EA has announced F1 2021. The game is getting a new story mode in which players work their way up from Formula 2 to Formula 1. In addition to racing, that mode is also about drama off the track. F1 2021 will also get a career mode with co-op.
The story mode is called Braking Point and in it, according to the makers, players experience ‘the rivalry, emotion and dedication’ to perform at the highest level. Devon Butler, the character from F1 2019 who is a strong rival to the player in the single player part in that game, returns. According to developer Codemasters, the new story mode has been in the works for years.
Braking Point is separate from the career mode, which is also back in the game and will be expanded. For example, there will be a co-op mode, in which two players can go through a season as teammates or as competitors. Also new is an option to start a career in the game in sync with the real Formula 1 season. That can be done at any time of the year. The current state of the F1 season is then used as a basis for the start.
Furthermore, the game has a My Team mode, split screen for two players, a mode for short F1 or F2 seasons and a multiplayer mode with e-sports integration. F1 2021 will feature all the official tracks and cars from this year’s Formula 1 season, but three new tracks will not be added until after release. These are Portimao, Imola and Jeddah. It is not yet known when those circuits will be ready. The tracks come to the game as free DLC.
Codemasters is still the developer of the officially licensed F1 games, but EA Sports is now the publisher, after EA acquired Codemasters. F1 2021 will get ‘a visual boost’ and faster loading times on the Xbox Series X and S and PlayStation 5 compared to the version for the older consoles. The PC version will be available on Steam for 60 euros, the console versions will cost 70 euros.
EA and codemasters have not yet shown gameplay of F1 2021. The first trailer focuses on atmospheric images about the new story mode. There are some renders of F1 cars, but according to the developer they are not yet final.