And though the future of the franchise looks murky at best, fans have, interestingly enough, recently got a new glimpse at what some of it would have looked like- a very rough and early glimpse, at the very least. Shared by YouTube channel Game Over Tapes, a new video showcases some of the early concept in-game 3D user interface that was being made for Project CARS 4 prior to its cancellation, seemingly made by UI artist Christian McMorran. Check it out below.

Since announcing plans to shelve the Project CARS franchise last year, EA or Slightly Mad Studios haven’t said anything about what it is the latter is going to be working on next. Shortly after said announcement, former Slightly Mad founder Ian Bell stated that he would be looking to recruit members of the series’ development team for his new studio, Mildly Annoyed Games, and its racing title.

Bell, having mentioned that he is working on a new racing game that has been tentatively titled GTR Revolution, has stated that he is reaching out to former members of the Slightly Mad Studios development team that has previously worked on Project CARS.

“Many of the GTR2 guys are already with us and most of the pCARS2 superstars want to join,” said Bell in a tweet. “GTR Revolution is going full hardcore in every possible way we can think of. It’s already building.”

EA announced that it is dropping the Project CARS franchise despite a new game in the series reportedly being in development. The decision was made after EA acquired Codemasters and evaluated the various racing games EA is already publishing.

So that's about 18 hours and counting calling all of the old pCARS2 team. Many of the GTR2 guys are already with us and most of the pCARS2 superstars want to join. GTR Revolution is going full hardcore in every possible way we can think of. It's already building. Input welcomed.

— Ian Bell (@bell_sms) November 9, 2022

The decision was made after acquiring Codemasters and evaluating the series’ status. It was reportedly noted as “unlikely” to become successful or fit with the rest of EA’s racing games portfolio. As such, employees working on the series will move to “suitable” roles wherever possible.

An Electronic Arts spokesperson stated, “Today, we announced internally an update to our racing portfolio. Following an evaluation of the next Project CARS title and its longer-term growth potential, we have decided to stop further development and investment in the franchise.

“Decisions like these are very hard, but allow us to prioritize our focus in areas where we believe we have the strongest opportunity to create experiences that fans will love. We are focusing on our strengths in our racing portfolio, particularly licensed IP and open-world experiences, and expanding our franchises to be more socially led with long-term live services that will engage global communities.

“Games are at the heart of sports and racing entertainment and with shifting fan expectations, we recognize the need to evolve our games beyond pure play, providing experiences for fans to also watch, create and connect with their friends.

“We are working with everyone impacted by this decision to place them into suitable roles across our EA Sports and racing portfolio, as well as other parts of EA, wherever we can. Our priority now is on providing as much support as possible to our people through this transition.”

Project CARS 4 is unlikely to see the light of day, joining the long list of cancelled projects under Electronic Arts, but there are other racing games to look forward to. Criterion Games is releasing Need for Speed Unbound on December 2nd for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC. Codemasters also reportedly has F1 23 and the next WRC game in development, with annual releases planned up to 2027. Stay tuned for further details and updates in the meantime.

Those who have purchased both titles can still experience all the content and features, including multiplayer. As for the developer’s next project, it looks forward to sharing more “when the time is right.” In December 2020, CEO Ian Bell tweeted that Project CARS 4 would aim to be the “most realistic” racing sim ever.

Said tweets were deleted, but insider Tom Henderson reported in May that the sequel was indeed in development and would be more of a hardcore racing sim. It’s apparently planned to release sometime in 2024 for current-gen consoles and PC. As such, a reveal or official trailer may still be a ways off so we’ll need to wait for more details. Stay tuned in the meantime.

An update from the Slightly Mad Team on #ProjectCARS and #ProjectCARS2. pic.twitter.com/VtWEow5jao

— Project CARS (@projectcarsgame) August 22, 2022

It will release on current-gen consoles and PC while reportedly returning to its hardcore racing sim roots. Right now, it’s looking to release sometime “around 2024.”

