How Badly Did The F1 Game Series Actually Decline Since EA’s Takeover?

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From 2009 through 2020, Codemasters, renowned for its dedication to creating high-quality racing simulations, consistently excelled with its Formula One series. They consistently enhanced aspects like changing weather conditions, authentic vehicle handling, and even introduced the My Team feature, continually refining their work.

Yet, when EA Sports assumed a significant role in development from 2021 onwards, there was a marked shift – a substantial one. F1 2021 retained several distinctive traits of Codemasters, but subsequent editions have shown a steep drop in quality, appeal, and player contentment.

Instead of enhancing the gaming experience as intended, EA’s involvement in the series has led to adjustments that displeased players and persistent issues left unresolved for extended periods. This hasn’t exactly been a positive impact on the franchise.

A Brief History of the F1 Games

The adventure in F1 racing began back in 2000, when EA Sports introduced F1 2000. This game offered players an authentic F1 season, complete with detailed damage effects and realistic communication from the engineers via radio.

Starting from 2003 to 2009, the exclusivity of EA’s games was surrendered, with Sony Studios taking over the rights. During this period, they released PlayStation-exclusive games, including Formula One Championship Edition for the PS3. These games showcased unique aspects such as realistic rain races and customizable race starts.

In 2009, Codemasters took charge of the series, making it available across all major gaming platforms. Over the years, they’ve continually enhanced the game, incorporating features like safety cars, formation laps, and a detailed career mode. The F1 2020 version was particularly well-received, as it introduced the popular My Team feature.

In the year 2021, Electronic Arts (EA) re-entered the Formula One series with F1 2021, introducing an engaging story mode named Braking Point. This new feature was warmly received by players. But as we moved forward to F1 22, it became apparent that the quality started to diminish.

The Steep Drop in Popularity

In Steam, the number of simultaneous players for Formula One 2020 and Formula One 2021 hit a record high of approximately 25,000 each. Formula One 22 started similarly, but then something shifted: its concurrent player count on Steam deviated from this pattern.

At the release of F1 23, the number of active peak players dropped significantly to a mere 14,512. Even more concerning was that when F1 24 came out, it reached an unprecedented low of just 8,216 players.

The decline in the game’s popularity coincides nearly perfectly with Electronic Arts’ increasing power over the series, along with the changes in real-life Formula One regulations beginning from the 2022 season.

It appears that EA aimed to challenge more serious racing simulation games such as iRacing, but the changes they made to the gameplay mechanics left many casual gamers feeling let down.

Despite the fact that renowned sim racer Max Verstappen was consulted about vehicle handling, the end result of the product disappointed many users.

In simpler terms, the new tracks similar to Miami were nearly impossible to navigate effectively without a steering wheel, unless you had put in many hours of training. It might seem like a matter of skill, but EA exacerbated an issue that wasn’t present before.

The EA Effect: Unwanted Features, Bugs, and a Loss of Identity

2021’s F1 edition marked a peak for the series, with a standout addition being the introduction of downloadable content (DLC) tracks during the season, such as Imola, Portimão, and Jeddah. This feature was met with immense approval from fans. Yet, upon EA taking full control in 2022’s F1 version, it became evident that they had a different set of priorities.

Rather than keeping the iconic Formula 1 vehicles from the past, like Schumacher’s 2004 Ferrari and Vettel’s 2010 Red Bull, they decided to substitute them with Formula 1 champions and high-performance road supercars instead.

Players were puzzled by this modification since traditional Formula 1 vehicles have long been a mainstay, whereas supercars hadn’t traditionally fit well within the context of an F1 simulation game.

After the launch of F1 23, numerous issues surfaced. One of the most significant flaws was identified when it was found that despite equal performance being enabled in online races, tire wear varied inconsistently among vehicles. This problem, along with many others that remained unresolved, led to mounting frustration among players due to the absence of fixes.

It appears that the series of less-than-optimal choices made in the business strategy has significantly reduced sales figures, as indicated by VG Insights. For instance, F1 24 has managed to sell just 378,000 copies compared to 520,000 for F1 23 and a staggering 1.2 million for F1 2020.

Despite EA’s efforts to introduce new elements such as a narrative mode and F1 World, these updates haven’t been successful in re-engaging the player community.

The Future of the Franchise: A Shift to a Standalone Title?

There’s been talk that due to EA Sports and Codemasters finding it challenging to keep players engaged, the upcoming F1 25 might not adhere to its traditional yearly launch cycle. Instead, it could be a self-contained game, receiving periodic updates throughout the season.

In contrast to their usual practice of annual releases, adopting this strategy was seen in EA Sports WRC, debuting in 2023 and receiving an update rather than a full sequel the following year – a departure from their typical approach that could potentially mark a significant change.

Should Electronic Arts (EA) and Codemasters opt for a long-term approach over annual updates for their Formula One game, this decision might mark a significant progress towards improvement.

Developing a single game independently could provide developers with the opportunity to dedicate their efforts towards rectifying issues, enhancing gameplay, and possibly reintroducing fan-favorite elements such as vintage vehicles and iconic race tracks.

What Needs to Change?

To restore faith amongst the Formula One gaming community, EA may find it beneficial to revert to strategies that have proven successful in the past.

  • Remove F1 World – This feature has been a failure, and no one asked for it.
  • Bring back classic F1 cars – Fans miss legendary machines like Senna’s McLaren, Schumacher’s Ferrari, and more.
  • Reintroduce classic tracks – Tracks like Hockenheim, Istanbul Park, and Magny-Cours were fan favorites.
  • Improve controller handling – Not everyone has a sim racing setup, and EA’s recent handling models have made gamepad play unnecessarily difficult.

Should EA implement these modifications, there remains optimism for the Formula One series. In case they don’t, there’s a possibility it may tread the same course as other illustrious franchises, which succumbed due to excessive corporate profit-seeking and poor management.

As a gaming enthusiast, I’ve noticed that the quality of games seems to be declining year by year. It’s high time Electronic Arts (EA) paid heed to our community’s concerns and took necessary steps before it’s too late. Formula 1 is waving the caution flag here.

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2025-03-20 18:41