Less than a month after its launch, Project Motor Racing faced a wave of redundancies at its developer Straight4 Studios. The cuts, first reported in December 2025, resurfaced in early October 2026, prompting concern about the title’s long-term viability. At the SimRacing Expo in Frankfurt, Chief Creative Officer Aristotelis Vasilakos (known as Aris) and Development Operations Manager Ryan Swaby (Ry) addressed the press, acknowledging the painful downsizing while emphasizing the resilience of the remaining crew.
Team restructuring and financial health
Aris explained that the studio now operates with a “small but strong core team” that is being pushed to its limits for the sake of sustainability. He noted that lower overheads, coupled with an unexpected surge in sales, have rendered the game “self-sustaining”. Swaby added that weekly revenue has roughly tripled in the past month, a metric he described as a clear sign of upward momentum. Both executives stressed that the leaner workforce eliminates the fear of future cash-flow crises, allowing the team to focus exclusively on polishing the product.
Content pipeline: new packs and gameplay features
The upcoming month will see the release of the World Endurance Pack, a substantial expansion that adds eleven prototype cars across four endurance classes and a re-creation of Fuji Speedway with multiple layouts. In parallel, the V8 Power Pack lands, delivering nine iconic V8 machines – from 1970s American muscle to modern Australian V8 Evo racers – all competing on the challenging Road Atlanta circuit.
V8 Power Pack details
This add-on showcases legendary models such as the 1971 AMC Javelin, 1969 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28, and 2022 Dodge Challenger, while deliberately stripping away traction control, ABS and other electronic aids. The goal is to place the driver squarely in the cockpit, demanding pure skill to master the raw, rear-wheel-drive power.
World Endurance Pack highlights
The endurance expansion brings 2016-era hybrids like the Audi R18, Porsche 919 and Toyota TS050, a 2013 Olivera P2-13 for the classic LMP2 battle, the 2026 Olivera P2-26 EVO for today’s competition, and a roster of six iconic IMSA GTP machines from the 1980s. The new Fuji Speedway layout offers four historic configurations plus two modern variants, giving racers six distinct ways to tackle the iconic hill-top circuit.
Hot Laps, rolling starts and AI grids
Beyond cars, the developers are rolling out a Hot Laps time-attack mode that pits drivers against dynamic “ghosts” that advance through bronze, silver, gold and an elite “alien” tier. A revised force-feedback system adds extra sliders for fine-tuning, while the physics engine receives a per-lap energy reset for LMP1 cars. Most eagerly awaited is the introduction of rolling starts, a feature long requested by the community. On the AI front, a new Simplified Physics AI Model will enable 32-car grids on all platforms, with early tests showing a reduction from five-six cores to just three cores for calculations, slashing processing time by roughly eightfold.
Multiplayer expansion with PMR Connect
A partnership with SimGrid is set to launch PMR Connect, a community-driven multiplayer hub. Players can register groups, receive unique codes, and have events automatically appear in a personalized in-game calendar. One-click notifications will streamline race entry, and AI-controlled vehicles will be used to fill larger grids in multiplayer sessions. While the career mode will not see a major overhaul this year, the team promises to revisit it once baseline features like improved AI, rolling starts and Hot Laps are stable.
Looking ahead to 2027 and beyond, Aris and Ry both expressed confidence that the streamlined studio can sustain development momentum. With sales climbing and a packed roadmap of DLCs, features and community tools, Project Motor Racing appears poised to remain a fixture in the sim-racing landscape for the foreseeable future.
