Rumor: May 31 Is Going to Be a Big Day for Racing Games Fans

16.02.2024 - 12:35 / gamerant.com / Ea Sports / Ea / Dominik Bo / Be A

The F1 24 release date has leaked online, with a reliable insider stating that the game is scheduled to hit PC and consoles on May 31, following a brief early access period. That's two weeks ahead of the first-year release anniversary of the 2023 entry in the F1 franchise.

As far as annually updated sports series are concerned, F1 is one of the most consistent offerings out there nowadays. While its early-2000s period includes multiple classics, the franchise really started hitting its stride after Codemasters took its reins in 2010. The series has been going from strength to strength ever since, with last year's F1 23 being widely touted as one of the best Formula One games ever made.

Its sequel is now scheduled to hit the market on May 31, according to Dealabs' Billbil-kun. The French insider, who has an impeccable track record with retail scoops, reports that EA Sports will once again offer a Champions Edition of the upcoming game, whose list of benefits will include a three-day early access period. Meaning that those who shell out for its premium version, expected to be priced at $89.99, will get to play F1 24 as early as May 28. Bullbil-kun reports that the game will be officially announced in the coming weeks, pointing to February 27 as a «high probability» date for its reveal.

A late May release would mark another step in Codemasters' ongoing efforts to synchronize the development cycle of F1 games with their respective Formula One seasons. The UK studio never quite managed to pull a FIFA or EA Sports FC by releasing a new franchise entry ahead of the season it's based on, but it's been getting closer to that goal over the years; following numerous installments that were released at the tail end of their respective seasons, the company has been putting out new F1 games no later than July since 2019. And even though F1 23 debuted with plenty of new series features last year, it still managed to hit the market by mid-June.

[The official F1 24 announcement] should take place within 15 days, with a high probability for February 27, 2024.

Putting out a sequel just 11 months later would ostensibly be no easy feat, especially after EA laid off some Codemasters developers back in December. It is unclear when exactly F1 24 started active production, although that likely happened even before its predecessor was released. It's equally unclear whether the game will be another cross-generation title from EA Sports, or if it will only reach PC and the current-gen consoles from Sony and Microsoft. The 2023 entry even offered a VR mode on PlayStation, albeit one that was incompatible with the PS VR2.

Regardless of whether F1 24 makes it to the PS4 and Xbox One, it is safe to assume that EA will eventually also bring