Sim Racers Monthly May 2025: Nacon’s Racing Offensive, Sim Gaming Expo & A Few Delays

If you thought April was a busy time in sim racing already, May 2025 proved to be even more exciting. So we hope you got a few more minutes than usual to spare – let’s dive right in!

Image: Kunos Simulazioni

Assetto Corsa EVO Rolls Out Big v0.2 Update​

Things had been quiet around Assetto Corsa EVO since its February content drop, but Kunos Simulazioni were certainly hard at work on their Early Access title. To start off May, the Italian studio announced that the big version 0.2 update would be deployed on May 7, including seven new cars and two new tracks.

While the new content was a nice addition, it was the new open mode that took center stage with the update. Not to be confused with the still-to-come free roam mode, open mode allows sim racers to play AC EVO like a sandbox – no unlocking cars, no grinding for credits, just customizing and racing without restrictions. A number of performance improvements rounded off the update that also saw a multitude of smaller, but still very welcome fixes.

Following the update, the roadmap for the game was also changed. Free roam is no longer on it with a summer release time, instead having moved to the final Early Access release before the full launch. The latter also does not have a time frame anymore – initially, “Fall 2025” was the goal, but following the difficult Early Access launch, Kunos’ Managing Director Marco Massarutto stated:

We’ve removed ‘Fall 2025’ as the expected release window for version 1.0 from our roadmap. This is because we’re currently assessing whether the major changes already implemented — along with the ambitious updates still to come — will allow us to stay within that time frame.

F1 25 Launches​

May was also the month of the F1 25 release – but first, more teasers, details and insight emerged following the first gameplay trailer published on April 30.

Not only did we learn the initial driver ratings of the game, but also that a number playable scenarios based on the upcoming F1 movie starring Brad Pitt would release on June 30. Finally, a few days before release, the first two chapters of the returning Braking Point story mode showed the start of what the ficitional Konnersport team would experience in this alternate 2024 season.

Once the game was actually released, we found it to be an evolution of F1 24 that is a bit more understeery than its predecessor, but generally enjoyable. Key features of F1 25 include the revamped MyTeam mode that took a page out of F1 Manager’s book, the addition of five LIDAR-scanned tracks, and three circuits that are available to race in reverse direction.

Image: Studio 397

Le Mans Ultimate May Update Delayed To June 10​

Following the positive news of Pimax investing in Motorsport Games that emerged in April, Le Mans Ultimate had to ask sim racers for patience: The big update scheduled for May that includes the rest of the 2024 content as well as online driver swaps was postponed to June 10 – race week of the 2025 Le Mans 24 Hours.

The reason for this is that “we don’t want to push something out that isn’t ready yet. That got us into a lot of problems in the first place”, as MSG CEO Stephen Hood told OverTake. So rather than releasing something that is not quite finished, the publisher and developer Studio 397 opted to delay the update instead.

There will be more exciting things to come, however: Hood also told us that the LMU team will be at the real-life Le Mans 24 Hours again, and that there will be a press conference together with race organizer ACO.

Image: Bugbear Entertainment

Wreckfest 2 Deploys First Early Access Update​

Another Early Access title that many racing game fans are looking forward to is Wreckfest 2. The second installment of the popular crash racing game received its first big update on May 13, introducing new content, but also plenty of optimization measures and quality of life improvements.

This was in line with the roadmap published by developer Bugbear alongside the Early Access release on March 20. Unfortunately, it is not quite clear when the next step will be taken, as the next point on the roadmap reads “tell us what’s next” – so make sure to let Bugbear know! The full release also does not have a date yet, but will feature career and multiplayer modes with progression, cars that can be customized both performance-wise and visually, plus modding support.

Image: Gaming Factory

Japanese Drift Master Celebrates Full Release​

After its Rise of the Scorpion demo and a delayed release date, JDM: Japanese Drift Master finally launched on May 21. The simcade title by Polish studio Gaming Factory was an instant hit, not just with the OverTake team, but also among racing game fans – a concurrent player peak of more than 3,200 indicates a strong start for an indie game.

JDM feels like a throwback to the Need For Speed Underground 2 days, only set in a fictional prefecture in Japan and with more focus on drifting – naturally. Its free roam map is a standout, as it not only looks great, but also lends itself well to drifting and racing the 27 cars that are on board at launch, the majority being licensed models from Nissan, Honda, Mazda and Subaru. We will certainly keep an eye on it as the game evolves.

OverTake & Sim Gaming Expo Join Forces​

Can you believe that the United States do not have a big on-site sim racing event like Sim Formula Europe yet? Neither could we, so we are excited to be the official media partner for Sim Gaming Expo. The event will take place from September 5 to 7 at the Schaumburg Renaissance Convention Center in Chicago and not just feature sim racing, but rather all simulation genres imaginable.

Its roots are undeniably in sim racing, however. Organizer Jorge Anzaldo grew up an IndyCar fan, later found his way to iRacing, hosted his own high-profile league in the Lionheart Racing Series – and eventually wanted to give the North American community its own event. Tickets are already available – check back with OverTake for more news possible ticket discounts!

