Slightly Mad Studios, the team behind the Project CARS series, has revealed that the first two games in the franchise are being delisted from storefronts this year. Vehicle and track licensing issues are the stumbling block here; a typical culprit when it comes to racers on digital storefronts.
Oddly enough, Project CARS 2 will be the first one to go. The second entry in the series will no longer be purchasable on digital storefronts come September 21st, 2022. Project CARS 1 then disappears into the ether on October 3rd.
The good news is that the team has confirmed multiplayer servers will be still be alive and kicking after the big delist, for players who continue to dip into these two sim racers. Also, as normal, the titles will still be accessible and available for re-download later on, as long as you have the games in your library.
Project CARS 3, the series' latest effort that went down a more 'simcade' route, seems to avoid the delisting shenanigans for now. The developer is now working on the next entry in the franchise, set to return to a similar style as the first two games.
Fan of Project CARS? Sad to see these two disappear digitally? Let us know!
Comments 8
So remove the two good one and leave the one not so good. Hmmm
What is it about the licenses for racing games on console. I didn't even know delisting was a thing when I was a pc racing gamer.
@BBB There games are licensed to use 'branded' vehicles (Porsche, Ferrari, Ford etc) as well as licensed tracks. They are 'licensed' to a specific release platform and/or by 'time'. These games were licensed for Xbox One/PS4 hardware (as well as PC of course) but those consoles are basically at their end of life cycle now and those platforms are 'locked' systems too - unlike the much more open PC platform.
PC also doesn't have 'generations'. Its not as if you have to 'rebuy' or run via some Back Compatibility emulation layer like they do on Console.
As stated, its just the 'Digital' version that's delisted because its Licence was for XB1 and/or a set amount of time. Its not worth spending money on 'renewing' those licences for a game that's not really selling anymore and its still available on 'discs' (although no longer being printed). If you 'own' a copy of these, you can still play because some of your 'money' went to those companies. After the License expires, those companies wouldn't get money - and then the Publisher is profiting off of others trademarks, branding etc - especially as the XB1/PS4 hardware it was 'licensed' for is increasingly less likely to be used for playing on too.
If you are 'concerned' about missing out on these, you can buy before its delisted and then you'll get those games and can keep playing long term. I don't know how the License works on PC, how they can keep selling once the licences expire (if they can) but the reason most people aren't affected by 'de-listing' is because they've already purchased and its not like you'll lose 'access' if you upgrade to a new 'gen' CPU/GPU. These games aren't considered Backwards Compatible and its still on the PC platform. These games are NOT on Series X/PS5 - they run because of BC, they are XB1/PS4 games and that's what they were licenced for...
@BBB This time, even PC versions will be delisted.
@ThatFilbo
Forza, as good as it is (I loved 6, liked 7 at best) is nowhere near Project Cars when it comes to authenticity of driving a race car. I love Project Cars 1. Have it installed on my PS5 and play it on and off. It still looks great (better than PC2 in my opinion) and sounds amazing. The track list still puts other racers and sims to shame. Speaking of shame, Project Cars 3 shouldn't even bear that name. I played it on PS4 Pro and it sucked in terms of driving simulation. The graphics were average and still caused stuttering, especially in rainy weather. I'd sooner recommend you play Lotus Turbo Challenge on Amiga than that pile of crap.
Sadly by september we wont have anymore good racing games on the Xbox store, FM7 last year and now PC2
@Zucaritas Not entirely true, Asseto Corsa and Asseto Corsa Competiozione are still there.
@Acurisur those are way more into the sim style, worthless if you don't have a wheel
@Zucaritas Your original statement did not mention racing games that need a wheel, you just mentioned good racing games. Asseto Corsa and it's spin off fit that description.
However GRID Legends is on Game Pas now and that is a great racing game with a controller.
Tap here to load 8 comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...