SBK™22 is here! The historical franchise returns with a next-generation two-wheels lifelike gameplay experience.
Milestone and Dorna WSBK Organization are proud to announce SBK™22, a brand-new chapter of one of the most iconic and celebrated franchises in the racing game landscape. Coming to PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and Steam SBK™22 is set to launch on September 15, 2022.
SBK™22 brings back the authentic world of the SBK® Championship, 10 years after the last historical release of SBK Generations, tenth game of the glorious series developed by Milestone and started in the 1999 with Superbike World Championship. The game recreates the experience of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship thanks to the charm of its simulative gameplay and lifelike environments, riders and bikes, finally making the dream of the community and sports fan a reality. SBK™22 features the Official 2022 WorldSBK Championship, an immersive and fascinating Career Mode and the real SBK® weekend with practices, Superpoles and Races.
The Official Game of the 2022 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship is the perfect replica of what happens in the real-life, featuring the event calendar, official roster and teams’ pit environments with absolutely photorealistic effects and animated character models. Players will test their skills racing in the boots of the best riders, stepping in all the competitive WorldSBK Official tracks meaning unpredictable and adrenaline challenges.
SBK™22 aims to recreate a truly and peculiar WorldSBK experience, thanks to its advanced physics developed with the help of real riders, aiming to reach an extreme level of simulation in terms of bike and rider behaviour.
The immersive Career Mode offers many ways to work around rider and bike performances, from managing a staff building an Advanced Setup in which players have full control of bike’s settings evolving the Development Trees. Staff management means hiring different professionals, from Personal Manager through Chief Engineer, without forgetting the fundamental Data Analyst.
The Development Tree is structured in different areas, each one requiring a specific amount of research points to be unlocked. Those points are gained passively by the Engineers or actively by players, performing specific tasks in the round.
SBK™22 also boasts enhanced realistic features, tyres and development tyres selecting a wide range of Pirelli tires for dry and wet tracks, and fuel management to balance bike’s weight.
A.N.N.A System, the revolutionary AI system based on neural networks and machine learning, guarantees a tailored gameplay experience, smartly controlling the opponents depending on their actual personalities and training them as they gather data and experience. At the top level, riding behaviours are considered such as human-level of skills.
The various number of editors allow players to customise several aspects of their unique experience. Sticker Editor, Helmet Editor and Number and Butt Patch are those dedicated to the riders and bikes, Fiction Team instead is fully focused on creating a completely fictional team with customizable livery and style.
SBK™22 is even made for epic multiplayer races for up to 12 players that can create online lobbies where competitions reach another level. The Multiplayer flow is customisable by choosing whether to add or not the typical Tissot-Superpole session from SBK before the race, for a fully online experience, with of course the possibility to customize each race with settings and rules. SBK™22 will be released on September 15, 2022 on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and Steam.
How videogames can be useful for riders?
Nowadays, videogames are more realistic than ever. They are developed to offer a complete immersion for fans. Simulation games are first and foremost a hobby, but the fun aspect can be explored by professionals. The authenticity in the replication of the different atmospheres is such that it allows riders to find valid points of reference once they experience the real track environment.
WorldSBK rider Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) explained: “All the tricks that we can use to learn the track faster are welcome. Even if I already know the track, I like to see videos of the race before the race. But of course, when we arrive to a new track like in Estoril, the week before the race I like to play the videogames – especially this year, I like to use videogames as they’re always getting closer to the real thing, it helps me a lot to be ready to start the weekend.”
WorldSSP rookies Lorenzo Baldassarri (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) and Oli Bayliss (Barni Spark Racing Team) also uses videogames ahead of visiting a new circuit. Baldassarri explained: “I’m playing videogames to learn the new tracks we’ll go to this season. It’s very useful to train our mind and because the games are quite close to the reality, except sometimes regarding the undulations.” Bayliss commented about this habit: “For me the best way to learn a track is to ride it but if I can’t do that, I will do as many laps as possible on the game; I find this helps me a little bit but just to know elevation and how the turns are, it definitely doesn’t help the lap time come easier. I can use videogames to help me learn the tracks by doing a lot of laps and making sure I understand every corner, for a track like Portimao, it would help a lot because there is a lot of blind corners, and you would get an idea on the lines to do.”
For more info checkout our dedicated World Superbike News page World Superbike News
Or visit the official World Superbike website WorldSBK.com
