Codemaster ha annunciato di essere intenta alla realizzazione dell'ennesimo capitolo della saga Race Driver.

Il titolo automobilistico, nome in codice Race Driver One, verrà sviluppato sia per PC che per le console di nuova generazione PS3 e Xbox360.
Il gioco sfrutterà il motore grafico Neon, utilizzato anche da Colin McRae DIRT, ci aspettiamo quindi un gioco in piena atmosfera next-gen.
Lo stile di guida simulativo di Toca dovrebbe sposare una fisica totalmente rinnovata, con realizzazione dei danni che gli sviluppatori definiscono come sbalorditiva, e un livello grafico degno dell'alta definizione.
I giocatori-piloti potranno aspirare alla leadership nel mondo dei motori cimentandosi nelle competizioni dei tre continenti (Asia, Europa, Nordamerica) su piste dei campionati ufficiali e su tracciati cittadini.

Le premesse sono davvero ottime, tanto che Race Driver One potrebbe insidiare l'attesissimo Gran Turismo 5. Tuttavia è ancora troppo presto per sbilanciarsi in giudizi e paragoni, la sfida è rimandata al 2008, anno in cui dovrebbero approdare sul mercato sia la produzione di Codemasters che quella di Poliphony Digital.

Di seguito il comunicato ufficiale:

ONE WORLD, ONE THOUSAND RACES, ONE CHAMPION. IT’S ALL ABOUT BEING NUMBER ONE IN THE NEXT GENERATION OF RACE GAMING FROM CODEMASTERS STUDIOS.

Codemasters today announced Race Driver One™, the third generation in its acclaimed 8-million+ selling motorsport series. The title is now in development at Codemasters Studios, creators of genre-leading motorsport video games, and will arrive in 2008 for leading console platforms and PC.

Race Driver One™ will be a true evolution for the series, which first appeared as the TOCA (DTM/V8) Touring Car games (1997-2000) and became the TOCA (DTM/V8) Race Driver series (2002-2006). Taking the series from ultimate racing simulation to ultimate racing stimulation, Race Driver One™ will be the next technical showcase for Neon, the studio’s proprietary middleware system that is already driving Colin McRae: DIRT™ in incredible detail.

Challenging players to become the number one race driver in a new world of exhilarating motorsport, Race Driver One™ will take players on a tour like never before; to beautifully realised racing locations through Europe, the U.S., Japan and beyond. The game will feature the most extensive range of events in the series, combining official circuit-based championships with road races and urban street competitions.

“As each generation of gaming formats shifts up a gear, so does this series and Race Driver One is set to evolve the previously headlined TOCA (DTM/V8) titles as much as DIRT has the Colin McRae series,” says Gavin Raeburn, Executive Producer at Codemasters Studios.

“Combining our racing heritage with the Neon engine, Race Driver One will create a world that goes far beyond the traditional boundaries of motorsport gaming, taking players from the most prestigious race circuits to road and street events around the globe. A completely fresh career structure will engage players in an unprecedented range of racing styles as they build a team capable of becoming number one. The Neon engine will be expanded to deliver a new level of visual detail, physics and an astonishing car damage system.”