Assetto Corsa EVO is now officially moddable, but its system works very differently from the original Assetto Corsa. This guide covers the current process for installing car mods, using them online, running them on dedicated servers, understanding the SDK restrictions, and avoiding outdated installation advice.
For most of its Early Access life, Assetto Corsa EVO had no official mod support at all. KUNOS Simulazioni originally discussed a much more controlled future for community content, but that direction changed substantially with the arrival of the official ACE SDK during Early Access.
The important distinction today is that EVO does not use the original Assetto Corsa ecosystem. There is no Content Manager requirement, no Custom Shaders Patch equivalent and no need to place community cars inside the Steam game directory. The official workflow revolves around the ACE SDK, packaged .kspkg files and the Windows Saved Games\ACE directory.
There is also an important correction to some of the language used when the SDK first appeared. EVO modding is not literally unrestricted. KUNOS does not require every community mod to pass through a pre-approval process, but the SDK remains governed by an EULA covering intellectual property, commercial use, online restrictions and other platform rules.
Here is the current process as of Assetto Corsa EVO 0.9.1.
What changed, and when
Several updates matter if you are following old tutorials.
- Update 0.7, June 3, 2026. The ACE SDK officially launches through the Tools section of Steam. The first version focuses on cars, with community vehicles initially limited to single player.
- Update 0.8, July 8, 2026. Community-created cars become usable in multiplayer. Server operators gain SHA verification for community content, while external livery creation support also arrives.
- Update 0.8.1, July 22, 2026. Server-side mod handling is refined. Cars can be read from the Saved Games\ACE-Server location, external liveries receive fixes and the livery linker is added to car customisation. Server-to-client SHA handling is also improved.
- Update 0.9, August 26, 2026. No major new modding functionality is introduced. The update instead focuses on Special Events, mandatory pit stops, physics, Force Feedback and three new cars.
- Update 0.9.1, September 1, 2026. Again, no major expansion of the SDK. The hotfix concentrates on AI, AMD GPU crashes, replays, TrackIR and other fixes.
We covered the strategic decision behind the SDK in our article on why Kunos went all-in on modding, while the multiplayer step is covered in our Assetto Corsa EVO 0.8 coverage.
What you can and cannot mod right now
The official SDK remains focused primarily on vehicles.
- You can: install community-created cars, create new vehicles with the official ACE SDK, modify supported vehicle components and physics, create external liveries, drive community cars in single player and use compatible community cars on multiplayer servers that allow them.
- You cannot officially: create and distribute custom tracks through a KUNOS-provided track editor yet. KUNOS stated when SDK 0.7 launched that custom livery and track tools would follow later, and external liveries arrived with 0.8. The official track creation tools have still not been released.
That distinction is particularly important now that Eifel Free Roam has been confirmed for Update 0.10. Free Roam is official KUNOS content and is not the same thing as public track-modding support. The first iteration of Eifel Free Roam will arrive with 0.10, but KUNOS has not announced a release date for that update or said that the track editor will launch alongside it.
There are already community experiments involving unofficial track conversions and third-party tools. Those should not be confused with officially supported ACE SDK track modding. They sit outside the current documented KUNOS workflow, can break between updates and may require tools that are not supported by the developer.
Before you start
Antivirus and firewall exclusions. KUNOS recommends adding both your Steam installation folder and the Saved Games\ACE directory to antivirus, Windows protection and firewall exclusions when troubleshooting. Security software can interfere with files or prevent the game from launching correctly.
Know where the user folder is. Regular community mods do not belong inside your Steam installation folder. The standard user path is:
C:\Users\[YOUR USERNAME]\Saved Games\ACE\mods
If the mods folder does not exist, you can create it.
Installing a car mod
This is the biggest practical change worth making to older versions of this guide.
Current community car releases are normally distributed as a packaged .kspkg file. That package goes directly inside the mods folder.
- Step 1. Download the mod.
- Step 2. If the download itself is a .zip, .7z or .rar archive, extract that archive first.
- Step 3. Find the resulting .kspkg file.
