Le Mans Ultimate review: Genre-leading physics, threadbare single-player

Much of the sim racing community was adamant it wouldn’t happen, but here we are: Le Mans Ultimate has reached version 1.0. There’s an elephant in the room, though: it’s not really a full game.

In one of the most astonishing redemption arcs in video game history, Motorsport Games has gone from making the spectacularly awful NASCAR 21: Ignition (while failing to release officially licensed BTCC, IndyCar and NASCAR games) to creating the finest Hypercar simulator on the market.

Through successive Early Access updates and, controversially, five paid DLC packs, the official game of the 2023 and 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship became the go-to sim for virtual GT3 racers too, muscling in on the vacuum left by Assetto Corsa Competizione.

With v1.0 comes two new – and free – cars: the Mercedes-AMG LMGT3 and the Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR LMH Hypercar, with 2025’s facelifted BMW M4 LMGT3 Evo also making an appearance.

The full 2025 WEC season is also in, including up-to-date Hypercar and LMGT3 liveries (2025 LMP2 paint schemes will arrive later) as well as accurate LED position boards. The LMGT3 tyre model and set-up user interface have also been given some attention.

Crucially, however, there’s no single-player career or championship modes, which makes LMU’s v1.0 moniker a hard sell for me.

Disclaimer: Traxion was given an early build of v1.0, so user experiences may differ when the game releases on the 22nd of July.

KartKraft mentions intensify

Let’s get the negatives out of the way first. 

MSG acquired Early Access karting sim KartKraft in 2021, and released v1.0 of the game the following year. Egregiously, this didn’t include proper PVP multiplayer or a single-player career mode, despite being classed as a ‘finished’, v1.0 game.

Promises were made to include these modes post-release, but were never kept, which further diminished MSG’s reputation in the eyes of the sim racing community.

Of course, in terms of finances (MSG received a cash injection from Chinese VR specialists Pimax recently), LMU and MSG are in a much better position these days, so there’s no reason to doubt CEO Stephen Hood’s assertion that LMU will get single-player modes in ‘early 2026’.

It’s still worth noting that, in my view, a game shouldn’t be classed as ‘v1.0’ if it lacks important features.

With that out of the way, let’s take a look at v1.0 of LMU’s new content.

Mercedes-AMG LMGT3

Two (rising to three for the 24 Hours of Le Mans) Iron Lynx-run Mercedes-AMG LMGT3s made their WEC debut this year, but it’s been a tough season so far for the Stuttgart marque with a best result of just 12th.

The car’s naturally-aspirated V8 engine gives it a fan-pleasing exhaust note, however, and its front-engined layout provides a steadier platform for virtual racers, much like LMU’s incumbent Ford Mustang, Aston Martin Vantage AMR, BMW M4 and Lexus RC F LMGT3s.

Predictably, it drives with assuredness, and sounds incredible too, with players given a choice of three liveries (they’re all very similar-looking, though). I found myself mesmerised by the car’s external audio, with a VR race at Le Mans providing an immersive platform to watch it in replay mode. The AMG sounds better in LMU than any other sim, in my opinion.

Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR LMH Hypercar

However, the Aston Martin Valkyrie is undoubtedly the car everyone has been looking forward to most in LMU. Already a fan favourite thanks to its naturally aspirated V12 engine, the Valkyrie is the only Hypercar on the 2025 grid which runs without hybrid assistance.

Although following in the drivetrain footsteps of the mothballed Vanwall Vandervell doesn’t seem like the path to success, the Valkyrie has enjoyed impressive reliability and should become more competitive next season thanks to WEC’s Balance of Performance regulations.

LMU has traditionally excelled in depicting the diverse exhaust notes of the WEC, and the Valkyrie is right up there in terms of ear-candy. Anyone who has heard the Valkyrie in the real world will have been won over by its piercing tenor tone, and LMU nails it wonderfully. It doesn’t sing so sweetly in the cockpit, however, but this tallies with real-world feedback from its drivers.

Shorn of any hybrid juggling, the Valkyrie is a pure racing experience, and is hugely enjoyable to drive as a result. You can feel the car dip and dive when changing direction and under braking, and, as long as the in-game BoP makes it competitive, it will surely be the most popular Hypercar in LMU.

The Valkyrie provides a gentle introduction to the Hypercar class and its advanced Virtual Energy and hybrid management systems, which can be overwhelming for newcomers.

BMW M4 LMGT3 Evo and 2025 updates

The 2025 BMW M4 LMGT3 Evo has been added in v1.0 of LMU, but it’s ostensibly just a facelifted version of the non-Evo car, featuring revised headlights, taillights, wing mirrors and bonnet vents. It’s also only available to players who own LMU’s 2024 Pack 3 DLC.

Players can participate in Race Weekends based on the 2025 season, including current LMGT3 and Hypercar liveries. The cars also feature the 2025-spec LED display panels. These are located down the flanks of each car and show crucial information to the fans, including current position, virtual energy status and pit stop times.

It’s an authentic touch, with the LMGT3 class also receiving additional tyre model updates to improve their heating and cooling properties. V1.0 also sees several bug fixes and changes to the game’s DLC structure, but few significant improvements over its previous Early Access build.