As for the next WRC title, which was first reported back in March, it’s coming along. Annual releases are planned for the series on consoles and PC starting from 2023 to 2027 (with Unreal Engine being used for development). Early preparations are also seemingly being made for a mobile title to release in that period.

While Codemasters is working on F1 22, F1 23 has also reportedly been in development for some time. It will reportedly be a true “next-gen” title with upgrades to the engine. Furthermore, it seems that F1 WORLD will be introduced to expand on this year’s F1 LIFE with private jets being hinted at.

Regarding Need for Speed Mobile, which had some gameplay footage leak recently, its map is reportedly based on Need for Speed Heat (though sources say there are some changes and it’s not a “direct copy and paste”). There’s no story apparently – instead, it’s an open world multiplayer game where one can encounter other racers worldwide.

Also, while there’s no word on the Burnout series, it seems that GRID may be in “hot water” following GRID Legends’ disappointing performance. As always, stay tuned for more details and official announcements in the coming months.

If you choose to purchase any DLC packs before April 29th, they’ll still be playable as well along with the online modes. Fast and Furious Crossroads released on August 7th 2020 and faced criticism for its terrible production values, nonsensical story-telling and performance issues (among many other things). You can read our review for it here.

The developer, Slightly Mad Studios, was part of Codemasters at the time – the latter has since been acquired by Electronic Arts. It recently released GRID Legends in February 2022 and is rumored to be working on a new WRC title (in light of DiRT Rally 3 apparently being cancelled).

This is likely in reference to the acquisition of Codemasters, parent company of Slightly Mad Studios, by Electronic Arts for $1.2 billion. Bell isn’t the only executive to leave following the acquisition with Codemasters CEO Frank Sagnier and CFO Rashid Varachia having departed this year in July. A spokesperson for Electronic Arts provided a statement to GamesIndustry.biz, confirming Bell’s departure from the company.

“After more than a decade in the driving seat of Slightly Mad Studios, today we are sad to announce that Ian Bell will be leaving his role at SMS and Electronic Arts. As CEO of Slightly Mad Studios, Ian was a visionary and an innovator, pioneering not only a new era in racing simulation but also reimagining how games are funded and produced. We wish Ian the best as he moves on and thank him for his contribution to EA, Codemasters, SMS, and the wider industry.”

While Slightly Mad Studios’ next project is unknown, DiRT 5 developer Codemasters Cheshire is currently working on the “most ambitious and biggest game that Codemasters has made in over a decade.” This was revealed in a job listing for development manager with the company and EA yet to formally announce the project’s existence. Stay tuned for more details on it in the coming months.

SMS began as a mad dream by a bunch of ambitious racing fans in a bedsit back in the late-90s. With the studio’s future now assured, the time is right for me to step aside. It’s been a ride and a privilege to share our dreams with you. Thank you!

— Ian Bell (@bell_sms) October 29, 2021

Project CARS 3 came out earlier this year and was mostly a solid enough affair outside some key technical issues (you can read our whole take on the game through here). As is the nature of these types of games, however, you always must be looking to the future. It also seems for the fourth entry in the series, whenever it may release, it is aiming quite high.

On his official Twitter account, Slightly Mad Studios CEO Ian Bell talked briefly about the next Project CARS. He posted some photos and asked if people like shadows on every leaf and how live leaves will affect AI as it hits the windshield. For whatever reason, he chose to delete these tweets, but before doing so said that the next game would be the most realistic racing simulation ever. DualShockers ended up getting a capture of these tweets, which you can see through here.

It’s unclear when Project CARS 4 will actually hit shelves, but it seems as if they will be aiming for the moon. The developer behind the series, Slightly Mad Studios, was acquired by Codemasters last year, who themselves are in the process of being acquired by EA. So, there’s no telling when we’ll get the game.

It’s been a busy year for Codemasters with several major releases, including the recent DiRT 5. The company revealed its financial results for the first half of the fiscal year, which is essentially the six month period ending September 30th. Releases in this period include F1 2020, Project CARS 3 and Fast and Furious Crossroads.

