Wreckfest is getting a sequel, promising more car-nage than ever before

It’s time to rev up those engines once again, as 2014’s hit Wreckfest is about to get a full-blown sequel.

Over a decade on from the original game’s release, THQ Nordic is breathing new life into the franchise. Announced at the publisher’s 2024 Digital Showcase, the reveal trailer includes a mixture of in-engine gameplay and live-action cutscenes.

Rough and tumble

Click to enlarge

In the trailer, we see a character with a beaten-up banger of a car, talking wistfully about the times they shared together on the racetrack. This is intercut with the high-octane action of the car in its past life being rammed up against competitors. It’s the sort of vehicular violence we’d expect from a Wreckfest 2, and it seems that THQ is pulling no punches this time around.

In terms of what we can expect from the sequel, THQ was keen to explain that lots of work has gone into refining the damage and handling physics of cars. Not only should they feel more realistic to drive, but all those bumps, nicks and scratches should appear in a way that’s much more realistic than the first game.

Sound design has also seen plenty of attention, although how that will manifest exactly remains to be seen. From my money, the cracking and crunching of metal should sound all the more painful if you’re anything precious about cars.

A key headline feature this time around is the ability to fully customise pretty much any part of your car. A gameplay preview I saw showed the player flicking between individual body panels and switching up the colours using an in-depth colour wheel. They were then able to go over with a paintbrush and change how scratched or rusted each panel was, giving each design a unique look.

There’s no release date for Wreckfest 2 just yet, but we do know that it’s coming to PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.