GT Manager preview: More than a mobile port

John Munro
Following a hands-off preview at Gamescom, GT Manager is shaping up to be an accessible slice of being a Team Principal.
GT Manager preview - More than a mobile port

There is yet another management-based racing game on the horizon. This one, GT Manager, has already existed in mobile form for a couple of years, but upon its early-access PC release on 18th September, it will need to demonstrate unique qualities to stand out in an increasingly crowded market.

For those familiar with the mobile version, developed and published by The Tiny Digital Factory, the PC release carries across the same core concept but now features a significantly deeper offline experience.

Its new lack of all-too-familiar mobile game tropes is abundantly clear from the outset, despite the initial plan being to simply port the mobile version.   

GT Manager car selection

As the title suggests, GT Manager is centred around the omnipresent grand touring discipline of motorsport, with some late-game licenced Hypercar enticement breaking that trend.

Progression through the single-player career mode will see you work your way through the five early-access categories in a predictable fashion, starting out in GT4 with a low budget and big aspirations.

Do well, and you will be offered the chance to move up to GT3, then GT2, GTE and finally, Hypercar.

It is worth noting, that multi-class racing will not be available upon launch day, although it is a feature being considered for future inclusion, according to Miklós Váradi, Product Marketing Manager, who previewed the game to us at Gamescom.

Progression, therefore, utilises a tried and tested approach. But crucially, if you don’t feel ready to make that jump, you can opt to spend more time in the ‘lower’ tiers. Developing your resources and facilities first, while gaining experience and cash, might be a more sensible strategy.

The gameplay combines both on and off-track management, the latter in particular needing a lot of attention if a player is to be successful.

Hire and train staff and drivers, manage sponsors and their objectives, prioritise cost versus performance and improve your facilities – which are neatly visualised from the home screen as you progress.

Higher-category cars are going to be more expensive to purchase and run, so for success on the circuit, your team’s foundations are crucial.

Speaking of cars… The roster is impressive, if modest in size. Despite no affiliation to a specific series, this game has fully licensed vehicles with their unique stats, including some of the more obscure manufacturer offerings to sit alongside the common contenders.

How about the new GT4 Lotus Emira or Brabham BT62 for GTE? Despite feeling relatively diminutive initially, the car list is expected to be expanded upon for the full, non-early access, release. 

On the flip side, the circuits are not officially licensed (although clearly taking familiar real-world layouts and dropping them in different environments), but the sponsors and drivers that you sign are.

Conquer the sportscar racing world with GT Manager this September

So if some of your favourite GT stars happen to drive for a team that is featured in this game, you can look forward to chasing their signature. Liveries can be unlocked through gameplay too, although for the single-player career mode in early access, you will have to run a stock manufacturer livery initially.

Of course, the racing itself is going to be a key factor in this game’s appeal, and on this front, it feels too early to pass any true judgement. Races will be 15 or 30 laps long depending on their format, which perhaps harks back to the mobile origins, and is not representative of ‘true’ GT racing. They do at least create a platform for more fleshed-out strategising and variety than the phone variant ever offered.

Battles with AI drivers feel action-packed, and curveballs are regularly thrown your way to encourage mid-race action. There are crashes (shown picture in picture as they happen), full-course yellows and weather events, akin to any good management experience.

Something that does set this apart from its contemporaries is the focus on the team element. Racing rarely feels like it’s about one individual driver in GT Manager, evidenced by the inclusion of mid-race driver swaps and a position overlay displaying team and manufacturer names rather than the individuals behind the virtual wheel.

GT Manager track selection

The decision from developer The Tiny Digital Factory to switch from a planned full-release to early access is apparently down to a desire for community feedback above anything else.

There are additional features and content expected to be added at some stage (as well as the possibility of console versions), but players will still be able to sample a taste of what’s to come.

The next few months will likely have a significant influence on the long-term direction of GT Manager, and only then will we be able to truly evaluate its status within the genre.

It hits PC via Steam and Mac in the aforementioned early access phase on 18th September 2024, and Traxion understands that the full release shouldn’t be too long after that.

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