EA’s purchase of racing game maker Codemasters means EA Sports has an F1 racing game for the first time since 2003. F1 2021, available July 16 for Xboxes, PlayStations, and PCs, expands career mode to include a two-player option and introduces Braking Point, a narrative-driven story mode that’s sure to make driving very fast, very low-to-the-ground vehicles more exciting and immersive.
The last time EA released an F1 game was 2003's F1 Career Challenge, a game that doesn’t even warrant a “reception” section on Wikipedia. At that point EA had lost the F1 license, so it released a game that went back over the 1999 through 2002 seasons it had licensed previously. Sad. But now EA owns Codemasters, the company that’s been doing official F1 games since 2009, bringing the buzziest-sounding automobile racing back into EA Sports’ purview.
Though Codemasters says the new Braking Point story mode has been years in the making, it feels like a very EA Sports sort of thing, adding a more personal experience to a somewhat impersonal racing game. There’s not much detail yet on what exactly Braking Point entails beyond a dramatic trailer and punny name, but it will feature Devon Butler, the rival character from F1 2019 whom players despise.
And there it is. Might have been nice to get some screenshots of cars racing or something, but this will have to do for now. Welcome back to EA Sports, Formula One racing.