Image: Saber Interactive / Focus Entertainment

RoadCraft Launches: Co-Op Construction Sim​

Speaking of other sims, RoadCraft doesn’t fit our usual bill, but the construction-focused co-op game still struck a chord with us. We already tried the title back in February, but the full version that released on May 20 brought back the Chaos Construction Crew of @Michel Wolk, @Connor Minniss, @Christopher E and @Rene / GRunner. While we are certainly no experts, the game is still great fun at a slower pace, but still based on driving. Just don’t let us pave any roads if you’re looking for a smooth ride

Image: Nacon / KT Racing / WRC (montage)

Nacon’s Racing Offensive​

If it wasn’t quite clear that Nacon is looking to put a lot of eggs in the racing basket before, May certainly changed this: The French publisher/hardware manufacturer first announced the return of arcade racer Gear.Club Unlimited for its third instalment, then announced that the console version of Rennsport is set to launch in September.

There was more, too: While visiting BigBen Week, we also got the chance to have another hands-on session with the upcoming Endurance Motorsport Series and its unique concept of teaming up a driver and an engineer who need to rely on each other to make the most of a race.

The biggest Nacon news by far, however, did not concern circuit racing: After it emerged in late April that EA Sports WRC would see no further development and the license would not be renewed by EA, speculation on who would take over started immediately – and it turned out to be Nacon, as was confirmed on May 26.

The publisher had the official World Rally Championship game under its umbrella between 2015 and 2022 already, but now aims to tackle it again with a fresh concept that is supposed to be “a fully reimagined project”, according to Nacon CEO Alain Falc.

The sim racing community does not seem to be as enthusiastic about this, however, with reactions being mostly negative – but there were also a number of sim racers who are looking forward to the new era of WRC games.

Some patience will be needed before finding out what this looks like, though: The first new Nacon WRC title will not see the light of day until 2027.

Image: Nacon

Hardware News​

Nacon Revosim RS PURE & Accessories​

And while we are on the subject of Nacon, the company also made sure that we would have a nice segue to the hardware section of this edition of Sim Racers Monthly.

Back in March, they had already officially unveiled the Revosim RS PURE hardware bundle of 9 Nm wheelbase, steering wheel and pedals in Paris. Naturally, the gear was also part of BigBen week, and so were the yet-unannounced accessories that will eventually release in 2025. We got to check out the Hybrid Shifter, Handbrake, Clutch Pedal and a wheel rim add-on already.

The base bundle of Nacon’s first foray into sim racing hardware was set to launch in June, but seemingly out of nowhere, Nacon announced that the RS PURE bundle was available already on May 27. We are looking to provide you with an in-depth review as soon as we can.

Image: Simucube

Simucube’s Pre-Owned Program​

High-end hardware is expensive, but Simucube is looking to lower this barrier a bit: The Finnish hardware manufacturer introduced a pre-owned program that gives sim racers access to their wheel bases, pedals and wheels at a lower price.

The gear may be pre-owned, but it is fully refurbished and even comes with a 2-year warranty and full Simucube support. So far, the program is only available in the EU, but the savings can be quite significant. There are two quality tiers to choose from, with one having only minor visual damage, the other with more noticeable visual defects that do not affect their function.

Image: Pimax

Pimax Dream Air SE – Super Light VR Headset​

Late 2025 should be very interesting for VR enthusiasts in sim racing: After announcing the Dream Air headset already in December of 2024, Pimax revealed that there will be a “Light” version of the headset called the Dream Air SE in Q3 of 2025.

While the regular Dream Air will weigh in at less than 180 grams, the SE version manages to push that down even further to less than 150 grams. On board are mirco-OLED panels, a self-adjusting strap and integrated hand tracking. The Pimax Dream Air SE is set to start at 877€ for the no-controller Lighthouse variant, with the standalone SLAM version that doesn’t need additional tracking cameras priced at €1,169.

MOZA Racing Lamborghini Revuelto Sim Racing Wheel​

To the surprise of absolutely no one, racing wheels are everywhere in sim racing. Road car wheels, on the other hand, are far and few in between of the eclectic amount of gear to choose from. MOZA Racing and Lamborghini bucked that trend: At DreamHack Dallas, they revealed the Lamborghini Revuelto Sim Racing Wheel – and as we were on the ground in Dallas to support Lamborghini’s presence at the event, we even got first-hand impressions of the wheel.

While it is slightly smaller than its real-life counterpart, it features plenty of buttons and switches, as well as clutch paddles that even the real car does not have.

And that wraps it up! As you can see, May was plenty busy – can June match that? We’ll find out in a month’s time, but with the incoming Le Mans Ultimate update plus perhaps the next steps of Assetto Corsa EVO, there should be plenty to look forward to.

Which sim racing story did you find most interesting in May 2025? Let us know in the comments below!