Trackmania Nations Is Being Remade As A Live Service Game

Trackmania is returning with a remake of Trackmania Nations, the free-to-play sequel from 2006. The new game, announced during the Trackmania Grand League Finals in Lyon, France, will include a season campaign and will operate as a live service game, rotating which tracks are available each day.

The Trackmania series is built around wild track designs, with plenty of loops, corkscrews, and jumps, as well as the ability for players to create and distribute their own tracks. The Trackmania Nations remake will include new blocks and surfaces to build with.

Ubisoft has published an interview with Florent Castelnerac, the managing director at developer Ubisoft Nadeo, where he delves into the project further. He says that the series has lost some of its simplicity over time, and he would "like to combine depth, beauty, and lightness" for this new release. "I think it is what people expect from modernity: to be powerful yet simple," he says.

While Trackmania will maintain its very simple four-key control scheme, some changes are being made--there are now ghost cars that you can track from checkpoints to see the lines they race, and you'll now maintain your velocity when restarting from checkpoints too. Players will be able to add effects to their tracks, like slow-motion as you cross the finish line.

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There will also be daily competitions in the game, as well as a focus on esports for professional players. New features will be added regularly.

A release window has not been announced for Trackmania Nations, and it's likely to be PC-only, as the original was. Trackmania has rarely ventured to console, although Trackmania Turbo is available on PS4 and Xbox One.