In July 2024, famed destruction racer Flatout 2 received an update after eighteen years to reignite its online servers. What are the servers like to race on now the original hype has died down and is there still an active community behind it?
FlatOut 2 is an arcade destruction racer from Finnish studio BugBear Entertainment. You might recognise the studio name as the people behind Wreckfest and the upcoming Wreckfest 2. After eight years, online play was officially shut down in 2014 for the second instalment of the FlatOut series, but with the implementation of the OpenSpy.net service players can finally race online again after over a decade of inactivity.
The famous forest collection of circuits is especially well-populated within the online service.
Two separate two-hour test sessions were undertaken whilst collecting screenshots and data for this article, one session in the morning from 10 am until 12 pm UTC and one at 4:30 pm until 6:30 pm UTC. The earlier timeslot had fewer players, but those who were playing stayed in lobbies for longer and there was much less server hopping compared to the evening session.
Twenty-eight listed servers, all with a population of players competing.
Be aware that whilst the lobbies are well populated most of the time, there is a percentage that have hacked the game or have some form of cheat program installed. From invincible cars to game-braking server lag, some people ruin the fun for others. Unfortunately, this is an inevitability with games of a certain vintage.
The choice for controllers is also very broad with Steam compatibility allowing most modern gaming handsets to be used, for example, PS4 and PS5 controllers as well as multiple generations of Xbox. FlatOut 2 is also available to play on the SteamDeck.
So whether you want to take FlatOut 2 on the go, or play from your computer, there is something that will run FlatOut 2. When it comes to racing wheel compatibility, there is certainly a small amount that are compatible and do work, but up-to-date modern wheels will almost certainly not be part of that list. FlatOut 2 is not designed to be played on a racing wheel, so enjoy kicking back with a controller or even a keyboard.
An average online racing lobby in FlatOut 2 after around two minutes of waiting.
Outside of the servers, there was also Steam Workshop integration, allowing the community to create and share their creations as well as famous FlatOut 2 mods from when the game was originally released back in 2006.
In conclusion, FlatOut 2 is back for the people who want to experience the game again. The reality is that the online mode is not as deep or attention-grabbing as anything more modern, but how could it be with the game being from 2006? However, there is a lot of nostalgia to be enjoyed and lots of fun to be had.
FlatOut 2's famous ragdoll and crashing physics are just as good as they always were.
What do you think about the revival of FlatOut 2? What other classic racing games do you want to see brought back to life? Let us know in the comments down below!
FlatOut 2 is an arcade destruction racer from Finnish studio BugBear Entertainment. You might recognise the studio name as the people behind Wreckfest and the upcoming Wreckfest 2. After eight years, online play was officially shut down in 2014 for the second instalment of the FlatOut series, but with the implementation of the OpenSpy.net service players can finally race online again after over a decade of inactivity.
The famous forest collection of circuits is especially well-populated within the online service.
Populated Lobbies
The servers are healthily populated considering the age of the game and how niche it already was. The variety in the game modes on offer is good with servers offering all three modes: Racing, Derby and Stunts. All three modes have a good player base with people actively participating, the most populated mode being Racing.Two separate two-hour test sessions were undertaken whilst collecting screenshots and data for this article, one session in the morning from 10 am until 12 pm UTC and one at 4:30 pm until 6:30 pm UTC. The earlier timeslot had fewer players, but those who were playing stayed in lobbies for longer and there was much less server hopping compared to the evening session.
Be aware that whilst the lobbies are well populated most of the time, there is a percentage that have hacked the game or have some form of cheat program installed. From invincible cars to game-braking server lag, some people ruin the fun for others. Unfortunately, this is an inevitability with games of a certain vintage.
Modern Compatibility
FlatOut 2 and the new accompanying online mode is only available on Steam, so you will probably not have any running issues when it comes to hardware as long as you have been using hardware from the last decade and a half. Whilst testing, The title was run on an early 2010's laptop and it still ran just as well as it did on a purpose-built desktop rig.The choice for controllers is also very broad with Steam compatibility allowing most modern gaming handsets to be used, for example, PS4 and PS5 controllers as well as multiple generations of Xbox. FlatOut 2 is also available to play on the SteamDeck.
So whether you want to take FlatOut 2 on the go, or play from your computer, there is something that will run FlatOut 2. When it comes to racing wheel compatibility, there is certainly a small amount that are compatible and do work, but up-to-date modern wheels will almost certainly not be part of that list. FlatOut 2 is not designed to be played on a racing wheel, so enjoy kicking back with a controller or even a keyboard.
An average online racing lobby in FlatOut 2 after around two minutes of waiting.
Outside of the servers, there was also Steam Workshop integration, allowing the community to create and share their creations as well as famous FlatOut 2 mods from when the game was originally released back in 2006.
In conclusion, FlatOut 2 is back for the people who want to experience the game again. The reality is that the online mode is not as deep or attention-grabbing as anything more modern, but how could it be with the game being from 2006? However, there is a lot of nostalgia to be enjoyed and lots of fun to be had.
FlatOut 2's famous ragdoll and crashing physics are just as good as they always were.
What do you think about the revival of FlatOut 2? What other classic racing games do you want to see brought back to life? Let us know in the comments down below!
