What to expect from Assetto Corsa EVO throughout 2025

• Kunos’ Marco Massarutto breaks down the next 12 months for Assetto Corsa EVO
• Four or five key updates expected during Early Access, with more cars and tracks in-between
• Driving Academy licence tests, experience points and currency all there from January
• Car tuning waits until Version 1.0
• Over 100 cars expected by fall 2025, plus five tracks coming after V1 arrives

Over the past few days, we’ve been treated to reams of Assetto Corsa EVO information, with its Nordschelife-based open world understandably taking top billing. 

However, we recently sat down with Kunos Simulazioni’s co-founder and executive manager Marco Massarutto to discuss even more interesting tidbits regarding EVO’s Early Access release, what we can expect to see when version 1.0 drops in the fall of 2025 and what happens between January and that release.

Driving Academy, in-game currency and pricing

Upon its EA release, EVO will have at least three single-player modes:

“We will provide a single-player mode [in Early Access], with free practice, quick race and the Driving Academy,” said Massarutto.

“[The Driving Academy] will let the player get a licence to drive specific cars and specific classes: sports cars, supercars and so on. We will have four to five licences in the first Early Access [build] and that will use the first five tracks available in Early Access [build] one,” he explains

“Each licence will require [players] to complete five events and we will have one track per licence so that the experience of the Driving Academy will be progressive,” he added, with fans able to look forward to a Gran Turismo-style licence system for the first time in AC franchise history.

In-game currency will also be present and correct when the game hits EA, but players can expect adjustments to the amount of currency they can gain from events as development progresses.

“It’s the first time we provide an in-game economy [in one of our games]. So we will take advantage of the Early Access program to calibrate everything,” explains Massarutto.

Those who buy into EVO at an early stage will also benefit financially in the real world, with Massarutto claiming that “early adopters will take advantage of a very big discount on the final price of the game”. 

Cars and tracks added throughout Early Access

From the early EVO footage we have seen, the game appears to focus mostly on road cars, but this is misleading.

“EVO is going to include 100 cars by v1.0. The 100 cars will include different car classes: road cars, prototypes, racing cars, and vintage and classics,” countered Massarutto.

“We have four or five major builds [during Early Access] and we will provide new cars and tracks between one build and another.”

“20% of the cars in [the initial, January] Early Access will be racing cars,” he clarified, allaying the fears of some Assetto Corsa Competizione fans who have a hardcore interest in motorsport, although no GT3 cars have been confirmed for EVO just yet. 

In terms of tracks, it has already been documented that EVO would feature the likes of the Nordschleife, Bathurst, Fuji Speedway, Imola and Brands Hatch, with Massarutto telling us that “the 1.0 version will include not less than 15 officially licensed circuits”. So, there are a few more circuits still to be announced before EVO’s v1.0 release.

Free track DLC after v1.0

As well as the 15 tracks available during EA, Massarutto revealed that we can expect more after the game’s full release:

“Another five [tracks] will be released as a free update in the next few months after the 1.0 release,” exclaimed Massarutto, who no doubt understands the importance of providing free track content to help boost multiplayer numbers (something both Forza Motorsport and Gran Turismo 7 do very well).

“With EVO we also want to keep the tradition we had with AC that was very successful, to provide additional packages as DLCs  as well as free updates and free content,” continued Massarutto, hinting that more free content may be made available at a later date, with the sim providing “cars and tracks on the very long-term basis.”

When to expect multiplayer

Although not scheduled to be available when EA begins, multiplayer modes will appear in EVO before v1.0.

“The multiplayer will land in EVO on the second or third build [of Early Access]. It depends on the issues or fixes we need to do,” he stated, indicating that multiplayer will likely be released in the summer of 2025 if all goes well with EVO’s development.

Massarutto also clarified that the open-world Eifel region will allow players to meet up with friends online to explore the area.

Of course, as already mentioned, EVO will partner up with sim racing platform SimGrid for its online experience, but Massarutto has assured us that daily race events and rankings will be native to the game and not require any external websites.

Car tuning and customisation

This is a biggie. The ability to extensively customise your car has been one of the Assetto Corsa fanbase’s biggest wants, with the original game featuring only rudimentary tweaking potential. However, that’s all set to change in EVO’s v1.0 release:

“The tuning features will come in the final version of EVO,” stated Massarutto.

“Then, you will be able to buy different kinds of tyre compounds, wheels, spoiler[s] and exhaust[s].

“When you buy the car you can really customise the options [available] from the manufacturer, not just the colours but [if they] have several kinds of rims for example,” he continued, with the prospect of modifying the exterior of cars no doubt music to the ears of AC enthusiasts.

“With the same car, you can choose the options the car is available with [from the manufacturer]. The interiors will not be linked to the exterior colour like in AC. The finish of the interiors could be leather or Alcantara and eventually, you will be able to modify the car, including [its] performance,” he concluded.

So, EVO will allow players to tune and customise their cars to a degree not seen in Kunos’ previous titles, with v1.0 providing the full suite of personalisation for players to enjoy.

Open world

From what we’ve gathered so far, EVO’s Eifel region open-world road network, as showcased in Misha Charoudin’s unveiling video, will be in the game during EA but will arrive in the Summer of 2025. 

This incorporates 1,600km2 of open roads to navigate, replete with a combination of AI and human-controlled traffic. Players will be able to interact with real-world businesses on the map which is likely to form a hub for the game’s comprehensive car tuning and modifying modes mentioned previously.

Are you enthused by the latest revelations from Marco Massarutto about Assetto Corsa EVO? Which feature are you most looking forward to? Let us know in the comments below.