Today, 19 December 2024, Assetto Corsa marks ten years since releasing on Steam. Over that time, it has become a go-to sim for many that deserves recognition a decade after its release.
Assetto Corsa. Whether you are an OG in the sim racing community or a relative newcomer, this is one game that you will most definitely have heard of. Most frequently sitting among the most played racing games on Steam each month and benefitting from a strong and varied community, the title originally put together by plucky, independent developer Kunos Simulazioni is a staple of the industry.
The sandbox racer originally launched in Early Access on 8 November 2013. However, just over a year later, that early access denomination fell to the wayside following months of intense development as the game finally became a full release version on 19 December 2014.
AC motorsport photography.
Funnily enough, that date means the game is exactly ten years old today and yet still presents as strong an offering as ever. So how come the sim racing community has gravitated to this little racing game and what has helped it stand the test of time?
Replicate GTR2 in Assetto Corsa with mods.
Indeed, the Early Access even got its own developer kit for modders to edit car characteristics. Meanwhile, the title's file structure was positively dumbed down, allowing anyone to give their hand at third party content creation.
From the get-go, this led to some impressive creations, the earliest of which even became official first party content like the Shelby 427 Cobra and Mazda 787B. But as the game hit its full release and the community around it grew larger and larger, the rate at which mod resource sites like our very own received fresh content grew exponentially. Tracks, cars, liveries, driver models, AI lines, on-screen UI apps and so much more flood the internet today, but that is not where Assetto Corsa's modding story ends.
Think of a car or track and it's probably in AC.
Diving deeper into the core functionality of the game, Assetto Corsa in 2024 is virtually unrecognisable to the skeleton fans were provided with a decade ago. Mods like RARE and SOL totally transform the game's look and feel with overhauled AI and weather systems respectively. Meanwhile, a new launcher in the form of Content Manager welcomes physics-altering revelations that no doubt even Kunos themselves could never have predicted.
There are endless car-track combos to try.
Better yet, each discipline catered to in Assetto Corsa gets its own bustling community. So if you're a rally driver, historic racer, drifting hooligan or city cruiser, you will always have someone to drive with online, and people to help you when those pesky mods predictably cause friction.
Among the most enthusiastic of online Assetto Corsa communities however is the free roam scene. Cruising across a large open world with a gang of friends all whilst weaving through AI traffic is an experience few other games can replicate. In fact, many will claim it is the free roam scene that has kept Assetto Corsa thriving all this time.
Free roam has mass following in AC.
In fact, the Assetto Corsa legacy is more than just ten years of community-led car-based fun. It is the first pillar in its developer's decade-old story to success.
The Assetto Corsa series went from variety to focus real quick.
Thanks to this first crack at the whip, Kunos was able to prove its competence when lining up its next venture, the game we now know as Assetto Corsa Competizione. Whilst a total 180 from the dev's first foray in that it no longer supported modding and very much focused on a single class of car, the GT racing simulator found its own strong community in the online racing scene.
But one must suggest that without its strong initial project, Kunos may not have been able to line up its official GT World Challenge licensing, a key element towards setting up what many consider the benchmark for GT3 cars.
The Nürburgring is integral to the Assetto Corsa story.
The original Assetto Corsa's legacy goes even further than propping up a company on its way to becoming a global success. A few weeks ago, Kunos announced that its next title, Assetto Corsa EVO would feature a first party open world mode focusing on the region surrounding the Nürburgring. Bringing together two strong communities - residents of Nordschleife open lobbies and free roam fans - this latest idea combines everything fans love about the original game and improves upon the formula.
And without the original laying the foundations, that would probably not something we would talk about today. Happy birthday, Assetto Corsa!
What is your favourite thing about Assetto Corsa and your reason for returning to the sim? Let us know in the comments below and join the discussion in our Assetto Corsa forum!
Assetto Corsa. Whether you are an OG in the sim racing community or a relative newcomer, this is one game that you will most definitely have heard of. Most frequently sitting among the most played racing games on Steam each month and benefitting from a strong and varied community, the title originally put together by plucky, independent developer Kunos Simulazioni is a staple of the industry.
