Le Mans Ultimate is still in an early access phase on PC, and while optional downloadable content is available already, there’s still a seemingly long road ahead to reach a ‘version 1.0’ product.
Features such as hosting private servers, online driver swaps, virtual reality support and a much-vaunted cooperative mode remain absent – but all are expected.
“We have had many comments about delivering on console and it could be an option at some stage depending on how well the game does,” commented erstwhile Studio 397 (the game’s development team) lead Dom Duhan ahead of the title’s launch.
Traxion then enquired about possible PlayStation and Xbox versions in June.
“There is a big upfront investment. It’s one that I bring in front of the investment community all the time as a way to substantially increase the LMU revenues; bring a larger player base into it and bring this technology console,” explained Motorsport Games Chief Executive Officer Stephen Hood.
“What we’d like most likely do is bring a partner in to assist us to convert it so that we didn’t just dominate the internal team with navigating onto consoles.”
Today, 9th August, the company published its Q2 2024 earning report and held a quarterly call to accompany the numbers.
“Given the strong customer reception to our ongoing development of the Le Mans Ultimate game, we have decided to accelerate efforts to bring this title to game consoles and reach a larger audience,” reads the financial statement.
Following the tentative early statements, the greater confidence affirms plans to make the driving simulation available on more devices outside of PC.
It would mark the first time the true physics system used by rFactor 2 and Le Mans Ultimate would debut on PlayStation and Xbox machines – earlier, less complex, iterations of similar technology has appeared in the ill-fated NASCAR 21: Ignition and The Grand Tour Game titles.
“During [Le Mans Ultimate’s] early access period, the game has exceeded our internal projections, and this success has resulted in us making this decision to accelerate our mission, to make this game available on more formats, including some Playstation and Microsoft Xbox games consoles,” highlighted Hood on the earnings call.
‘Some’ implies that older consoles such as the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One may be omitted – a growing trend across gaming.
There is no clear roadmap ahead of Motorsport Games and Studio 397’s driving game in terms of features and quality-of-life changes, although an estimate of the remaining three paid DLC packs has been provided – ending in 2025.
In order to fulfil console approval processes, it is likely that the title must be further along in its development cycle before being released for Sony and Microsoft’s devices.
“We’re very pleased with how [Le Mans Ultimate] has been received by our players, so much so that we can now accelerate plans to bring it to additional formats and reach a larger audience,” surmised Hood.
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