Videogame writer EA Sports activities has introduced that it’ll not launch an official System 1 sport in 2026, as an alternative opting to replace the present F1 25 title with a paid-for content material replace.
It is not the primary time EA subsidiary Codemasters has scaled again on an F1 sport earlier than pushing forward with its follow-up. In 2015, the primary title to be launched on eighth-generation consoles, got here out sooner than previous titles, and with a lowered variety of options – reminiscent of profession mode, which returned in 2016 – however a title was launched nonetheless.
Subsequent 12 months will mark the primary time since Codemasters (which was purchased by the American firm in 2021) hasn’t produced a full annual sport since 2009, when it launched F1 2009 on Nintendo Wii and Sony’s PSP.
F1 25, which was launched on Might 30 this 12 months for Xbox Sequence X/S, PlayStation 5 and PC, will get a downloadable replace that includes all the 2026 groups and vehicles subsequent 12 months, earlier than a brand new sport arrives in 2027 which EA says might be “a deeply genuine and revolutionary illustration of the motion and thrill of System 1, re-imagined right into a extra expansive expertise with new methods to play for followers around the globe.”
The corporate additionally says that the transfer is a part of a “multi-year strategic funding within the EA Sports activities F1 franchise, with assist from each System One Administration and the F1 groups.”
“F1 25 has been an unimaginable success, fueled by the eagerness of followers and the power of the game,” stated Lee Mather, senior artistic director at Codemasters. “With System 1’s momentum on and off the monitor, now’s the proper time for us to look forward and construct for the long run. We’re absolutely dedicated to the EA Sports activities F1 franchise. Our multi-year plan extends this 12 months’s pleasure with the 2026 growth and re-imagines the F1 expertise for 2027.”
F1 in the true world will endure big change subsequent 12 months with new engine and aerodynamic rules, in addition to the addition of Cadillac to the sphere and Sauber morphing into Audi, the 2026 growth – whereas herald these main modifications – might be priced decrease than a full sport, though F1 25 will nonetheless be required to play it.
It’s a comparable transfer to what the writer has employed with System 2 since F1 2019, with the earlier 12 months’s discipline represented within the sport at launch and the present discipline added afterward, albeit as a free replace.
Whereas EA has come below hearth through the years for its tendency to pad out its video games with micro-transactions and paid-for options, the transfer will probably be a welcome one for players who typically criticize sports activities sport publishers for releasing full new titles on a yearly foundation that supply little in the way in which of change in comparison with the earlier iteration.
Particulars, together with a launch date and pricing for the F1 25 2026 replace, might be revealed later.
