Codemasters is one of the leading developers and publishers of racing games. Now owned by Electronic Arts, the publisher of the long-running Need for Speed, the British developer recently released F1 2021 and DiRT 5, and now Codemasters has announced GRID Legends is coming to consoles and PC in 2022 as a sequel to the 2019 GRID reboot.
Whereas Gran Turismo and Forza Motorsport offer a more realistic driving experience, GRID games are more approachable thanks to their more arcade-like car handling, with an emphasis on emulating the drama of motorsport with intense, unpredictable racing. Announced during the EA Play Live event, GRID Legends introduces a new story mode centering on the Grid World Series that puts players in "a fly-on-the-wall documentary that captures every moment on and off the track."
As shown in the announcement trailer, the game's story is told in a series of action cut scenes with actors bringing the game's fictional racing drivers to life. Award-winning British actor Ncuti Gatwa will play the lead role. According to Codemasters, the cut scenes were filmed using "virtual production" blending real actors with digital sets. The result looks like the corny live-action cut scenes we used to see in Need for Speed games.
What matters most in any racing game is the driving experience, and it looks like there will be no shortage of variety in GRID Legends. From classic touring cars to big rigs, single-seaters and stadium trucks, GRID Legends features over 100 cars across a huge variety of disciplines. One of the star cars shown in the trailer is the Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR Pro Concept. This marks the Valkyrie's first appearance in a console and PC racing game, but it's a shame it's not the production AMR Pro that was unveiled last month.
Other cars shown in the trailer include the C7 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, Porsche 911 GT3 RS, and Shelby Cobra. You'll be able to race these cars on 130 tracks, with new locations including Moscow and London and returning locations such as San Francisco and Paris.
"GRID Legends combines everything our players love and adds more exhilarating race features, including our new epic story mode," said Chris Smith, GRID Game Director at Codemasters. "We're giving players more variety and choice, whether that's creating their ultimate races using our race creator or bringing back the community-requested Drift mode. This is just the start of the journey, and we can't wait to reveal more in the coming months."
GRID Legends will be released in 2022 on Playstation 5, Xbox Series X and S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.