The sandbox racer originally launched in Early Access on 8 November 2013. However, just over a year later, that early access denomination fell to the wayside following months of intense development as the game finally became a full release version on 19 December 2014.
AC motorsport photography.
Funnily enough, that date means the game is exactly ten years old today and yet still presents as strong an offering as ever. So how come the sim racing community has gravitated to this little racing game and what has helped it stand the test of time?
Third Party Fortay
Even from its very first moments in the public space, AC was all about giving back to the community. Following the success of the likes of rFactor and GTR2 with their wide-open mentality allowing players to easily customise key parts of the game, Assetto Corsa was marketed as a massively moddable title.Replicate GTR2 in Assetto Corsa with mods.
Indeed, the Early Access even got its own developer kit for modders to edit car characteristics. Meanwhile, the title's file structure was positively dumbed down, allowing anyone to give their hand at third party content creation.
From the get-go, this led to some impressive creations, the earliest of which even became official first party content like the Shelby 427 Cobra and Mazda 787B. But as the game hit its full release and the community around it grew larger and larger, the rate at which mod resource sites like our very own received fresh content grew exponentially. Tracks, cars, liveries, driver models, AI lines, on-screen UI apps and so much more flood the internet today, but that is not where Assetto Corsa's modding story ends.
Think of a car or track and it's probably in AC.
Diving deeper into the core functionality of the game, Assetto Corsa in 2024 is virtually unrecognisable to the skeleton fans were provided with a decade ago. Mods like RARE and SOL totally transform the game's look and feel with overhauled AI and weather systems respectively. Meanwhile, a new launcher in the form of Content Manager welcomes physics-altering revelations that no doubt even Kunos themselves could never have predicted.
Assetto Corsa's Strong and Varied Community
Of course with such mass adoption of the game within sim racing modder ranks, ten years of constant third party content being churned out has led to a ridiculously varied amount of content being available. Are you a fan of flying above circuits aboard a prop plane? There's a mod for that. Fancy racing up and down a mountain in Monte Negro? There's a track for that.There are endless car-track combos to try.
Better yet, each discipline catered to in Assetto Corsa gets its own bustling community. So if you're a rally driver, historic racer, drifting hooligan or city cruiser, you will always have someone to drive with online, and people to help you when those pesky mods predictably cause friction.
Among the most enthusiastic of online Assetto Corsa communities however is the free roam scene. Cruising across a large open world with a gang of friends all whilst weaving through AI traffic is an experience few other games can replicate. In fact, many will claim it is the free roam scene that has kept Assetto Corsa thriving all this time.
Free roam has mass following in AC.
Long-Lasting Legacy
Though look a little deeper and you could almost say that this free roam community has allowed Kunos Simulazioni to grow from a small, independent team with little to show into a profitable gaming company dominating the niche.In fact, the Assetto Corsa legacy is more than just ten years of community-led car-based fun. It is the first pillar in its developer's decade-old story to success.
The Assetto Corsa series went from variety to focus real quick.
Thanks to this first crack at the whip, Kunos was able to prove its competence when lining up its next venture, the game we now know as Assetto Corsa Competizione. Whilst a total 180 from the dev's first foray in that it no longer supported modding and very much focused on a single class of car, the GT racing simulator found its own strong community in the online racing scene.
But one must suggest that without its strong initial project, Kunos may not have been able to line up its official GT World Challenge licensing, a key element towards setting up what many consider the benchmark for GT3 cars.
The Nürburgring is integral to the Assetto Corsa story.
The original Assetto Corsa's legacy goes even further than propping up a company on its way to becoming a global success. A few weeks ago, Kunos announced that its next title, Assetto Corsa EVO would feature a first party open world mode focusing on the region surrounding the Nürburgring. Bringing together two strong communities - residents of Nordschleife open lobbies and free roam fans - this latest idea combines everything fans love about the original game and improves upon the formula.
And without the original laying the foundations, that would probably not something we would talk about today. Happy birthday, Assetto Corsa!
What is your favourite thing about Assetto Corsa and your reason for returning to the sim? Let us know in the comments below and join the discussion in our Assetto Corsa forum!
