2023 has already been a decent year for racing video games. Just this year alone, we’ve seen releases for Formula Retro Racing: World Tour and Monster Energy Supercross The Official Videogame 6, plus some of our favorite existing titles have gotten updates and put on some incredible esports and community races.
May wound up as an incredible month on its own, with the releases of LEGO 2K Drive and TT Isle of Man: Ride on the Edge 3, but perhaps there’s more to look forward to in June. We’ll have another top tier biking game to get racing on with MotoGP 23, and we’ll also be looking at one of the biggest releases of the year—F1 23.
New games, additional content for existing games, must-watch esports events are set to shine in the sixth month of the year. Here are some of the things that we’re looking forward to this upcoming month.
NEW RACING GAME TITLES
We know of two titles that will be releasing in June. There could be more, as we saw last month when the long-awaited console release of Trackmania surprisingly dropped mid-month. We’re gearing up for both MotoGP 23 and EA Sports F1 23 in June.
EA SPORTS F1 23
This is the big one, and we’ve already started to get a hands-on taste of what’s to come on 16th June (or 13th June for three-days early access if you pre-order the Champions Edition with Max Verstappen on the cover).
EA SPORTS F1 23 is the next installment for the official Formula 1 video game series. With this year’s release, we’ll get the continuation of the Braking Point story that we had back in F1 2021 as well as some other key additions and upgrades.
Those additions include the ‘revised handling‘, the inclusion of red flags as well as the addition of the F1 World hub. All the drivers, teams and tracks of the 2023 Formula 1 World Championship are included as well, which includes the new Las Vegas circuit and the returning Losail track in Qatar.
This ships soon on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and on PC via Steam, Epic and EA.
MOTOGP 23
The newest entry into the MotoGP franchise will be MotoGP 23, due to release on the 8th of June. It will launch for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC via Steam.
Inside the bike racing title will be new tracks in the form of Sokol International Racetrack and Buddh International Circuit, Dynamic Weather with Flag-to-Flag racing, and finally, a revised career mode which features some new ‘Turning Points’ system.
Building off of what we felt was a solid platform last year, MotoGP 23 has the potential to be something truly special for motorcycle racing fans when it drops in just over a week.
NEW DLC / ADD-ONS FOR EXISTING CONTENT
Some of our favorite current titles will also be receiving new content in the upcoming month. Two games with plenty of people playing them are iRacing and Forza Horizon 5. While Forza’s updates started this month, there’s still some new things coming in June to discuss. iRacing, meanwhile, has a whole new build coming.
IRACING 2023 SEASON 3
2023 Season 2 is close to over, and we expect 6th June to be the date of the next build update for iRacing. What’s in store for this one? Well, hopefully we start to get more confirmations soon, but as of now, just the dentist special and some new dirt.
That dentist special, the Ligier LMP3, is the only new car confirmed. I think we can also confirm Willow Springs per the iRacing Downshift podcast, although usually there’s a forum post or a news article that does the announcing for us.
What else could there be this build? It won’t be rain, we know that, but maybe MotorLand Aragón, Mugello, a Cadillac GTP or anything else that’s been teased could be in the cards for the update.
THE REST OF OVERLANDING PLUS THE FUTURE OF FORZA HORIZON 5
Yes, the Explore The Horizon festival started in May, we know. However, three of the four new cars that can be collected in Forza Horizon 5 this festival will release in June. Those cars include the 1986 Ford F-150 XLT Lariat, the 1972 Chevrolet K-10 Custom and the 2022 GMC HUMMER EV Pickup (pictured above).
The next festival that follows will start on 22nd June, and it’s called “Upgrade Heroes”. The Coming Soon page touts a Horizon Test Track, as well as new cars, new rims and new badges. Overlanding brought new custom upgrades with it, could we now see even further immersion in the next one?
We could possibly find out more about it on 13th June when Forza Monthly is scheduled, but that’s just an inkling.
ESPORT RACES YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT
There’s always a race going on somewhere, and with some of the best esports drivers in the world taking part. June is a big one for many reasons across many different platforms. From ESL to eNASCAR, here’s what to watch for in the coming weeks.
ESL R1 MAJOR AT RENNSPORT SUMMIT
After a long, spirited battle in the inaugural season of ESL R1 on the Rennsport platform, 24 drivers have qualified for the first-ever Major Finale event. 12 teams of four drivers (or five, in some cases) took part in the first-ever season. A champion will be crowned at the Rennsport Summit in Munich, Germany on the 3rd and 4th of June.
Team Redline took the team’s title over R8G Esports, and on top of that, Redline is sending all four of their drivers to the Major. R8G Esports has three drivers heading to the Rennsport summit, as does Porsche Coanda, Williams Esports and MOUZ, which makes up 16 of the 24 slots.
The first day of the Major will continue adding on to the points obtained in the regular season, but once the Top 12 have been finalized, there will be a “soft” reset where the points will still reflect the standings entering the final day. Driver’s will fight to earn enough points to enter “Finalist Mode” and then the first Finalist to win will be crowned the inaugural champion.
PORSCHE TAG HEUER ESPORTS SUPERCUP FINALE AT MONZA
Only one race remains in the 2023 Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup season. Up until this point, Altus Esports’ Jordan Caruso has been the top dog in the championship fight. The series sophomore has been impressively consistent and until recently, able to stay out of trouble as opposed to his competition.
