F1 2020 Game: Release date & Everything You Should Know

F1 2020 Game Release

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WATCH – F1 2020 Gameplay video roundup – Watch a selection of exclusive gameplay videos

WATCH – F1 2020 Official Gameplay Reveal – Max Verstappen Drives Zandvoort

WATCH – F1 2020 Gameplay Hot Lap – F1 2019 vs F1 2020 Barcelona Hot Lap

WATCH – F1 2020 First Gameplay Trailer – Official Gameplay Trailer

Update 14th May 2020

Codemasters gave a behind closed doors presentation to a selection of the F1 2020 gaming community. This presentation detailed the all new F1 2020 My Team game mode, and what we will be doing as F1 team principles.

READ MORE – We detail everything from that presentation here, everything you should know about F1 2020 My Team game mode.


Update – April 29th 2020

In a recent interview with Red Bull Codemasters’ game director Lee Mather revealed a few new details about the upcoming 2020 game.

When asked about the new My Team game mode, Mather revealed, “For the first time in the Codemasters series of F1 titles, we’re giving the player the chance to enter their team into the Formula 1 World Championship.”

Mather went on to detail, “Players will have to manage both the running of the team and produce the results out on the track. As with any F1 team, the player will be responsible for all departments needed to run the team. These range from those which impact on pure performance, to departments who work to get you the best sponsorship and media deals, to those responsible for driver and staff training.”

This is very exciting, as we have always dreamed about creating our own F1 team from the ground up. This new My Team game mode seems to bridge the gap between the normal career mode and a full blown Motorsport Manager style game.

When asked about hiring new drivers, Mather said, “Engaging with the driver market and picking the most lucrative sponsors will also play a crucial part in creating a successful team. Not to mention the development of the car, and how you manage the team’s time in between races via the new season timeline.”

We really hope that the inclusion of the full 2020 Formula 2 grid will play in to the new driver market aspect of My Team. It would be fantastic to see young drivers from Formula 2 progressing up and in to Formula 1 seats as the seasons go by.

We will keep this post updated as more details are revealed.


Update – April 16th 2020

Its official, the F1 2020 game has finally been revealed, with a host of new information about the upcoming game.

Making the headlines for this years official Formula 1 video game are new circuits, split-screen co-op, a brand new “My Team” career mode and a Michael Schumacher Deluxe Edition.

All of this will be playable on 10th July 2020. This year sees F1 celebrating its 70th anniversary, and to celebrate this prestigious landmark Codemasters will be launching with a Michael Schumacher Deluxe Edition. Those who opt for the F1 2020 Deluxe Edition will also receive 3 day early access.


What Is F1 2020 My Team?

This years F1 2020 game features one of the most requested features, a full “My Team” game mode. This brand new game mode will allow a player to create their very own Formula 1 team, and join the 2020 F1 grid as an 11th team.

Players will be able to create a team logo and design their own car livery. This gives players much requested customisation to this brand new career game mode. We don’t know how in depth the my team car customisation will be, and we don’t think it will feature a full livery editor. Instead it is more likely to feature preset liveries which the player can customise.

After designing a 2020 Formula 1 car, players will then be tasked with building and developing a team headquarters and deciding the direction to take the team and car in. Players will be given the option of taking engines from one of the three current engine supplies, Mercedes, Ferrari or Renault.

Throughout the “My Team” career mode, you will race your own team’s F1 car, and make the decision on who your team mate will be. We don’t know who the candidates for your team mate will be. It could be ex-Formula 1 drivers or completely made up drivers. We would expect the latter.


All 22 Tracks Will Be Included

Codemasters have confirmed that despite the reduced F1 2020 season in real life, all 22 tracks will features in this years F1 game. Players will be able to drive the brand new Hanoi Circuit, and the updated Circuit Zandvoort.

If players want to experience shorter seasons throughout their career, so they can progress through more seasons, you can choose a shorter season length. There will be three different length seasons to choose from, short 10 race seasons, medium 16 race seasons and a full season.


What Content Is In The F1 2020 Deluxe Edition?

This years Deluxe Edition is a celebration of the current most successful driver ever in F1, Michael Schumacher. This deluxe edition comes with exclusive content that isn’t available through any other method.

The exclusive content available in the Michael Schumacher Deluxe Edition comes in the form of some of Schumacher’s most famous classic cars. Players will be able to drive as the legendary F1 champion Michael Schumacher in four of his most famous cars.

