Italian developer, Milestone, and Dorna Sports S.L., recently announced that MotoGP 18 is coming out this summer for home consoles and PC. Specifically, the game will be available starting June 7th for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and on Steam for PC. They also announced that Nintendo Switch owners will be able to get their hands on the title shortly after the game releases on the other home consoles.

Unlike previous outings in the MotoGP series, this game will not be heading to U.S., retailers. Instead, gamers will only be able to acquire the game from direct download via digital distributors.

This cuts down on production costs and allows Milestone to retain higher returns from collected revenue.

Accompanying the news that the game is launching this June is a brand new announcement trailer, featuring little more than teaser content for the upcoming game, which will feature the 2018 MotoGP racing season, along with improved realism and graphical features.

I’m curious to see what the gameplay is like because according to Milestone’s lead designer, Matteo Pezzotti, they’ve switched over to the Unreal Engine 4 for this year’s outing, and made some stark improvements to the way MotoGP 18 handles under the hood.

Pezzotti explained in the press release that physics simulations and handling were top priorities and completely reworked from the ground up within the Unreal Engine 4…

“This title marks the arrival of the series on the Unreal Engine, a leap forward in terms of technological innovation, ensuring incredible enhancements in the visual quality, realistic and impressive lighting effects and completely reworked physics: thanks to a realistic physics simulation, the game faithfully reproduces all the distinctive behavior of the bikes, thereby reducing the gap between fiction and reality, while making it accessible also to casual gamers through the introduction of riding aids and tutorials.”

Now sometimes reworking the physics engine works out well, and we end up with a game that has vastly improved handling and realism, sort of like going from GTA: San Andreas to GTA IV, or going from Mafia I to Mafia II. Other times it can result in the game handling in ways not entirely suited to fans’ expectations, sort of like the changes made in Flatout 3 compared to how the first two games were. So hopefully Milestone’s switch over to the Unreal Engine 4 pays off.

In addition to that, the game will feature all riders from the MotoGP, Moto2, Moto3, and Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup, along with 19 different tracks, all new collision systems, riding aids, enhanced AI, and a full career mode that spans the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup all the way up to the pro MotoGP series.

Milestone will also be working with Dorna Sports to bring back the MotoGP e-sports championship. They first introduced the championship last year, and now they’re coming back to see the top players from around the world compete to be the best in MotoGP 18.

For more info, feel free to visit the official website.