With a retirement at Le Mans last week, the championship is still up in the air as Caruso leads VRS Coanda Esports’ Zac Campbell by 37 points and Oracle Red Bull Racing Esports’ Sebastian Job by 41. With a possible 85 points on the line, Caruso still holds the advantage and can clinch it up nicely with 49 points scored in the finale.
Monza Circuit is the site of the championship on 3rd June. While the All-Stars will kick off the broadcast at 2:00 pm ET / 7:00 pm BST, the Supercup stars will get to their championship battle around 3:00 pm ET / 8:00 pm BST. The finale will be available on iRacing and Porsche social channels.
ENASCAR COCA-COLA IRACING SERIES CHANGES UP TO CHICAGO
There are also two eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series races scheduled for June, and while World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway is a fine facility and puts on a great event (scheduled for 13th June), the real one to watch will be at the newly added Chicago Street Course on 27th June.
Replacing Watkins Glen (which, in my opinion is an absolute shame), Chicago makes its points paying race debut in the series just one year after it served as the series’ All-Star event. Steven Wilson (Stewart-Haas Racing) and Bobby Zalenski (Joe Gibbs Racing) put on a spirited fight in last year’s exhibition.
This will be the precursor to the real-world NASCAR debut of the Chicago street race on that weekend (1st and 2nd July). Another sim-to-reality success story, this time as a track becoming a reality after it was conceived on the iRacing platform two years ago.
COMMUNITY EVENTS
We’ve found two large events that will be open to the public for their respective communities. These events serve as opportunities for sim racers to experience, in some regard, some of the most recognizable and watched races in real-world motorsports.
iRacing and RaceRoom are two of the best platforms for community-style events, and sure enough, they both have something worth getting into if it happens to be your fancy.
RACEROOM NÜRBURGRING 2.4 HOURS
On 17th June, the RaceRoom Racing Experience will take to the famed Nürburgring Nordschleife for 2.4 hours, or two hours and 24 minutes of approximate racing in the GT3 cars on the platform. This will be a ranked event and the main event will be broadcasted.
This event will have some support races which members can vote on now for which cars will be driven. For now, we just have the tweet announcing the race. More details bout the race will likely come in the coming days.
IRACING WATKINS GLEN 6HR
As May offered up a 24 hour race at the Nürburgring, June offers a much shorter, but still endurance-style six-hour race at Watkins Glen on the iRacing service. It is taking place on the same weekend as the RaceRoom event, by the way. It’s the eighth iRacing Special Event of the year to date.
The third leg of the VCO Grand Slam is the 6HRS Of The Glen, and once again it will feature IMSA-style multi-class racing with three classes competing, those being the GTP, LMP2 and GT3. This race is scheduled on the weekend of the 16th to the 18th of June.
UPDATES ON UPCOMING GAMES
While these games are not due to release in June of 2023, we are expected to receive some updates on them for their future releases. Both Rennsport and Forza Motorsport are big in their own right, but neither have a set release date at this time. For now, more updated information is still something to look forward to.
RENNSPORT SUMMIT ON 3RD JUNE SET TO UNVEIL BETA
The 3rd and 4th of June in Munich, Germany isn’t just for crowning an esports champion. It’s called the Rennsport Summit, and there’s a whole beta that’s still in the cards for those in the community waiting patiently for new.
In a recent teaser, we learned that the closed beta will be getting talked about at the Summit. We also know that as the title is set to reveal that they are truly more than just a GT3 simulation title, that new cars, new tracks, and hopefully new features will be on the menu during the weekend presentation.
Fingers crossed that the date for the beta is announced, and it is sooner than later.
FORZA MOTORSPORT DIVES INTO COVER CARS 11TH JUNE
Just the other day, Turn 10 Studios unveiled their two cover cars for the pack art of Forza Motorsport. It’s an all-General Motors party with the Cadillac GTP and the Corvette E-Ray in view.
As the cover was unveiled, the company also mentioned that we can learn more about the cars on 11th June during the Xbox Games Showcase. Also, a deep dive into the single player career is also in the cards for June, as Forza Monthly is set to stream early this month, on 13th June.
We still don’t know when Forza Motorsport is due to release in 2023.
NEW SIM RACING EQUIPMENT…?
On the surface, it doesn’t look like there is anything big that’s set to release in terms of equipment or peripherals next month.
I am personally getting a new Fanatec Direct Drive system in June, so I guess that counts, sort of… well, not really.
WHAT WE HOPE TO SEE MORE UPDATES ON
We’ve got some hints on some possible news that could come before June, during June, or even possibly after June, for both BeamNG.drive, a game currently available to play now, and F1 Manager 23, a title that is coming at some point this year but we don’t yet have a release date for.
While neither of these are confirmed by any means, the fact that they’ve both been in the news could mean that we do get some updates on them, even if we don’t know for sure.
BEAMNG.DRIVE
Some of the past few “Teaser Tuesday” tweets from the BeamNG.drive account have given slight insight into what is to come. I’m not a big BeamNG.drive player, but the comments sure do seem to be fired up about… Gambling, pigeons and minivans…
F1 MANAGER 2023
As for F1 Manager 2023, a tweet earlier this week laid out more details regarding the game, plus they pseudo-revealed a Summer launch for the second year title. The in-race gameplay and car modelling looks to be a step forward too.
Could we see more details pop up next month after their counterparts at EA release the one that you get to drive? We’ll have to wait and find out.
That’s the plan for June, with more possibilities that could always pop up and pop off. What are you looking forward to the most? Let us know in the comments!
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