The list of Google Stadia launch games was revealed earlier this week, and while Codemasters' Grid reboot won't be among them, it's still expected to launch this year. When it does, it'll come with a new multiplayer mode unavailable on PC or consoles, boasting up to 40 cars on track at the same time.

The reason this won't be coming to PC? Because Stadia's technology is the only way to make it feasible. GRID development director Mark Green indicated as much in a recent interview with WCCFTech. Speaking on the differences between developing for Stadia and more conventional platforms, Green singled out the technology's streaming nous.

"Perhaps the area with the biggest difference was the streaming, but also the ability of Stadia to talk to other Stadia so quickly transforms some ideas around multiplayer – for example developing a whole new mode for GRID Stadia which has 40 cars on track at the same time, something that just isn’t possible with other hardware."

Green later adds that the 40-car mode is "probably" only scratching the surface of what Google's streaming technology is capable of, but he doesn't go into any more detail regarding why the 40-car mode is only possible with Stadia. In a world of 100 player battle royale games that can run on mobile networks, perhaps there are considerations specific to racing games that makes it harder with non-streaming tech.

Google Stadia goes live on November 19.

After the precise simulation of F1 2019 and the outright terror of the Dirt Rally games, GRID sees Codemasters promise a return to the arcade joys of its beloved 2008 racer. Here, slightly mis-timing a turn isn’t going to ruin your race, and taking the lead from the back of the pack is not just viable within three laps but encouraged. GRID is about enjoying the fantasy of being a racing driver rather than recreating the reality of it.

It’s a promise partially delivered. On the track, GRID is frequently thrilling, less about pedal to the metal and more metal to the other metal, as you shunt and shoulder your way through tightly packed crowds of aggressive and occasionally unhinged AI drivers. Yet off the track, GRID is lacking in features and, in some areas, conviction, with several half-baked ideas that merited deeper exploration.

Initially, you might wonder what there is to complain about. After introducing you to its racing with a montage of three short events, GRID flings you straight into its career mode, presenting you with a literal wall of races. There are four main categories, including touring cars, stock cars, and a “Fernando Alonso” branded supercar category, each of which has fourteen events and somewhere between forty and fifty races. Add to that double the number of “Invitational” events, which let you race anything from Mini Coopers to Ferraris, and you’ve got around 30 hours of racing ahead of you.

The diversity appears impressive at first. You’re allowed to hop between the different categories at will, and GRID responds with a seemingly wide range of locations and race conditions. The early Touring Car events evoke pleasant memories of the TOCA games from the late nineties, as you cruise around Silverstone and Brands Hatch under quintessentially British slate grey skies. From here, you can jump into a grunting muscle car and thrum along the graceful arcs of the Crescent Valley speedway, or head for the opulent GT category and slam a Porsche 911 along the harbourside of Havana.

Two locations stand out from the rest. The first is Barcelona, the streets of which have been recreated in painstaking detail, letting you race along the waterfront past the Columbus Monument, or through the cramped streets of its medieval centre, zipping past the bullring and the glittering fountains of the Palau Nacional. The main attraction, however, is Shanghai. Foreboding by day, at night Shanghai’s skyline explodes into a forest of sparkling neon. Wrestling through the pack as the Oriental Pearl Tower glows in the background makes GRID feel more like you’re playing Wipeout than a contemporary racer.

Although GRID is willing to indulge flights of fancy, a serious effort has gone into designing the feel of the cars. Each one is distinct in its handling and momentum. When barrelling through a corner, there’s a world of difference between the sturdy grace of a Vantage, and the barely-controllable grunt of a Ford Mustang. My personal favourite is the now-mythical BMW M1 Turbo. Driving one of these rainbow-banded beasts is like holding on to a lightning-bolt. Racing sixteen such TC1-class cars through the streets of Barcelona had me leaning away from my screen, certain I was going to turn the car into a giant metal concertina at any moment.

Barebones 

For the first five-to-ten hours, GRID is a delight. But I found myself wondering what else GRID had to offer, and it’s at this point where it stalled. That initial burst of locations isn’t the start of some grand tour, it’s all the locations thrown at you within a handful of events, which are then recycled for the following 20 hours. There are different track layouts, of course, but racing Brands Hatch backwards doesn’t lessen the disappointment of returning to Brands Hatch for the fifteenth time when you’re not even halfway through the career.

Bump into a specific car too hard or too often, and they ll become your Nemesis , hulking out and attempting to run you off the road.

The career is generally barebones, little more than an event selection menu. There’s no attempt to fill in the gaps, contextualise your experience with a story or some other framework, or provide a sense of progression beyond the standard rewards, namely cash, cars and more events. Outside the career, play options are limited to single races and multiplayer, neither of which offer an experience much different from what you’ll see in the campaign. 

It’s unfortunate, because GRID boasts a couple of potentially interesting ideas. The most notable of these are the new AI driver behaviours. Bump into a specific car too hard or too often, and they’ll become your “Nemesis”, hulking out and attempting to run you off the road. Alongside this you have a teammate who you can set orders for, asking them to push up the field or drive defensively, holding the pack back so you can either catch up or speed away.

