than 50 drivers from two categories (MXGP and MX2)
- Quick race, time attack, season, career and online daily challenge modes
- 4 km² open world environment
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