Le Mans Ultimate Offline Championships: Why Sim Racers Will Have To Be Patient

Le Mans Ultimate is predominantly a multiplayer experience, and it might be a while until that changes - but offline improvements are on the list.

It has been about a year since Le Mans Ultimate was released in Early Access. Since then, it may not have reached its version 1.0 state yet, but it has come along nicely to a point where many sim racers appreciate its online racing - which is its main focus at the moment.

LMU's latest update "was super good for the company, really well received", Motorsport Games CEO Stephen Hood looks back. "We had a lot of positive feedback, and a lot of the influencers are playing it - and enjoying it. That's the key thing."

Indeed, LMU saw an increase in the average number of players of over 130% in December compared to November - likely a combination of the ever-popular GT3 class making its debut and the arrival of hosted servers. As the RaceControl online system offers progression in the form of ratings and licenses, the multiplayer is attractive to many sim racers.

LMU: Singleplayer Not The Focus - For Now​

However, those who are looking to get their WEC fix in singleplayer only have a single mode to fall back on (not counting the Co-op mode as that is not purely singleplayer) - race weekend. Now, that is obviously better than just a simple time trial mode, but as there are plenty of offline-first sim racers out there, many have been wondering about singleplayer championships, for instance.

The good news is that the framework is there, according to Hood: "We actually did have some of this running in a very early version of the game that was not launched. It is being discussed internally." The bad news for anyone hoping for a swift implementation, on the other hand, is that "there is a question mark as to whether or not we do that later this year", Hood continued. "I think there is a clamoring for it. I'm just a bit hesitant because you are then building two games in one."

Now, this is something Le Mans Ultimate wants to eventually do, but it also means that the Studio 397 team and Motorsport Games want to do it properly. "I do think we have the capability of getting there. I just don't want to put our resources into it right now, given where we are", explained Hood.

Le Mans Ultimate Strategy Guide: How To Plan Your Pit Stops

Click to expand...

Two things tie into this: For one, the team has become relatively small after some staff had been cut in 2024, and on the other hand, online is the team's current firm focus. With many sim racers looking for the addition of online driver swaps in May to be able to compete in proper team endurance events and the revival of Le Mans Virtual on the cards, this seems logical.

At the same time, the disappointment of the singleplayer-minded sim racers is also understandable. Hood sees the team in a bit of a dilemma in this regard: "If we did singleplayer and didn't do multiplayer, it would be the other way around I'm sure."

Offline Modes Are Integral​

That said, the development team does consider the singleplayer modes an integral part of the sim's future. "We recently had a meeting in Silverstone, where the UK part of the team is", explained Hood. "And there was a big call for 'we can't even say we're complete until we have this offline, singleplayer championship', and I understand that. That is my background as well from working on the F1 game series."

However, Studio 397 does not want to simply create a series of races with a points system attached and be done with it. Similar to how Reiza Studios wants to make Automobilista 2's Career Mode an engaging and deep experience, LMU should also see a better representation of what an actual season is like. "Just chaining the races together to build a championship is not something that we are really interested in doing", affirmed Hood.

There is more to it, after all. "There's a story that plays out. That does not mean we are going to create a massive amount of cutscenes - that's not within our grasp, and I don't think it's what we need", Hood continued, meaning more of a naturally developing story based on race results and on-track battles, for instance.

"But there is a concept of being a part of this story that plays out over a championship that requires things like AI making informed decisions and pit stops. They do make decisions at the moment, but some of the data they're receiving is not as high fidelity as it should be." The key element, according to Hood, is that "everything is interconnected."

For this, Studio 397 has already looked into "how to make the AI drivers more realistic per the personality and behaviors from real-world drivers and performances and injecting them into the game", explained Hood, "so it's a live experience that dynamically changes, so they're not just Bob the AI driver who's got a real-world name. That's a bit empty. There's lots of things cool things we can do there."

Le Mans Ultimate Tire Model: More Adjustments Possibly Soon​

Meanwhile, Studio 397 has been working on further refinements to the tire model. It had already been modified for the LMGT3 cars upon their release, but more changes are coming - and, according to Hood, they are quite enjoyable. "It feels fantastic and makes cars like the mid-engined ones that I consider to be quite sketchy in places like the Porsche Curves at Le Mans really tricky."

Tricky in a good way, though, as Hood continued: "You really feel the tires starting to bite and can really lean on the cars when they are fresh and up to temp. The braking feels better, so does the squirming under acceleration." The refined tire model could be in LMU "next month", should a few remaining issues be solved until then, according to Hood. This would form the base for rolling out to the LMP2 and Hypercars after that as well.

What singleplayer elements do you hope for in Le Mans Ultimate? Let us know in the comments below and join the discussion in our LMU forum!