F1 2020 “materially over-performed” compared to last year’s iteration. The performance for Fast and Furious Crossroads and Project CARS 3 was in line with the company’s expectations. Interestingly, it noted that the critical response to the former was “disappointing” (check out our review here to find out why).

Revenue from games-as-a-service titles is “modest” at this point but should account for more of the company’s business in the future. As it stands, revenue and profits have doubled with revenue at £80.5 million while profits after taxes hit £19.9 million. The future should be interesting for the company, especially following its acquisition at the hands of Take Two Interactive (which will be finalized by next year). Stay tuned for more details in the meantime.

"It was really important for us to bring Project CARS to mobile in a bespoke way, to make a game that’s perfectly suited for the platform."

Project CARS GO‘s “One Touch” control scheme seems to be perfectly suited to playing a game on a mobile device, but how have you ensured that the game doesn’t lose the complexity and realism that is usually expected from Project CARS games?

It was really important for us to bring Project CARS to mobile in a bespoke way, to make a game that’s perfectly suited for the platform. We wanted to give fans a pocket-sized racing experience that is distilled down to the skill that separates the great racing drivers from the good ones – timing. When it comes to shaving the last few hundredths of a second off a lap-time, timing is everything: From perfectly timed gear shifts to late braking and jumping back onto the throttle at exactly the right moment, that’s racing distilled down to its raw and fun basics. We’ve brought those feelings over to mobile racing in a game that’s easy to pick up and play, and which will introduce a new audience to our franchise.

How has the response to the game’s recent beta period been? Are you working on any major changes or additions directly in response to the feedback?

The response has been great. We’ve been chatting with the beta users in Discord every day, gathering up their comments and discussing the details. The feedback has been very constructive and we’re learning a lot about mobile racing gamers’ tastes. This is the first time that we’ve brought Project CARS to mobile, so the beta period has been a really valuable tool for us. We’re already looking forward to seeing what people think of the next phase of the game’s rollout, once we’ve implemented the feedback that we have received so far.

What are your post-launch plans for Project CARS GO as far as additional content goes?

Just like our mainline entries on console and PC, you can expect lots of new cars and liveries to arrive post-launch. We’ll have more details to share once the game is available worldwide.

"Just like our mainline entries on console and PC, you can expect lots of new cars and liveries to arrive post-launch."

Customization is often a crucial part of any racing game and has historically been so in Project CARS as well. What should players expect from Project CARS GO in this area?

Putting your personal stamp on each car in your collection is something that we’ve really emphasized in Project CARS 3 on PC and console this year, so naturally, we wanted to give Project CARS GO players some similar options in our mobile game too. Performance upgrades in particular are a big part of the game. If you’re a fan of a specific make or model, you can take your favorite car along your journey by upgrading it to keep it competitive. Whether you stick to a favorite or prefer to regularly add new cars to your garage, selecting the right upgrade parts for your fine-tuned machines can really give you a competitive edge as you seek to take on the challenges that lie ahead.

What is the extent of content fans can expect in this game? Such as the number of tracks, cars, and the like?

Project CARS is well-known for bringing the best of licensed content to its racing games on console and PC: both modern and historic race and road cars, as well as tracks. With Project CARS GO, players can expect much of the same content. We’ll have 50 fully licensed cars (both race and road) from many of the world’s most elite brands, along with 12 track locations (many of them fully licensed as well) and 14 individual circuit layouts, all available on day one. There will also be a lot more licensed content to come post-release.

This question is always a pertinent one, but even more so with mobile games – what is your approach to monetization in Project CARS GO going to be?

Project CARS GO is free-to-play. Our priority is to reach the largest possible audience with our first mobile title in the Project CARS franchise.

"Putting your personal stamp on each car in your collection is something that we’ve really emphasized in Project CARS 3 on PC and console this year, so naturally, we wanted to give Project CARS GO players some similar options in our mobile game too."

Given Project CARS GO‘s handheld nature, have you given any thought to bringing the game to the Switch or streaming platforms such as Stadia?

We’re focused on iOS and Android with Project CARS GO, and we don’t have anything to announce for Switch or Stadia.