More information on Project Motor Racing’s multiplayer has emerged, and it appears the Straight4 Studios-developed title is bucking the trend for online racing.
“No passes. No rentals. No subscriptions,” stated Straight4’s CEO, Ian Bell. “PMR gives you full online racing on day one, right out of the box — built for drivers who value clean, hard competition over complicated paywalls and qualification hurdles,” he continued.
PMR players won’t have to fork out any more cash to access the game’s multiplayer – barring PlayStation and Xbox’s own online subscriptions – and this includes the ability to host your own custom lobbies.
This approach is in stark contrast to the likes of Le Mans Ultimate and iRacing, which require a monthly or yearly subscription fee to access the full gamut of their multiplayer features, potentially allowing for a more accessible online racing experience.
For example, Le Mans Ultimate‘s daily/weekly races and special events on dedicated servers are free, all you need is to own the base game. But, to access online championships or race with a custom livery online, LMU players require a RaceControl Pro or Pro+ subscription. Likewise, to launch a hosted server, LMU players need to pay an additional fee.
iRacing players need to pay a monthly subscription fee to access and use their content offline or online, while hosted servers are also an additional charge. All these features will be free in PMR, according to Straight4, over and above the requisite console’s online subscription.
The news comes as Straight4 prepares to showcase PMR at the Tokyo Game Show, with a new game trailer revealing Sebring and 7 new cars (check out our companion article here for more information).
Project Motor Racing’s online racing career
PMR’s online racing career will revolve around scheduled races, championships and shorter, casual events.
To participate in PMR’s online racing career mode, all players must complete a license test at Lime Rock Park, driving eight clean laps within a predetermined time. This will set your initial multiplayer skill rating.
PMR’s driver ratings dispense with traditional Elo for a figure between one and one hundred, with ratings split between vehicle categories (much like iRacing’s system). Race and championship grids will then be divided up by driver rating to guarantee close and fair racing.
Cross-platform racing has also been teased, although to what extent we’ve yet to see.
We have asked Project Motor Racing which of the online multiplayer races are on dedicated servers, and will update this article once we have confirmation.
Update 25th September 2025
In response to Traxion asking about dedicated servers and/or peer-to-peer systems, Project Motor Racing was able to reply with the following:
“We are running a hybrid networking model across all our online modes, combining both peer-to-peer and dedicated server approaches,” said the spokesperson.
“This lets us deliver the best of both worlds, ensuring optimal performance while also providing a more secure and stable environment for competitive gaming.”
Project Motor Racing: Leaderboard modes
PMR will also have two leaderboard modes. Factory Driver Challenges will throw players into fever-inducing car and track combinations, while Endurance Hall Events provide 200-300 Km long-distance tests of strategy and stamina.
PMR will release on Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5 and PC on the 25th of November 2025.
What do you make of Project Motor Racing’s approach to online multiplayer? Let us know in the comments below.
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