This system can lead to some interesting situations. For example, I once made my teammate my nemesis, which resulted in him chasing me furiously right across the finish line. In addition, during an especially crowded race in San Francisco, I ended up pissing off about four drivers, and had to carefully avoid them through the rest of the race like some kind of vehicular slasher film. Unfortunately, vendettas only last for the duration of the race, and the lack of any personality in either individual drivers or the wider career means this isn't the Shadow of Mordor of racing games—a lot of potential is left dangling.

I can t help but feel like a premium-priced game like this should be doing a bit more, especially if you compare it to something like Forza Horizon 4.

There are other curious issues, too. For example, you can hire new teammates to drive with, but this is never pointed out to you during the career. Instead the option is hidden away on your profile page. Finding a multiplayer game is limited to private lobbies or public matchmaking, with no public lobbies or option to browse for servers. The keyboard control layout is downright bizarre, with button allocations scattered all over the place (for example, gear-change up is assigned to Q, while gear-change down is Left Alt) It’s if the developer crammed the keys up their nose and sneezed them across the board. I know playing a racing game with your keyboard is like playing a piano while holding a pair of pan lids, but there’s no need to make it harder than it already is. 

This is still an entertaining racer, one that looks lovely and runs smoothly. But I can’t help but feel like a premium-priced game like this should be doing a bit more, especially if you compare it to something like Forza Horizon 4, a similarly arcadey experience, but with considerably more to offer. Had GRID explored some of its ideas in greater depth, that might have given it the extra boost for a podium finish. Yet talented on the track as it maybe, it nonetheless falls just short of that. 

Last week Codemasters delayed its forthcoming Grid instalment to October, in order to spend more time marketing the game. So in the meantime we'll have to make do with marketing footage, and above you'll find embedded the latest artefact: a one minute video depicting racing cars, racing around racing courses, with each vying for the sought after first place.

This next instalment is looking to be a beast: it'll feature GT, Touring, Stoc, Muscle and Super-Modified cars, in addition to unconfirmed others. It'll be the first Grid since Grid Autosport, which released back in 2014 and which, by the way, is also releasing for Android some time this year. As for the new Grid, it'll release October 11.

Codemasters has tapped the brakes on the new Grid racing game it revealed to the world back in May. Initially slated to come off the line in September, the studio announced today that it's been pushed back to October 11—although in an unusual twist, the delay apparently doesn't have anything to do with the state of the game's development. 

"With Grid receiving multiple nominations and awards at this year’s E3 event in Los Angeles, including being named ‘Best Racing Game’ by Game Informer and DualShockers, the change has been made to give added exposure to a game we’re hugely excited about," Codemasters explained.

"With a little more than three months until launch, our Grid and Codemasters channels will be revealing more information and gameplay and big announcements, with more major news coming In the next couple of days."

Codemasters confirmed that anyone who buys the $80/£65/€75 Grid Ultimate Edition will still get three days of early access—October 8 instead of 11—and that it remains a launch title for Google Stadia when it goes live.

As racing games go, Grid is good: Grid 2 earned an 82/100 review score in 2013 and Grid Autosport got 86/100 a year later for delivering "magnificent racing stemming from a refinement of Grid 1s greatness." And then, for whatever reason, that was it for the series—until today, when developer Codemasters announced that another one is on the way.

Drivers in the new Grid will take GT, Touring, Stoc, Muscle, Super-Modified, and other car types through multiple modes on circuit tracks, ovals, and out on the streets. Damage modeling will impact the car's performance and handling, and too much contact with one racer will make them "a nemesis who will stop at nothing to get their revenge in the race"—Mozu take the wheel! 

Past Grid games have been detailed and authentic, but also managed to maintain an easygoing level of accessibility, which is what I really appreciate about them: I like racing games that make me feel like a super-pro wheelman, not demand that I actually be one. The new game aims to continue that tradition, "with a learning curve that appeals to both casual arcade gamers through to the core simulation racers." 

"The game offers so much variety and depth, from the number of modern and classic cars through to the locations and race options," Grid game director Chris Smith said. "Renowned for its handling, the game will appeal to all types of player, from casual drivers who want a lean-in challenge, to sim drivers who want some serious fun." 

It will also feature two-time Formula One world champion Fernando Alonso, who served as a consultant on the game and will appear in it as well. Players will take on Alonso's FA Racing team in different classes of races before meeting the man, and his world-beating Renault R26, in a final showdown event. 

The new game will be called simply Grid—the first in the series is actually called Race Driver: Grid—and is scheduled to come out on September 13. 

The outstanding Codemasters racing sim Grid is on sale at GOG (as Race Driver: Grid) for a mere $3, which while not as good a deal as the recent Humble freebie is still awfully cheap. But if you're tempted by the price, you'll want to move on it quickly, because the game is scheduled to be removed from GOG's lineup at 6 pm ET on December 31. 