The classic F1 cars that are included in this Deluxe Edition are;

  • Jordan 191 from 1991
  • 1994 Benetton B194
  • 1995 Benetton B195
  • Ferrari F1-2000

Along with these classic cars will be more exclusive content such as themed car liveries and extra driver customisation items. Players will also receive a unique podium celebration.


Split Screen Co-op

A much requested feature makes it into a Codemaster F1 game for the first time on modern consoles. Split screen co-op allows players to race alongside each other on the same console across all 22 tracks. This split-screen mode will be limited to just two players, however this will allow friends to experience high speed competitive racing together.


New Settings

Codemasters have also added a host of new options to allow players to truly cater the F1 2020 game to their own requirements. There is a new assist option included, however as of yet we don’t know what this assist is.

There will also be options for players to reduce the amount of races in each season so players can complete more seasons throughout a play-through.

Formula 2 will also be introduced as a fully playable season before progressing in to a full F1 career. This expands on last years three race prequel which many fans enjoyed.


F1 2020 Game Release Date – When Does F1 2020 Game Come Out?

The release date for this years F1 2020 game is the 10th July 2020. The game will launch across all consoles including Xbox one, Playstation 4 and Steam. And for the first time ever, Codemasters F1 game will launch on the Google Stadia platform.


F1 2020 Official Trailer

Below is the launch trailer for the F1 2020 game.

 

Below is what the game designers over at Codemasters had to say about this years F1 game;


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“F1 2020 promises to be our biggest and most innovative title to date,” said Paul Jeal, F1 Franchise Director at Codemasters. “Our core players will welcome even greater gameplay depth with the introduction of our brand-new My Team feature, alongside three customisable season lengths which allows them to pick their favourite tracks.”

“As huge fans of F1, we continue to innovate and develop game modes that bring players even closer to the real-world sport,” added Lee Mather, F1 2020 Game Director at Codemasters. “We’ve also added new modes to enable more casual players to get up to speed more easily, and we’ve brought back split-screen for social play with friends. The additions reduce both the difficulty and time barrier to entry while retaining the car handling that our simulation players love.”


Where Can I Find F1 2020 Car Setups?

We have a dedicated F1 2020 setup site setup and ready to go. Setups will be released as soon as the game is launched, and we will ensure that the community has a car setup for every track on the day of launch.

You can find our dedicated F1 2020 setups section here.


Original Post Below – Dated 1 March 2020

Below is the original post that we wrote back in March, before we had any official announcements.

With the 2020 Formula 1 season now in full swing with car launches and winter testing underway. It is only a matter of time before we start counting down to the F1 2020 official video game.

Quick Links


New Information Released By Codemasters – April 2020

Codemasters have revealed new information confirming that the F1 2020 game will feature all of the 22 tracks that were supposed to be on the 2020 calendar.


F1 2020 Season Overview

It’s official, F1 2020 is here. All of the big teams have launched their 2020 liveries, including the big three of Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull. It’s no surprise that the top team’s liveries are all very similar to their 2019 look. The 2021 rule change is looming and many teams are looking further ahead than just the upcoming 2020 season.

Williams F1 2020 Car Livery Released

There have been a few nice surprises during the Formula 1 car launch season. Alpha Tauri have launched a completely new liveryto go hand in hand with the branding change. The black and white livery found on the re-branded Toro Rosso is stunning and has quickly become a fan favourite. McLaren and Haas have both released evolutions of their previous designs, with Haas going back to their 2018 style livery.

READ MORE – All F1 Car Launches & Liveries Revealed!

But now the car launch period is over, we’re looking ahead to the winter testing to get an initial shakedown of the new cars. This will be where we see how each team have developed their car over the winter break.


When Does F1 2020 Game Come Out?

Codemasters haven’t yet announced the official F1 2020 release date yet. However last year Codemasters released the game earlier than ever before.

Last year’s game released in June 2019, meaning racers could start to play their F1 2019 career mode much earlier in the year. Before 2019, all prior Formula 1 games released in August, which was very late in to the season. Fans were over the moon when the launch date got brought forward to June as this gave gamers 2 months of extra play time during the official season schedule.

