Project CARS 2

• Title — Project CARS 2 • Developer — Slightly Mad Studios • Publisher — Bandai Namco Entertainment • Director — Stephen Viljoen • Producer — Andy Cherry • Designer — Andy Tudor • Programmer — Steven A. Dunn Anders Johansson Iain Wallington • Artist — Darren White • Composer — Stephen Baysted • Series — Project CARS • Platforms — * PlayStation 4 • Windows • Xbox One • Released — 22 September 2017 • Genre — Racing simulation • Modes — Single-player, multiplayer

Project CARS 2 offers 140 track layouts at 60 different locations and 189 cars to choose from. It advertises that "each track is a living, organic venue" and "changes lap by lap" as the race progresses. This is achieved by a system called LiveTrack 3.0, including e.g. track temperature or dynamic weather. The game now features off-road driving, including rallycross tracks and cars. There are new manufacturers in the game, including Porsche, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Jaguar, Honda, Acura and Nissan. In addition, Project CARS 2 supports virtual reality (VR), up to 12K resolution, and triple screen support.

• Illustration — Promotion at Gamescom 2017 Following the success of Project CARS, funding began to open for Project CARS 2 on 23 June 2015. World of Mass Development and Slightly Mad Studios opened donations through the "Project CARS 2 official forum". Forum members and visitors choosing to donate had the option to using membership through the forums. In exchange, donors could gain access to development builds and voicing thoughts, opinions, and suggestions critical to the progress of the game. On 8 February 2017, Project CARS 2 was officially announced as a game coming late 2017. Slightly Mad Studios soon revealed that the game was going to consist of 182 cars from 38 manufacturers and a variety of car and race car classes, new additions including the Honda Civic, Jaguar XJ220, Toyota GT-86 and Nissan R89C. The game also has a larger track roster, with 46 tracks (containing 121 layouts), the majority being laser scanned circuits, and new additions including Fuji Speedway, Knockhill, Long Beach and the Dirtfish rallycross track. A new time and weather system have also been included in-game which can allow multiple different changing weather conditions and changes within a given season (winter, spring, summer, autumn). The game uses the proprietary Madness Engine which enables highly detailed vehicle simulation using a custom physics engine called LiveTrack 3.0, bringing realistic track conditions throughout a race weekend. Online mode has also been developed with a focus on esports, bringing an online ranking system, online championships, and better functionality in matchmaking. They also developed a partnership with IndyCar, which includes all the lineup of the 2016 season, the official logo and the Indy 500. Through the months leading up to a release, Slightly Mad Studios have worked closely with auto manufacturers, auto industry companies, and race car drivers to help them in making an accurate simulation. As a result, cars have specific performance characteristics and represents its real-life counterpart accurately. The tire physics have also been built from the ground up to use the proprietary Seta Tire Model (STM), with full dynamic tire movements and actions simulated at up to 200hz. On 21 September 2022, the game was delisted from digital storefronts due to expiring car and track licenses - the game remains playable to those who purchased it prior to the delisting.

• Pack — Date — Tracks — Cars • Japanese Pack — Nov 2017 — 0 — 4 • Fun Pack — Dec 2017 — 2 — 8 • Porsche Legends — Mar 2018 — 1 — 9 • Spirit of Le Mans — Jun 2018 — 1 — 9 • Ferrari Essentials — Sep 2018 — 2 — 8

Project CARS 2 reached number 2 in the UK sales charts, behind Destiny 2. The game reached number 3 in both Australia and New Zealand. In Japan, it was the 6th best-selling PlayStation 4 game, and 11th overall. The game sold 265,000 copies on PC in the first 9 months following release.

In December 2018, Slightly Mad Studios' CEO Ian Bell confirmed the development of a new installment in the Project CARS series. It was released on August 28, 2020.