- Step 4. Copy the .kspkg file directly into:
- C:\Users\[YOUR USERNAME]\Saved Games\ACE\mods
- Step 5. Launch Assetto Corsa EVO and check the vehicle selection or Vehicle Hub.
For a normal packaged mod, you should end up with something similar to:
C:\Users\John\Saved Games\ACE\mods\example_car.kspkg
Do not create another folder around the .kspkg unless the mod creator specifically instructs you to do so.
Loose folders versus .kspkg mods
Older guides often describe copying entire mod folders into ACE\mods. That can still be relevant for creators testing unencrypted content, but it is no longer the best general installation advice for end users.
The official editor can package content into a .kspkg, which is the practical distribution format used by most public releases. It keeps the mod together as a single package and is the format regular users should expect.
Loose development content is primarily useful during the creator workflow. If you are simply downloading somebody else’s finished car, follow the instructions provided by the creator and expect a .kspkg package in most cases.
Only install mods you trust
The simplicity of copying a single package also creates an obvious responsibility for the user.
KUNOS explicitly states that it does not guarantee the safety, accuracy or legality of third-party community content. Mods come from outside the developer’s control, and KUNOS does not have an obligation to pre-screen every package before it is shared.
That means you should treat mod sources in the same way you would treat any other third-party download. Use established communities and creators, avoid suspicious executables bundled alongside a car mod and be particularly careful with tools claiming to modify or extract game files.
The SDK EULA also places responsibility for trademarks, copyrighted material and other third-party intellectual property on the person creating and distributing the mod.
Where to find mods
The Assetto Corsa EVO community catalogue has grown substantially since the first experimental releases appeared, although it is still tiny compared with the original Assetto Corsa.
One existing source is:
- Link: Modland
The earliest releases ranged from novelty experiments to serious vehicle projects, and quality continues to vary considerably. That remains normal for a young modding ecosystem.
Before installing anything, check when the mod was last updated and whether the creator states that it works with the current Assetto Corsa EVO build. Early Access updates can affect compatibility, and KUNOS explicitly warns that future updates may require mod maintenance.
Using mods in multiplayer
Community-created cars have been officially supported in multiplayer since Update 0.8.
The important rule remains the same: the server and participating drivers need compatible versions of the community content.
EVO uses SHA verification to check community cars before they enter a server. If the content installed on your PC does not match the version expected by the server, you can be rejected from the session.
The server does not function as a general-purpose mod download service. If a community server is running a particular car, obtain and install the correct version before attempting to join.
There is another restriction worth adding to older guides: community cars are not automatically allowed everywhere online. The current SDK EULA states that modded vehicles are not permitted in the Daily Racing Portal or other official KUNOS-curated events that restrict competitors to an approved vehicle selection.
So multiplayer mod support means private/community servers can use mods. It does not mean modded vehicles can enter every official online competition.
Running a modded dedicated server
Assetto Corsa EVO’s dedicated server is distributed as a separate Steam Tool and requires ownership of the game.
The current server workflow is built around the official Server Launcher and the Saved Games\ACE-Server data location.
- Step 1. Install the Assetto Corsa EVO Dedicated Server Tool through Steam.
- Step 2. Place compatible community car content in the server’s supported mod location.
- Step 3. Launch ServerLauncher.exe.
- Step 4. Select the community car in the server’s allowed vehicle configuration.
- Step 5. Configure the track, sessions, passwords, player count and network ports.
- Step 6. Launch the server.
- Step 7. Make sure every driver has the matching community car installed locally before joining.
Update 0.8.1 improved server-side handling by allowing cars to be read from the Saved Games\ACE-Server directory and by reworking the SHA data exchange between server, backend and client.
The official dedicated-server documentation currently uses port 9700 for game traffic by default and 8081 for HTTP/API traffic, although the game port can be changed by the server operator.
Creating your own mod with the ACE SDK
The Assetto Corsa EVO SDK appears in Steam as a separate Tool for game owners.
The current editor is designed primarily around vehicle creation and modification. KUNOS describes it as a production-grade pipeline closely aligned with its internal development tools, including PBR materials, LOD management and support for aftermarket visual and mechanical components.
