The Le Mans Ultimate game is coming to Steam Early Access on 20 February

Studio 397 and Motorsport Games’ official WEC title Le Mans Ultimate has some positive news to share after a worryingly quiet spell - it’s about to enter Early Access on Steam.

Releasing on 20 February at £24.99, the Early Access release will include a mid-development build which the developer promises to work with the community to improve in a “collaborative process”, adding new features, bug fixes and QOL improvements over an as-yet unspecified timeline from now until final release.

Pretty standard stuff for an Early Access drop then, but the big news here is the game is alive at all. It was originally due for release in December 2023, but as the dawn broke on a new year there was no sign of the game.

That coincided with the news in November 2023 that Motorsport Games would be letting 40 per cent of its workforce go. BTCC announced that it was parting ways with the company, effectively canceling the planned official BTCC game that had been in the works there. Against that backdrop, it wouldn’t have been a surprise for Le Mans Ultimate to follow suit.

So it’s a relief to hear it’s still bravely making its way to the chequered flag. Whether it will be any good is a different matter, but Early Access gives the community a chance to offer detailed feedback and steer the overall direction of development. It also takes the pressure off the title to deliver a polished experience right away. That’s fair enough - as long as driving a Toyota GR010 feels life-affirming by the time it hits v1.0.