Why the Braking Point story mode won’t be in F1 22

When the list of features coming to F1 22 was revealed on 21st April, one key element from F1 2021 was nowhere to be found. F1 2021 featured a story mode known as Braking Point, but for the upcoming game, the character’s plight will see no continuation, nor will there be any story mode included.

A fleeting story was first used in the F1 2019 game and introduced the world to Devon Butler. That same character returned in Braking Point as an antagonist once more, pitted against the duo of the rookie Aiden Jackson and the veteran Casper Akkerman.

However, there was also no story mode in F1 2020, and as it turns out, there’s a reason that the stories have been on a bi-yearly schedule since they started doing them.

“The reasons are purely logistically, it’s a huge undertaking to do something like that,” F1 22’s Senior Creative Director, Lee Mather, explained on the Traxion.GG Podcast when queried about Braking Point’s absence this year.

“In 2019, we did the F2 feeder series, which was the cinematic game opening. Then, obviously, F1 2021 had Braking Point, and you saw the scale of Braking Point compared to what we did with F1 2019’s intro, it’s vast,” highlighted Mather.

“It’s something that takes a very long time to put together. There’s a lot of time in the casting, there’s a lot of time in creating the scenes.

“So, [two years] is a cadence that I think we’re comfortable with. It gives us the opportunity to obviously change our focus year on year.”

This year’s game is focusing on features such as the new Formula 1 regulations, an updated tyre model, new and updated circuits, VR support and F1 Life – a hub where you can customise your driver and even take to the wheel of road-based supercars.

Essentially, a two-year gap allows for the development of further features. With that knowledge, Braking Point likely won’t be tossed aside, but will hopefully be further built upon for another future release, either as a continuation or a brand new story.

“[Braking Point] is very much something that we were behind,” Mather said.

“It’s obviously been really successful, the feedback was fantastic. If we do something in the game, we do it for the long term, and that’s the sort of cadence that we’re going to stick with, with Braking Point for the foreseeable.”

F1 22 will release on 1st July 2022 for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S.

For more about F1 22’s new features and development process, listen to the latest episode of the Traxion.GG Podcast with Lee Mather, available now on all podcast platforms.