America’s leading sideways motorsport championship, Formula DRIFT, is about to see officially-licenced content within the upcoming PC and console racing game, Torque Drift 2.
Little is known about the game itself at this point, but the original Torque Drift was a free-to-play drifting game for Android, iOS and PC – released in 2020 for mobile devices and in 2021 on Steam. The aim was to customise your ideal drift car and then compete online against rivals.
Since then, developers Grease Monkey Games have been acquired by Animoca Brands, publishers of management and collectable titles MotoGP Ignition and Formula E: High Voltage. It also purchased long-established racing game developer Eden Games on the 11th April 2022.
Images of Formula DRIFT venues have been released at this stage, and they look detailed – but without any cars on track or gameplay footage, it’s hard to pass definitive comment. Long Beach is one of the locations included, which recently held a 2022 round.
Spawning from a 2003 exhibition of the Japanese Series D1 Grand Prix at Irwindale Speedway, Formula DRIFT has existed since 2004, with past champions including Tanner Foust, Chris Forsberg, Daijiro Yoshihara and Vaughn Gittin Jr. Formula DRIFT cars also appear in Forza Horizon 5, predominately in a DLC pack.
Torque Drift 2 will be built upon Animoca’s blockchain platform and includes fully functional and playable NFTs in-game. Ah.
Trading will be possible via secondary marketplaces. Double ah.
How this is implemented is the key to a sustained audience, as, after an initial flurry of interest, negative sentiment makes it feel as if the NFT bubble has already burst.
Update: Torque Drift 2 will be launched on PC first, followed by as-yet-unspecified consoles later.