Creators can work on areas including vehicle models, physics, audio and driver animation. The SDK documentation also covers FBX export requirements, bone structures, the material pipeline and FMOD audio production.
This is not a beginner-friendly livery editor. The tools are aimed at technically experienced users who understand 3D asset production, physics configuration and game-development workflows.
External livery support arrived with Update 0.8, and 0.8.1 improved garage sharing and added the livery linker to the car customisation interface.
The SDK is open, but it is not unrestricted
This is another section worth adding now that the SDK EULA is publicly available.
KUNOS does not require every mod to pass through a manual approval process before users can share it, but creators still agree to a substantial set of restrictions.
Among them:
- SDK use is licensed specifically for Assetto Corsa EVO modding.
- Commercial exploitation of mods is restricted unless KUNOS grants permission or explicitly allows it through published guidelines.
- Creators are responsible for having the rights to any third-party models, trademarks, sounds or other assets they use.
- Malware, cheats, circumvention tools and content that interferes with online integrity are prohibited.
- KUNOS reserves the right to block, restrict or remove community content.
- KUNOS does not guarantee that a mod will remain compatible after future EVO updates.
So the meaningful change compared with KUNOS’ earlier ideas is the absence of a mandatory curated approval pipeline for every community car, not an absence of rules.
Troubleshooting
When something goes wrong, start with the simplest checks.
- The mod does not appear. Confirm that the actual .kspkg is directly inside Saved Games\ACE\mods, not still inside the downloaded archive.
- The mod stopped working after an EVO update. Check whether the creator has released a version compatible with the current build. Early Access updates can require mods to be rebuilt or repackaged.
- The game will not start after adding a mod. Remove the most recently installed community package and try again.
- Persistent startup failures. KUNOS recommends testing after removing the Saved Games\ACE user directory. Back up setups and other user data before doing this.
- Reporting a game problem. Attach the log.txt file from Saved Games\ACE\. For crashes, KUNOS asks users to include the zipped crashdumps folder as well.
- You cannot join a modded server. Verify that you have exactly the same community car version expected by the server.
- The server does not list a community car. Check that the server is using the current supported mod packaging and that the car is located in the correct ACE-Server data path.
What is still coming
Official track creation remains the biggest missing part of the SDK roadmap.
KUNOS confirmed when the first SDK launched that track tools would follow later, but they have not been released as of Assetto Corsa EVO 0.9.1. External liveries, by contrast, have already moved from roadmap to supported functionality.
Update 0.10 will introduce the first iteration of Eifel Free Roam. That is a major expansion of the game itself, but it should not be interpreted as confirmation that public track-modding tools will arrive in the same update. KUNOS has not said that.
There is also now a broader timeframe for EVO’s Early Access period. Digital Bros, the parent company of 505 Games and KUNOS Simulazioni, currently lists the full release of Assetto Corsa EVO in the second half of its 2026/27 fiscal year, placing the corporate target between January and June 2027. KUNOS itself has not announced a specific version 1.0 date.
That makes the current modding ecosystem something creators should expect to keep evolving. The SDK, packaging rules and supported content types can all change before full release.
Useful links
- The official KUNOS Simulazioni forum contains the Assetto Corsa EVO SDK and support sections.
- acevo.gg hosts Assetto Corsa EVO’s Daily Racing environment. Remember that modded cars are not automatically eligible for official restricted events.
- If you do not own the game yet, Assetto Corsa EVO is available on PC, while the original Assetto Corsa Ultimate Edition remains the benchmark for what a mature Assetto Corsa modding ecosystem can eventually become.
One final note for VR drivers. Update 0.8 introduced the major VR overhaul, including foveated rendering, dedicated VR video settings, pixel-density controls and OpenXR improvements. Those features remain in the current 0.9.1 branch, although VR performance continues to depend heavily on hardware, settings and the complexity of the content being loaded.
If you are pairing community content with a headset, a Pimax Crystal remains one of the high-resolution options available to PC sim racers.
See you on the track!
This website uses affiliate links which may earn a commission at no additional cost to you.
