• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Take Two's Studio Visual Concepts working on an unannounced Open World Driving Game with a Major License.

Anime-Vix

Member
It was brought to our attention in 2019 pre-pandemic by another user from that other board via a job listing that Visual Concepts was working on a vehicle based open world game.

Not much has been heard or known since then, however I noticed from active recruiting it is now for a Major License. From these job listings information is limited but thought I'd post and list for anyone interested. Secretly hope for a Midnight Club game but not getting my hopes up lol.

What we currently know.

- AAA title targeted for Multiple Platforms.
- In development since 2019 according to multiple LinkedIn employees.
- For a Major License.
- Runs on Unreal Engine.
- Has Multiplayer .
- Open world based driving game.
- Fun for all ages.

Some of the current job listings.

Producer
Senior Technical Artist
Senior Build and Automation Engineer
Senior Software Engineer
Senior Software Engineer, Multiplayer
 

01011001

Banned
R.de2ecdd0e475d28a582e9b8cc261ecdd

???????????????????


although, fun for all ages... sounds honestly like maybe an open world Hotwheels racing game to me... at least that was the first thing I could think of.
 
Last edited:

Husky

THE Prey 2 fanatic
Wow they're really making an open world Fast and Furious game.
Damn, they're finally making an open world Sugar Rush game based on the arcade title from Wreck-It Ralph.
I'm calling it now. It's an open world The Transporter game.
They're finally adapting the Need for Speed movie into a video game.
 
It was brought to our attention in 2019 pre-pandemic by another user from that other board via a job listing that Visual Concepts was working on a vehicle based open world game.

Not much has been heard or known since then, however I noticed from active recruiting it is now for a Major License. From these job listings information is limited but thought I'd post and list for anyone interested. Secretly hope for a Midnight Club game but not getting my hopes up lol.

What we currently know.

- AAA title targeted for Multiple Platforms.
- In development since 2019 according to multiple LinkedIn employees.
- For a Major License.
- Runs on Unreal Engine.
- Has Multiplayer .
- Open world based driving game.
- Fun for all ages.

Some of the current job listings.

Producer
Senior Technical Artist
Senior Build and Automation Engineer
Senior Software Engineer
Senior Software Engineer, Multiplayer
Major license makes me think they talk about a car brand, not a videogame series
 

Guilty_AI

Member
For those who played Midnight Club what set it apart from other racing games?
They felt much like NFS games. MC1 & 2 were fairly straightforward racing games (though they did let you freeroam through the city) and races usually had lots of scripted elements to them (you could also run over pedestrians since cars were fictional lol). There were police chases too though they were all scripted into the races.

MC3 onwards started including official brands (no more hit-and-runs unfortunately) and car customization, heavy traffic also became a staple of sorts when comparing to NFS. Still kept police chases.
 
Last edited:

Warablo

Member
For those who played Midnight Club what set it apart from other racing games?
Midnight Club the open world felt alive and breathing (realistic city, NPC's, people on streets) instead of lifeless playground a lot of open world racing games are today. Also had a great soundtrack.
 
Last edited:

ButchCat

Member
They felt much like NFS games. MC1 & 2 were fairly straightforward racing games (though they did let you freeroam through the city) and races usually had lots of scripted elements to them (you could also run over pedestrians since cars were fictional lol). There were police chases too though they were all scripted into the races.

MC3 onwards started including official brands (no more hit-and-runs unfortunately) and car customization, heavy traffic also became a staple of sorts when comparing to NFS. Still kept police chases.

Midnight Club the open world felt alive and breathing (realistic city, NPC's, people on streets) instead of lifeless playground a lot of open world racing games are today. Also had a great soundtrack.

MC1 & 2 sound like GTA without being on-foot.
 

CamHostage

Member
MC1 & 2 sound like GTA without being on-foot.
Sort of. The first Midnight Club (and its kind of companion offroad driving sibling Smuggler's Run) came out before GTA3 revolutionized the idea of open-world gaming. Rockstar was getting into that idea and its first two racers heavily promoted the be-in-a-world, drive-anywhere concept, but they were still checkpoint racing games at heart and the world was was sort of the filler to get from Point A to Point B to go from race to race, or to give you some options of how to finish a race beyond the most obvious racing line. Their predecessors were games like Midtown Madness and Motocross Madness (a precursor to the ATV Offroad games.) Because it was Rockstar, there was an interest in edgy content with like outrace-the-cops segments or a criminal underworld you were delivering packages for or pedestrians on the roads to terrify, but I don't feel there was a cohesive idea why some of the bad-guy stuff was in there other than it made the games more appealing to rebellious teens and also it did the things that players whined about not being able to do in more safe games like Crazy Taxi.

But, if this is not Midnight Club, then... Visual Concepts... Sumo... Lego... Hmmm?


To each his own, and Midnight Club is overdue for a comeback (although they and NfS have struggled to find new reasons for a comeback, it's really hard to innovate in the racing genre,) but we don't have enough "fun" racing games like a big LEGO open-world racing game could be, so this would be a cool avenue if that's something they're working on and have real ambitions to do right. (And especially if they're working with Sumo, who specialize in depth and technicality mixed with fun and color, I have faith since they have games like SEGA & Sonic All-Star Racing + Team Sonic Racing, the Outrun reimagining, the lesser-gen versions of Forza Horizon 2&4, Hotshot Racing, good stuff like that which is not just for kids.)
 
Last edited:
Top Bottom