Formula Legends: could this jolly F1 racer be a breakout gaming hit of 2025?

We love the Codemasters F1 series. Like, really love it. The same goes for Assetto Corsa’s rigorous F1 mods, and those classic Geoff Crammond games that are so forensically simulation-minded they even model the individual furrows on Patrick Head’s disapproving brow when you stack your Williams on a wet patch.

But sometimes, you don’t want to have to psych yourself up before you drive. Sometimes you just want to load the game up and have fun.

Enter Formula Legends, an arcade racer featuring multiple distinct eras of F1 history – in thoroughly unlicensed fashion, of course – and way more depth than first appearances might suggest.

If you don’t believe us, here, watch this announcement trailer for it.

See what we mean? Pit stops with refuelling, tyre wear, tracks that rubber in the more you race on them, a dynamic weather system. These aren’t the features you’d expect from a game that looks so cheerful and accessible on the surface.

Which is, of course, the whole point. Milan-based developers 3DClouds is pitching for that golden middle-ground between accessibility and depth. We won’t know for sure whether they’ve actually struck it until we put a few laps in around its real world-inspired tracks, but based on this first peek it’s shot straight to the top of our most anticipated racers.

Formula Legends is due later this year, and it’s releasing on (deep breath) Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series S/X, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 and PC. Oh, and your old scientific calculator from year 10 maths.