Assetto Corsa EVO: The Open World That Never Arrives

There was a moment when I read “open world” next to Assetto Corsa EVO and a little light switched on. As a sim fan, the idea of leaving the confines of circuits and getting lost on backroads, towns, and highways scanned in detail sounded like a small petrolhead dream. That was, for many of us, the promise that set ACE apart from the rest.

Over time, that beacon drifted away. What had been hinted for summer within Early Access shifted to “when 1.0 lands.” And in between, a difficult feeling to swallow: the project’s best idea is also the one that keeps slipping.

The Promise That Won Us Over

For me, the Assetto Corsa EVO open world is that side road that smells like pine and gasoline the one you save for a slow Sunday. It’s still the best part of the dream. But dreams, if announced with dates, turn into commitments.

The open world was the unique selling point the axis that fueled the conversation and justified getting on board early.

It’s not just “a big map.” It’s the ghost of free driving with Kunos’ fidelity: secondary curves, blind crests, everyday routes with soul… all tied to handling that, when it shines, truly shines.

The Reality That Stings

What weighs on me isn’t the delay itself, but how the goalposts moved: roadmaps that shift, windows that slip, long silences, and a 0.2 build that, months later, still suggests we are far from that imagined “all together.”

Early Access can be wonderful when it builds a clear pact: I show the game in pieces; you test and help me polish it. Here, the takeaway feels different: more commercial tool than development agreement.

The message that works isn’t “soon,” but “this is what’s coming, when, and why.” Less hype, more verifiable milestones.

The Technical (and Legal) Elephant in the Room

I’m not naïve: building a credible, optimized open world is monstrous. If you also aim at complex regions and run into privacy, permits, and scanning logistics, the mountain grows.

Promise little, deliver a lot remains the best technology available.

I can accept that difficulty; what doesn’t fit is selling the summit as if it were two corners away. I still believe physics and handling could sustain a decade of community if paired with three things:

1. Surgical transparency: what ships in each update, what gets cut, and realistic dates.
2. Clear priorities: rock-solid optimization and multiplayer before opening the open-world floodgates.
3. Meaningful testing: even if the open world arrives with 1.0, vertical slices small, playable chunks would avoid the “it launched but isn’t ready” spiral.

Today the feeling is this: the idea that most enamored us is also the one that has let us down the most. And yet, if they deliver with clarity, coherence, and commitment, maybe a few years from now we’ll remember this wait as a slow bend before a long, brilliant straight.

Here’s hoping.

You can buy it from 20 euros in our Instant Gaming link:

• Assetto Corsa EVO

See you on the track!