Want to race Le Mans Ultimate in co-op? It “won’t be long”, says developer

An oft-overlooked aspect of endurance racing is that it can in fact be quite tiring. So much so that at this weekend’s 2024 24 Hours of Le Mans, drivers may even be spotted leaving their vehicles and letting their team-mates put a few laps in for a bit. And if we may park the sardonic wit momentarily, that vital aspect of Le Mans is soon to see its virtual counterpart when Le Mans Ultimate introduces co-op.

As the official game of the FIA World Endurance Championship and 24 Hours of Le Mans, Le Mans Ultimate carries all seven circuits and 12 prototypes from the 2023 WEC. It’s a fine place to spend many long hours staving off the yawns. And speaking to RacingGames, Motorsport Games CEO Stephen Hood confirmed that co-op functionality isn’t far off.

“Considering we were trying to launch it in June,” says Hood, “I’m optimistic it will be in the next major update. It might be six weeks away or it might be 12 – we’re still trying to refine that. But it won’t be too long.”

Co-op play will let you and your team-mate approach a race in stints, mirroring the real race’s format. It’s both a nod to authenticity, and to the hectic schedules of modern gamers who seldom have a spare 12 hours to sit and race.

The co-op feature was originally intended to be added in time for the real 24 Hours of Le Mans, happening this weekend. But Hood says it wasn’t quite up to standard in time.

“We reviewed it in the Silverstone office just a week ago and it isn’t quite there. I’m very reluctant to just push things out the door to tick a box and say we did co-op. It must be better than what we did at rFactor 2. It’s a different way of working.

“We have to say no to things sometimes and take the flack for missing an internal release date. If we think it’s not quite ready and can’t stand behind it, we shouldn’t push it out. It needs a little more time in the oven. Otherwise, people might only eat half of that meal and never come back to it.”

So you have between six and twelve weeks to become absolutely formidable at Le Mans Ultimate – then you can invite a team-mate into a demoralising co-op race in which they never get near your lap times. Teamwork.