PC Gamer Announces New ISI Simulation: rFactor

After going radio silent since their departure from EA, Image Space Incorporated (developers of the engine underneath the PC versions of the EA Sports F1 and NASCAR franchises) have finally shown what they’ve been up to with a small feature in the September, 2005 issue of PC Gamer that you can see a scan of below.

Here is the text from the article:

Image Space Inc. has been rolling out quality racing simulations for years – from 1999’s Sports Car GT to last year’s F1 Challenge ’99-’02. The Michigan-based developer recently branched away from longtime publishing partner EA Sports to develop its own vision of the “ultimate racing sim.” Enter rFactor, ISI’s first installment incorporating this bold new concept.

“Our first racing experience for rFactor will be a mixed-class circuit road racer,” says ISI VP Gjon Camaj. Servicing a target audience of PC race-sim aficionados, car enthusiasts, full-time racers, and even professional racing schools, rFactor will be available either via online download or at retail.

Though a publishing partner had yet to be confirmed (and car and track licensing are still ongoing), rFactor is only months away from completion. Like most racing fans, I’ve been mightily impressed with ISI’s previous work, and the prospect of driving small sedans, powerful GT machines, and even formula cars has my throttle foot all a-twitter.

Factor in those tantalizing “racing-school realism” claims from the dev team, and rFactor could well be the PC racer to beat when it ships this fall.