F1 2020 Game

Despite the improved release date, F1 2020 game fans would still love to see the release date come even sooner than it did last year. If the game releases earlier, this effectively extends most gamers play time with the game. Many gamers like to race alongside the official season races, and releasing earlier would allow this.

This is one area where Codemasters could look to other sports games, where they release at the start of the season. Most sports games release early and release follow up updates to adjust the teams and players stats. This could be difficult for Codemasters as releasing their annual F1 game before any race has happened could lead to many teams performance being completely wrong.

However we firmly believe that Codemasters will release F1 2020 around the same June window that they have previously used. This would align the game with French Formula 1 grand prix.


F1 2020 Career Mode Improvement

F1 2019 made huge improvements with the multiplayer aspect of their game. There was a much larger emphasis on league racing and e-sports. However the main game mode for most gamers will be the career mode. It provides the most involved simulation of a Formula 1 season in any game to date.

F1 2019 Formula 2 Series

In F1 2019, Codemasters released an introductory Formula 2 feeder series for the first time ever. With this came a fully voice acted story involving your racer and their nearest Formula 2 rivals. We would expect this part of the career mode to be improved upon and even further integrated in to this years game release.

We would love Codemasters to take a similar approach to the recent Moto GP career modes. The career mode in Moto GP 19 allowed you to undertake a full season in a junior series before progressing up to the main Moto GP series. This allowed gamers to finesse their skill level before being dropped in to the much faster main series.

However, simply seeing the entire roster of teams and drivers from the Formula 2 feeder series implemented in game form was great. We fully enjoyed our short but sweet experience in Formula 2, and would love to see this make a return.

We also thoroughly enjoyed the curated story line which framed the F2 feeder series. By dropping you in to race situations such as recovering from a punture or chasing down a leader added a level of excitement to the races. We would very much like to see more curated story lines throughout each F1 season.

After the initial F2 feeder races, the game mode was very similar to previous years. The only other new inclusion was driver transfers, which in itself spiced up the game mode. This allowed real F1 drivers to switch teams throughout the season.

Simply including driver transfers allowed for a little more unpredictability throughout each season, and this elevated the RPG element of the game. Hopefully these make a return, and are even tied to drivers performance level throughout the season. For example if Lando Norris was driving out of his skin, he could be promoted up to a Mercedes race seat.


Classic Cars & Tracks

One element that is requested more than any other from fans is the inclusion of more classic cars and classic tracks. These classic series make for a great rest bite from the grind of the regular season. And they’re great fun for multiplayer races and weekly events.

F1 2019 Classic Cars

F1 2019 released with a huge emphasis on the rivalry between Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost. So we know the priority on representing this side of Formula 1 history is still there. Ultimately the only thing that we got from last years historic content, was some different classic cars and this area of the game wasn’t fully fleshed out like it could have been.

It would be great if Codemasters decided to implement more involved challenges when it comes to classic cars and races. They could look to introduce challenges based on real historic events. Re-create the Hamilton, Massa championship battle at Brazil, challenging gamers to replicate Hamiltons comeback. Scenarios such as this would really add a nice challenge element to the game.

Also implementing classic cars throughout the career mode season in a better way would be great. It would be great if you could have the whole current F1 grid competing in an invitational race using classic cars.

Another area where Codemasters could look to improve the classic content is with tracks. There are plenty of tracks which have come and go from previous F1 games. Tracks such as Interlagos, Istanbul, Hockenheim. If some of these could be remastered and included in to a full game release, that would really improve the longevity of the game. It would also add some much needed variety to multiplayer, giving a much more rounded experience.


F1 2020 Multiplayer Improvements

Online multiplayer was vastly improved in F1 2019 with the introduction of online leagues. These allowed gamers from all over the world to take part ion an F1 season and compete across a multitude of races.

F1 2019 Multiplayer Liveries

However, even with the inclusion of improved multiplayer, there is still the issue of reckless driving. It is something that has plagued racing games since the beginning of online multiplayer. Even throughout last years F1 game, you would find online players who are amendment on dive bombing at the first corner, or knocking you off track instead of making a legal overtake. This is a problem that needs to be addressed.

Online sim racing is becoming more and more popular, thanks to the introducing of e-sports and games such as GT Sport and iRacing rising in popularity. Codemasters need to take note and implement a proper penalty and ranking system.

