MotoGP 24 is on the way, releasing in May

Reckon Assetto Corsa Competizione is a tricky racing sim? Try surviving a lap in Milestone’s MotoGP games. This year’s instalment of the meaty motorbike sim has just been announced, and it’s arriving on 2 May for PC, Xbox Series X/S, PS5, Switch, and last-gen consoles.

You can watch the announcement trailer here, and make your own decisions about that lurid new VR46 team livery…

Someone at Milestone was evidently taking notes when Marc Marquez announced his headline-grabbing move from Repsol Honda to the Gresini satellite Ducati team, because the rider market is a big new feature in this game.

It sounds like the player isn’t the only rider who can change teams in MotoGP 24, so each new season you’re up against a new roster of rider-bike combinations. The pressure’s on to retain your seat or find a new one, and in-game social media activity fuels rumours about possible moves.

Live Championships are new to this release too. The announcement describes it as “a multiplayer mode conceived for the most competitive players.

“These are seasons composed of a certain number of LiveGPs; players will be challenged to climb the overall Championship leaderboard by scoring points at each LiveGP they attend.”

A longer form online challenge, then. Extra thick knee sliders: ordered.

The other big area of focus this year is stewards. It doesn’t sound sexy, but race direction had a significant impact on the outcome of several races in the real 2023 MotoGP season - who remembers Binder cutting the same chicane at Assen in both the sprint and grand prix and losing a podium both times - and the virtual stewards are paying closer attention to you than ever in MotoGP 24.

That means you might get a ‘let pass’ instruction on your display after a dangerous overtake, long lap or double-long lap penalties, or cancelled quali laps for riding through yellow flags.

If that alone doesn’t sound like side-splitting fun, don’t worry - there’s improvements to the rider AI behaviour and physics too. You know the way Pecco Bagnaia lets the race come to him, while Brad Binder goes at it like an attack dog? Those differing approaches are simulated now.

The main event is always the handling in this series though. It’s a meaty, muscular physics model that will absolutely throw you into orbit if you don’t show it the proper respect, and we can’t wait to get back into it.