Gaming the system

LMU’s single-player options are limited. Players can participate in ‘Race Weekends’, featuring practice, qualifying and race sessions (including multiple track layouts not used in WEC), and that’s about it.

There’s no career mode, but more frustratingly, there’s no championship mode either, meaning you cannot race in a full World Endurance Championship season in the official game of that series. Which is frankly bizarre. But the game’s AI can be challenging to drive against, and it even makes believable mistakes, so it’s a shame v1.0 doesn’t make the most of this.

But there’s still plenty to enjoy for simming enthusiasts, with the game providing an incredible driving experience across its four classes (the older GTE category is also included). LMU’s graphics are also mightily impressive, in the right situation… 

Every cloud…

Dusk and dawn provide the biggest visual highlights, with realistic car models and weather effects. Sparks fly when cars bottom out, brakes lock on vehicles without ABS, and the game simulates WEC’s hybrid systems wonderfully.

There’s dynamic weather and track evolution, a rudimentary photo mode (which now shows its camera settings changing in real-time thanks to an overhauled UI) and a multitude of car set-up options for budding engineers to sink their teeth into.

However, graphical glitches are prevalent, with flickering shadows (especially around catch fencing), detracting from the realism. The game also still requires a lot of optimisation: trying to watch a full grid of cars in replay mode at the Circuit de la Sarthe isn’t recommended, for example (the ‘visible vehicles’ graphics option doesn’t work for TV-style replay cameras, oddly, contributing to the issue). Wet weather doesn’t seem to correlate between race and replay sessions, oddly, with sodden surfaces appearing much drier when watched back.

At this stage of LMU’s development, if you have a modest gaming PC and want to make the most of the game’s visuals, it may be time to invest in new equipment.

My colleague John Munro has also experienced different graphical issues that have yet to be resolved, with LMU’s loading times nothing short of abysmal for both of us, especially when compared to ACC’s speedy performance. For the most part, though, I’ve found that LMU runs stably enough online and offline, and I haven’t experienced a single game crash while testing v1.0. 

Although LMU undeniably treads the path of realism, some WEC hallmarks, like the Virtual Safety Car-style Code 60s, as well as fully integrated Safety Cars, aren’t in-game, so there’s still some work to be done to make the game an all-encompassing WEC experience (although there’s reason to believe Safety Cars may well be added in future!).

LMU is VR-compatible, and while it works well enough with a headset, the mode is officially still in beta, so there’s room for improvement. With Pimax onboard offering its expertise, big things are expected from LMU’s future VR capabilities.

Online 

Thankfully, online is where LMU comes alive and where its solid reputation has been forged.

Thanks to robust netcode and a satisfying handling model, LMU has become the go-to sim for a hardy bunch of virtual racers, with player numbers now almost six times what they were a year ago.

LMU also uses RaceControl, MSG’s proprietary multiplayer ranking system, which places players in splits with similarly skilled drivers. This promotes clean, fair racing, and combined with the emergence of the game’s LMGT3 category, has led to LMU overtaking ACC in terms of player numbers.

There are daily and weekly races, with special events also filling up the schedule. LMU also offers RaceControl Pro and RaceControl Pro+ subscriptions, which unlock more curated races, online championships and other features, including custom liveries and advanced team management options. 

Offering subscriptions (and DLC) during Early Access divided opinion among the sim racing community, but a Pro+ subscription is perhaps the most convenient way for newbies to jump into the full LMU experience now, given it includes all the game’s DLC and online features (it also includes every piece of DLC – including BTCC, Formula E and IndyCar content – for MSG’s rFactor 2). 

It’s $84 per annum, however, and once the subscription runs out, you lose access to the content, so if you’re looking to play the game long-term, this may not be for you.

Beyond 1.0

As already stated, LMU will receive significant single-player additions in 2026, but new European Le Mans Series-based DLC is apparently set to arrive sooner, including the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Circuit Paul Ricard and Silvertone tracks and the LMP3 class.

No release date has been set, but an early build of Silverstone will be available to sample during the track’s ELMS round later this year, between the 12th and 14th of September.

Online driver swaps will be further integrated into the game in future, too, with an uninspiring asynchronous multiplayer mode helping tide players over in the meantime. Further in the future, MSG has made no secret of its desire to port LMU to consoles, but realistically, this scenario is ‘at least a year away’ from happening.

The worrying part of this is that even on a beefy gaming PC, LMU often splutters to a halt like an LMP1 Toyota when you try to run a full grid. Quite how it will fare on weaker hardware like the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S is unknown (saying that, optimising a game is far easier when everyone uses the same hardware).

So, there’s plenty in the LMU pipeline, but I’d argue some of these features should’ve made it into v1.0.

I can’t base my score on what the game could be; it must be judged on what it’s like now. And despite all the positives, LMU needs polishing and more content. As a result, v1.0 feels more like an incremental Early Access update than a definitive release.

But despite its flaws, for hardcore sim racing and WEC fans looking to race online, LMU is an easy recommendation.

Le Mans Ultimate releases on PC on the 22nd July 2025, priced at £28.99 / €34.99 / $37.99.

Score: 7/10

“Sim racing nirvana, with caveats”