Assetto Corsa Competizione FIA 1

One of the big selling points of Gran Turismo Sport was its collaboration with the FIA, which was effectively billed as a gateway from gaming to real-world competitive motorsports. But there’s been no mention of the FIA with regards to Gran Turismo 7, and unsurprisingly the release has been replaced by Assetto Corsa Competizione for 2022’s iteration of the FIA Motorsport Games.

While this will no doubt be painted as a ginormous blow to Gran Turismo, it’s worth remembering that the franchise has its own robust esports scene these days. That’s unlikely to go anywhere. It should also be noted that Assetto Corsa Competizione is more of an out-and-out simulation than Gran Turismo 7, which is still realistic, but has more forgiving elements to it.

This is the first iteration of the FIA Motorsport Games since 2019, which was of course played in Gran Turismo Sport. The focus will be on GT3 cars within Assetto Corsa Competizione, with a knockout format bringing 80 hopeful drivers down to around 20, ahead of a final locked for 29th October. This category of cars is Competizione’s bread-and-butter, while Gran Turismo 7 has a broader focus.

All in all, it makes sense for all parties, to be honest. Assetto Corsa Competizione is a much more hardcore simulation than Gran Turismo, while Polyphony Digital no longer needs the FIA to run successful esports competitions. Given the sour mood surrounding the series following its microtransaction debacle, though, it’ll – perhaps unfairly – be seen as another fail for the franchise.

[source fiamotorsportgames.com, via gtplanet.net]