For the longest time, one of the world’s most popular car brands, Porsche, was conspicuously absent from many of the most popular car-centric video games. Fortunately, GTPlanet reports that Porsche’s exclusive deal with Need for Speed makers Electronic Arts ends after this year.
Unless you were driving a Need for Speed title, you usually had to secure some kind of special downloadable content package or choose a Ruf in order to drive the most perfect car ever built, the Porsche 911.
Recently, however, Porsche partnered with Kunos Simulazioni to have the Pro version of their Assetto Corsa racing simulator at Porsche Experience Centers across the globe.
To make that happen, Porsche had quietly let EA’s exclusive license expire because it was less than ideal, reports SpeedManiacs, as translated by GTPlanet:
According to Sebastian [Gerhart of SpeedManiacs] they were also always following what was going on in the gaming industry aside from EA. The license with EA runs out this year, because together they arrived at the realization that the current situation was not desirable anymore.
This is the first time Porsche has acknowledged that they’re no longer only working with EA on games. They won’t be going back to any exclusive deals in the near future, either, as Gerhart told GTPlanet:
The relationship also with other game developers will change. After 10 years of absence from pure simulations there is a desire to diversify what is being offered.
Already, Porsches have been popping up in a 2015 expansion pack for Forza Horizon 2 and a 2016 release of Forza Motorsport 6, so the future of getting young people hooked on my favorite cars looks bright. Porsches have been teased in an upcoming Project CARS sequel as well as in Forza Horizon 3 menus.
Let us all enjoy many, many hours of spinning into video game trees. Long live virtual oversteer!