GOG didn't provide a specific reason for Grid's removal, but confirmed in an email that it's being pulled because of expiring licenses. It's unfortunate, but it happens from time to time: The Fallout catalog was removed at the end of 2013, and Duke Nukem and Descent were pulled in 2015. The Fallout games have since been returned, and it's possible that Grid will eventually make a comeback too; on the other hand, Duke and Descent are still MIA, so you might not want to hold your breath. 

However it ultimately works out, the good news is that Grid owners will not be affected by the removal. It's yours to keep forever, as long as you pick it up before the deadline.   

Update: It's always a good idea to back up your stuff, but as several commenters have pointed out, Grid owners will still be able to download it from GOG after its removal from the store—it simply won't be available for purchase any longer.

The Codemasters racing sim Grid is an older game (it came out in 2008), but a very good one, too. And for the next couple of days, it's also free on the Humble Store. The price, you will notice, is now $0.00, and in case there was any doubt the big green button beside it says plainly, "Get it free!" 

Click that, follow the instructions, and in short order you'll be presented with a Steam code. Nip over to Steam, activate it, and faster than you can say, "The Humble Store is also having a Codemasters sale, and god bless us, everyone" you've got Grid in your library. 

Two points to be aware of: First, the free offer is only good for the next slightly-less-than-two-days, which by my estimate puts the deadline at 1 pm ET on December 24. And second, the code itself must be redeemed by the end of the month, so when you get it, be sure to use it. Enjoy!

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Like an unpopular and neglected combination of game client, social platform and DRM system, Games for Windows Live is fast approaching its ultimate shutdown. Oh, hold on, that wasn't a clever analogy. That's what Games for Windows Live is. In preparation for its sort-of announced shutdown, a variety of games have been looking at ways to hack off the dying flesh, in the hope that such self-amputation will stop the creep of necrotic tissue, thus ensuring the survival of the host. Okay, that was a better analogy.

Codemasters have become the latest developer to announce their detachment plans, confirming over Twitter that a GfW:Live free version of rally racer Dirt 3 was being worked on.

@TweetingTommy32 We are working on it but it may not be until the new year.— Codemasters (@Codemasters) November 9, 2013


Dirt 3 was the last Codemasters game to use GfW:Live. The developer's subsequent releases, including F1 2012 and 2013, Grid 2 and Dirt: Showdown, all used Steamworks. As yet, the planned fate of the excellent Dirt 2 - also tied to GfW:Live remains unknown.

Games for Windows Live's shutdown was briefly announced through the support page for Age of Empires Online, before the webpage was updated and the closure confirmation removed. That so many games have, or are planning to switch to Steamworks confirms that there's some truth to these plans. If the original date was correct, the service will shutdown on the 1st July, 2014.

We've already seen a Steamworks shift from Bioshock 2 and the Arkham games, and Capcom recently announced that they were "looking into what options are available".

Thanks, PCGamesN.

Contrary to popular belief, the anticipated Oculus Rift virtual reality headset doesn't run on pixie dust and elf tears. Like all hardware, it needs software drivers. And while its 20-year-old creator, Palmer Luckey, focuses on manufacturing more developer kits to meet the exceedingly high demand, enthusiastic 3D fans are already planning homebrewed custom drivers. One such project is CyberReality's Vireio Perception which extends Rift 3D support to first-person greats such as Portal 2, Skyrim, Mirror's Edge, and Left 4 Dead.

As CyberReality describes it, Vireio (or Virtual Reality Input Output, but we like how the shorthand name sounds like an enemy boss) can "pre-warp the image to match the Oculus Rift optics, handle custom aspect-ratios (needed for the Rift's strange 8:10 screen), and utilize full 3D head-tracking." As we describe it: Whoa.

The drivers work with nine games so far: Left 4 Dead, Half-Life 2, Portal 2, Skyrim, Mirror's Edge, AaAaAA!!!, Unreal Tournament 3, Dear Esther, and DiRT 2. CyberReality plans to add additional games in the future after spending more time with the kit. If all goes well, the possibilities are enormous: Think of revisiting classics such as Thief or Deus Ex with full head-tracking vision. Oh, yes, this is exciting.

Thanks, PCGamesN.

UK-based Publisher and developer Codemasters have given up making shooters, choosing instead to focus on racing games. The company have launched a new publishing label - Codemasters Racing - that will be responsible for putting out Codemasters' upcoming games. They include the inconsistently capitalised but consistently good DiRT rally series, and the similarly speedy official F1 games.

Codemasters' comms chief Rich Eddy clarified the change to MCV. "In racing, we are number two in Europe and that’s not good enough. Racing is our DNA, it is our heritage, it is our specialisation and it is our absolute focus going forward." No clues as to where that leaves Dizzy in this shakeup.

DiRT Showdown will be the first gAmE (that's how you do it, right?) to be released under the new imprint. The change is surely a good move for the publisher. They're pack leaders in the racing oeuvre, but recent forays out of it haven't met with much success. A focus of assets and resources on the games they're best at makes sense.