Codemasters finally revealed the release date for the long-anticipated, new F1 game. Next to the regular game, Codemasters also offers two special versions, the “F1 Seventy” and Deluxe “Schumacher” Editions.
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The wait is finally over! This year, Codemasters certainly took their time before announcing their new F1 game. F1 2020 is going to be released July 10, 2020, and will be available in three different versions: the basic game as well as the “70th Anniversary” and “Deluxe Schumacher” editions. With these special editions, Codemasters want to celebrate the 70th anniversary of Formula 1 as well as the accomplishments of its most successful pilot, seven-time F1 world champion Michael Schumacher.
The game will be available for Playstation 4, Xbox One, PC, and Google Stadia.
More features, more multiplayer, more fan service
“F1® 2020 promises to be our biggest and most innovative title to date,” comments F1 Franchise Director Paul Jeal. Accordingly, F1 2020 features a bunch of new content that fans have waited on for years. Besides the splitscreen feature which has been missing since F1 2014, there will be a new game mode called “My Team”. In this mode you establish your own F1 team to compete for the world championship. As the manager of the team, you have to make tough decisions regarding sponsors, manufacturers, and team-mates to achieve your goals.
“Our core players will welcome even greater gameplay depth with the introduction of our brand-new My Team feature, alongside three customisable season lengths which allows them to pick their favourite tracks,” he adds. The season length can be set to either 22, 16, or 10 races and on top of that Hanoi as well as Zandvoort have now made it into the game.
Deluxe edition with four legendary cars
Owners of the “Schumacher” edition will receive extra content and be able to access the game three days early. The special edition comes with four legendary cars the German icon drove back in the day: the Jordan 191, the Benetton B194 and B195 as well as the Ferrari F1-2000. In addition, they have access to exclusive paint jobs and model customization, such as unique podium poses.
Both, owners of the “70th Anniversary” and the “Schumacher” Edition get an additional in-game item set. A few selected retailers will also offer the limited F1 2020 steelbook.
F1 2020: Can it make racing esports mainstream?
Codemasters want to address new players as well as their core audience with F1 2020. Game Director Lee Mather explains their development philosophy: “We’ve also added new modes to enable more casual players to get up to speed more easily, and we’ve brought back split-screen for social play with friends. The additions reduce both the difficulty and time barrier to entry while retaining the car handling that our simulation players love.”
If done right, F1 2020 could benefit from the current hype around esports racing with the establishment of Formula 1’s Virtual Grand Prix Series. Due to the coronavirus, the virtual races currently fill a gap left behind by the canceled real-world GPs. Codemasters’ new game could seize on the opportunity and make esports racing even more popular.
Photo credit: Codemasters
