EA and Codemasters are adding their new story-heavy entry to the Grid touring car racing universe to a crowded February 2022 release schedule. Grid Legends comes out on February 25 and alongside the release date reveal, the developers released the first real look at gameplay from the racer.
New to the Grid series this time around is a star-studded story mode titled "Driven to Glory," something unveiled in the original reveal of the game at E3 2021. Ncuti Gatwa of Netflix's Sex Education takes center stage in a documentary-style half live-action half in-game campaign focused on your first season as a member of the Grid World Series and all the drama that comes with it. The story follows the player's conflict with a colorful ensemble cast of rivals led by Gatwa's driver in their road to a championship.
With narration from lead developer Chris Smith and Chris Groves from Codemasters, the gameplay reveal showed off the new London track along with some of the new electric cars added in this iteration of Grid. At launch, the game comes with over 100 vehicles with a wide variety between them, allowing for races with everything from these new electric speedsters to racing trucks. Also revealed was the Electric mode which creates "risk-reward" races where drivers weave through gates to build up a boost in order to get ahead of their opponents.
It's another aspect of the game's highly customizable race creator which allows players to build their own events from the ground up, choosing what vehicles are allowed, what the weather is like, and what special features are on the tracks.
The developers also emphasized improvements to multiplayer, adding that Grid Legends supports cross-platform play. Codemasters stated that the goal was getting players into matches with their friends "in three quick button presses," ending archaic practices of waiting for invites and setting up lobbies. There will be tons of events for players to check out through the course of the game, including the return of the Elimination and Drift modes to the series.
Grid Legends releases on February 25. Check out the full gameplay reveal and commentary below.