Assetto Corsa EVO has been five years in development, designed to “move forward forever”

With the first in-game images for Assetto Corsa EVO published, and a Steam landing page for the highly anticipated driving simulation live, so begins the ramp-up to its release.

It is an exciting time for fans of the series, desperate to get their hands on the third title in the long-running series. That must wait, for now.

Parent company of creator Kunos Simulazioni and publisher 505 Games, Digital Bros, stated in an earnings report that Evo was scheduled for a ‘summer 2024’ release. That is vaguer than a politician, but at least a window.

Assetto Corsa EVO will be released when it hits quality targets

“Summer ends about 21st September, right?,” smiles co-founder and Executive Manager Marco Massarutto to Traxion when quizzed about EVO’s release date.

He’s enjoying the 24 Hours of Spa – a brief interlude in an otherwise hectic schedule.

“I don’t know. Maybe, maybe. We will try,” continues the ebullient Italian in reference to the summer target.

“But definitely, we are not going to sacrifice the quality over the quantity or to [meet] any date.”

When asked if it will be ‘ready when it’s ready’, the response is profound.

“Absolutely. Like the Sistine Chapel.”

The slow tease of information – first the name, then the VR support, followed by the aforementioned images of cars and tracks – has seen the hype levels exceed Taylor Swift fans excitedly trying to secure show tickets.

For the diminutive Kunos team it has been working away shrouded in secrecy alongside its existing Assetto Corsa Competizione product, the official simulation of SRO’s GT World Challenge competition.

Work started on EVO in 2019

The past half-decade for ACC has been a whirlwind. It reached its all-time peak concurrent PC player numbers earlier this year, following the release of the Nürburgring Nordschleife.

While the GT-focused simulation has received updates, balance of performance tweaks, new cars and fresh venues, the 35-strong team was balancing the creation of its all-new project.

“We started at the end of 2019 with the first concept of the EVO project,” explains Massarutto.

“It’s been quite a challenge because in the meantime we continue to improve and develop content for Competizione.

“We have run these two projects in parallel and as you know, we don’t use Unreal Engine any more [like with ACC] for EVO.

“We didn’t just split content from one game to another. They are two completely separate projects. It has been a very long journey, that is not over, and in some ways just starting.

“It is very exciting because we love to produce and develop technology, not just racing simulations. Being behind the technology that powers EVO is something that gives us stamina. We need to work at our best every day.”

This is just the beginning

With a launch expected this year, the team is focused on satisfying fans. Even then, however, it sounds as if the work doesn’t end there…

“EVO is totally made from scratch,” continues the industry veteran.

“The first Assetto Corsa has gone beyond any possible expectation from any point of view. Not just from a commercial aspect, but also in terms of what people have been able to create through the years and the way we have been able to support it.

“We know that there are a lot of expectations, so EVO has been designed to move forward forever, possibly.

“We have completely changed the structure, but it is a bit early to go deep on it. There is quite a bit more behind EVO that we will unveil over time.

“We are working on the first trailer and we don’t want to spoil it too much because we are working a lot in order to surprise our audience.”