Back in December of 2021, iRacing made headlines when they acquired Orontes Games, the developers of the Early Access title DRAG. On Thursday (9th June 2022), iRacing announced that an updated DRAG game is headed to consoles in the future. The game now goes by DRAG Outer Zones on their Steam page and that will also receive further updates and development.
DRAG is a fantasy off-road racing title introduced in August 2020 from Christian and Thorsten Folkers, the founders of Orontes Games. This title utilizes their proprietary Orontes Engine and has a physics technology referred to as 4-way Contact Patch Traction technology, or 4CPT for short, to marry the soft-bodied tire technology with the asphalt, the dirt, and sometimes muddy terrain found in DRAG.
As DRAG makes its way to consoles, the game will also receive a facelift from its current state. Updates to DRAG will include offline single-player campaign mode racing against AI opponents, UI improvements, additional driving aids, a new global progression system, as well as new content.
“Laying out the future roadmap for Orontes Games has been incredibly exciting,” iRacing President Tony Gardner said. “The new version will include DRAG’s unique game design, fun driving physics, state of the art game engine and graphics model along with substantial brand new features and upgrades.”
After DRAG, the companies are working to utilize the Orontes Engine for a new driving game which is currently under design. “Following DRAG, we’re excited to take advantage of the limitless possibilities of the Orontes engine to design an all-new unique racing experience that will captivate the race gaming market,” said Gardner.
I did speculate back in December that the engine and assets obtained from the Orontes acquisition could prove to be a big step for the actual iRacing simulation side. At this time, however, they have not mentioned any plans to integrate the technologies, despite the threat of rain that is expected at some point before the end of the year.
“The Orontes game engine doesn’t just push the physics of sim racing forward, it also features beautiful graphics that help to create an incredible game play experience from all facets,” said Orontes Games Producer and iRacing Development Director Eric Busch.
“It’s been an incredible platform to build upon as we create an expanded version of DRAG for both PC and console players, and we’re excited to take advantage of its incredible potential with an all-new product in the near future.”
No date was announced for the console release or for any future products. We do know that iRacing’s other acquisition from the end of last year, Monster Games, will have a World of Outlaws game released on consoles in the Fall of 2022. When we learn any more about the future of DRAG and the future use of the Orontes Engine, we’ll be sure to keep you up to date. Keep it pinned!
Images thanks to Orontes Games