Introducing a true safety rating, and performance rating would be a good start. This would allow players with similar attitudes to be grouped together in online lobbies. If a player is crash happy then they would be match-made with other similar players. Whereas gamers who like to race seriously, without making contact would be grouped together.

Multiplayer Customisation

Codemasters included custom multiplayer liveries for the first time in F1 2019, but to say these were underwhelming is an understatement. Many of the custom liveries were very basic, and the custom race suits were straight out of the 1990s.

If Codies could include a much larger, much more dynamic group of customisation options that would make this mode much better. Think of all of the different gun paint schemes in Call of Duty or Battlefront. Or the custom liveries of Forza or Need For Speed. If you unlocked decals, sponsor logos and a much larger range of liveries, many players would play for much longer.

Split-Screen Multiplayer

Will we ever see split screen again in a Formula 1 game? We hope so. We understand that the main reason for not including split-screen multiplayer in F1 games is due to performance. However recent releases such as WRC 8 have included split-screen without sacrificing quality.

Split-screen would be a huge inclusion for Formula 1, as it would open up the ability for friends to play on the same console. Something that many F1 gamers have requested. We wouldn’t count on seeing split-screen on this years 2020 release, however with the much improved next-gen consoles dropping late this year. F1 2021 could well be the first game in a long time to release with split-screen.


F1 2020 New Features

News for the F1 2020 game hasn’t started releasing yet, however it will start to drop very shortly. We haven’t had any new confirmed features however we would expect to see some of F1 2019’s new features carried over to this years game. Features such as the Formula 2 feeder series, online leagues and multiplayer customisation should all be improved. We would also love to see full VR support for PC and console versions of the game.

As new features are announced we will reveal them here, so check back soon!


F1 2020 Wish List

Fans across the world will all have their own wish list for the upcoming F1 2020 game. We would love to simply see an improvement in career modes, and the racing experience itself. However we have listed a selection of ultimate wish list items which we would love to see included.

F1 2019 Career Mode Tips

VR support across all platforms

Many gamers have experienced VR on games such as iRacing and Assetto Corsa, and those that have know how involved it is. It improves the racing experience ten fold and is such a great inclusion. Codemasters should look to include this as priority, although I don’t think we will see it included for this console generation.

Manual Pit Lane Control

We currently have very limited control within the pit lane, meaning pit stops during races are very laborious tasks. As long as the car has slowed down at the line, you can essentially relive all control. If we had full pit lane control, the risk reward element of slowing for your pit box is huge. You could gain or lose a second or two based on your decision here, and the involvement level would increase.

Of course for those who don’t want this, Codemasters should include an assist option to turn it off.

Team Orders

We have seen team orders in other racing series such as Grid and Nascar. And these make the stratgey of the race much more involved. If team orders were implemented in F1 2020 you could really improve the inter-team relationship you have with your team mate. Orders such as asking to pass your team mate, letting a team mate pass as they are quicker or pitting a lap later than your team mate would be very welcome.

Mechanical Failures

No one really likes mechanical failures in racing games, however it would definitely add a level or risk / reward when it comes to your component management during a season. It would also increase the realism across the course of a season, forcing you to try and make up lost points. Again, the ability to turn this on and off would have to be included to avoid frustration.

Advanced Tyre Strategies

Entering a qualifying session without any nod towards your race tyre strategy is about as un-Formula 1 as you can get. And this is where Codemasters are now. If the race strategy could be brought forward in to the qualifying sessions, this would allow a driver to assess which tyre they wanted to start the race on. This would open up differing strategies, which currently have to be self managed in previous games.

Manager Mode

Many sports games have done this, and allowed you to step back in to a managerial role, and players around the world have embraced it. If you could decide the fate of your drivers, look to employee different drivers, make calls on development focus and set budgets, we would sign up instantly. This would really allow our inner Toto Wolff out to shine!

Full Formula 2 Season

As we mentioned above, including the full Formula 2 feeder series in to career mode would elongate a players time with career mode. Proving yourself with an F2 team could dictate who offers you a contract when you reach Formula 1, with your performance affecting the quality of teams interested.


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Article written by Mjolnir

Mjolnir is one of the main setup creators and content writers for SimRacingSetups. He has had years of experience in sim racing, both competitively and casually. After a decade of sim racing experience, he co-founded SimRacingSetup.com to share his passion and knowledge of sim racing and Formula 1 with other sim racers.
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