Kunos: “We still want to build the best career mode for Assetto Corsa EVO”

When the creators and publishers of Assetto Corsa EVO, Kunos Simulazioni and 505 Games, respectively, announced a “move away from the current Career mode and in-game economy systems”, it was met with a mixed response.

Actually, that’s putting it mildly. There was rage and fury.

The title, in early access, stated that “this change allows us to replace the Career mode with experiences that are more directly focused on driving and improvement”, but that “features such as XP, virtual currency, and economy-based progression will no longer be part of the experience.”

Controversial to say the least, especially for those looking for ‘Gran Turismo-style’ progression systems within a simulation.

Now, studio lead Marco Massarutto has moved to explain that the recent announcement doesn’t necessarily mean there won’t ever be a career mode in EVO.

“We still want to build the best career mode for Assetto Corsa EVO, but we realised that the one based on economy and grinding no longer matched the team’s internal vision,” he explained to Traxion, as part of a larger discussion.

“I don’t exclude that a different career mode in the future could be implemented.”

In theory, that could mean some form of progression, but with a different structure to the original plan. It was initially set for interwoven tracking, points and currency, even across the Germany-set free-roam area.

After all, the past two main series entries did feature dedicated single-player progression, just without the need for currency.

Just don’t expect the possible new career vision to be implemented any time soon, as the development team focuses on what Massarutto describes as “the DNA of Assetto Corsa.”

“Assetto Corsa isn’t just about feeding your passion for car culture. It’s a tool to challenge yourself. To discover your limits. To understand how you handle and improve driving precision,  pressure, competition, the clock.

“It’s about reaching a point where, the day you step into a real pitlane, wear gloves and a helmet, and sit in a racing seat — whatever the car — you know that 90–95 per cent of what you can do there comes from what you learned and practised at home in Assetto Corsa.

“I experienced it by myself, and I saw the very same with other people many times. That’s what Assetto Corsa was meant to be, and one of the reasons it became so popular.

“EVO is the direct successor of the original Assetto Corsa. Our idea for the career mode was ambitious: an ecosystem where progression, full freedom, top-level simulation, free roam, and modding could all live together.

“But as development moved forward, we realised that building such a massive and interconnected structure at the scale we imagined was starting to take focus and resources away from what matters most — the core pillars of Assetto Corsa and, for the majority of the over 20 million users who love the Assetto vision, those pillars are non-negotiable.”

“The in-game economy we envisioned before would have forced compromises”

With the third mainstream Assetto Corsa title still in active development through the aforementioned early access process, and now with no firm Version 1.0 release window, every element is open to further refinements, according to Massarutto:

“We are working to improve every aspect of the game: sound, performance, VR, handling, force feedback, AI, multiplayer, UI.

“Right now, there’s nothing in EVO we consider finished at 100 per cent; there’s still plenty of room for improvement, and the community can see that with each new release.

“Some changes are obvious, others are under the hood—but throughout 2025, we’ve focused not only on the game itself, but also on our team organisation and internal processes.”

A recent 0.5 update added a free camera option and a new track limits system, particularly important during multiplayer races. The cars were as detailed as ever, perhaps some of the most accurate on the market, but perhaps understandably, this was overshadowed by recent strategy changes.

Along the way, vehicles such as the F40 LM and a meticulous recreation of the Nürburgring’s daunting Nordschleife have been particular highlights, showcasing a fundamental core competence that is yet to be seen across every area.

I get the impression, however, that a cohesive experience that also delivers the deified open Eifel region is still some time away. This feeds back into the cessation of XP and currency-based careers.

“The current career mode and the in-game economy we envisioned before would have forced compromises,” claims Massarutto.

“More limits on modding. A much longer development time. Possible restrictions on multiplayer, servers and free roam. That’s not the direction we want.

“At some point, we had to make a choice, to not suffer through the difficult development process and still deliver something that doesn’t meet what people expect from our popular franchise.

“So we chose to protect the DNA of Assetto Corsa and to focus on what makes this platform special: uncompromising simulation and openness. Not because it was the easier path — but because we feel it was the right one.”

“We are sad and disappointed with ourselves”

Despite the recent setbacks and rapid sentiment decline, there remains a bullishness that perhaps only a team that has grown from the embryonic netKar Pro to the 20-million-user Assetto Corsa franchise can pull off.

“We are sad and disappointed with ourselves about the review bombing that EVO received with the latest news,” explained Massarutto.

“We hope that you can understand that any decision we take is not to make you angry, but it’s for the best. Nothing else. 

“With the support and trust of the community, EVO can be the best Assetto Corsa so far. Without the community, it can’t. I feel that through all this time we earned your trust. That has been demonstrated by supporting each of our products for many years, even after the launch.

“We ask for your continued support and patience. So, please, if you want to blame someone for your disappointment about the recent news, blame me. I’m the director of the studio. I can face it. I have to. Assetto Corsa Evo, without you, it can’t. I hope people will understand.”