Codemasters’ F1 series has been one of the most consistent and well-regarded annual sporting franchises for quite some time at this point, and the developer’s willingness to try new things with it has contributed to that just as much as the consistent iterative improvements the series makes year over year. This year’s game, apparently, is going to feature some interesting changes as well.
As per a report published on Xfire by reputed insider Tom Henderson, F1 2022, due out later this year, will not feature a second rendition of Breaking Point, the new story-driven mode that served as the headlining addition in F1 2021. While there will be no story mode though, the report claims that the game will be adding a new feature called F1 LIFE.
F1 LIFE is reportedly being designed as a new player hub that will give players “a more behind-the-scenes look at the lives of actual Formula 1 drivers”. Players will be able to purchase and collect various “luxurious” items within the mode, such as “expensive watches and designer glasses”- and, more crucially, supercars, which seems to be the big new addition in this year’s game.
Supercars can also be used in races, which also includes online races against other players. The game will launch with 23 tracks, according to the report, and the new supercars will be drivable on all of them- though not against actual F1 cars. The report goes on to claim that “despite the introduction of supercars, no resources from other features of the game have been removed” and that the career mode is still going to be featured.
What’s interesting is that as per the report, next year’s F1 2023 will bring back the story mode, with Codemasters having had to make the decision to skip it for one year due to “time constraints encountered during development of the game.”
Additionally, a couple of other new features will also be making their debut in F1 2022, according to the report, such as VR support (though there’s no mention of which platforms that will apply to) and support for cross-platform multiplayer. A recent report, also written by Henderson for Xfire, claimed that later this year, FIFA 23 would also introduce cross-play support.
Henderson also adds that F1 2022 will not remove the the Russian F1 track ‘Sochi Autodrom’. EA Sports recently announced that it would be removing Russian teams from its NHL and FIFA games due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the ongoing crisis involving the two nations, so this very much falls in line with that.
F1 2022 hasn’t yet been officially announced, so details on what the game will and will not include aren’t yet concrete. We’ll keep an eye out for more details though, so stay tuned for more updates.
