The plot has thickened with regards to this year’s only new official NASCAR game – the Nintendo Switch title created by Motorsport Games.
A listing on Amazon.com (but not other regional variations of Amazon so far) has a game entitled ‘NASCAR Rivals’, with what looks to be a placeholder cover for the physical version for the hybrid console. This includes a blue background and a natty new logo. At the bottom are the officially sanctioned NASCAR and Motorsport Games icons.
It’s currently priced at $49.99, with a release date of 14th October 2022 and it’s available for pre-order.
In April, the embattled development studio released a NASCAR product roadmap. Here it was revealed there will be no new standalone NASCAR game for PC, PlayStation or Xbox in 2022.
It did include a PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S update for NASCAR 21: Ignition for June, and it arrived on the 23rd with native 4K, a visual uplift, and quicker loading times but still at 30fps.
A 2022-season update for that same title is expected in September, before a ‘Nintendo Switch’ launch in ‘Fall’, which October would align with.
Last year, NASCAR Heat Ultimate Edition+ was launched, essentially a port of NASCAR Heat 5, but with some 2021 season content. A community post by Motorsport Games recently stated that “a 2022 NASCAR game [will] release this year, with improved visuals and new features over last year’s NASCAR Heat Ultimate Edition+.”
Then last month, broadcaster NBC shared a tweet with split-screen gameplay footage of an unreleased NASCAR Switch game, showing the current Next Gen car at Nashville Superspeedway – both absent from NASCAR Heat Ultimate Edition+.
Whether or not ‘NASCAR Rivals’ is a placeholder name or the final title remains to be seen. There’s also no description on the retailer listing, either. So while at first glance this seems to be a pointer, there’s no official confirmation at present. Well keep you updated when we hear more.
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