Le Mans Ultimate dropped an awesome trailer that gives us a glimpse into the future of what’s to come for 2024 content, to bring the game into the 2024 World Endurance Championship season, whilst also revealing its very first DLC pack – Tifosi Italia – that is now available to purchase on Steam alongside a 2024 Season Pass that can be purchased in a one-time transaction to give you full access to every DLC to come, saving you roughly 25% of the cost when purchasing all DLC Packs individually.
What We Know So Far
We now know there is a 2024 Season Pass and 4 separate DLC packs coming through the year, with each DLC pack uniquely named and filled with very particular content. As part of the 2024 Season Pass we know there will be:
- 4 unique packs
- 4 unique circuits
- 4 unique Hypercars
- 7 GT3 cars (9 if you include the 2 free GT3 cars they will release)
So let’s take a deep dive into the Season Pass, what each DLC could contain, what the costs are going to be and when they are likely to appear.
2024 Season Pass
The 2024 DLC Season Pass will be your access to all areas for the current 2024 season and will enable you to download the latest content the minute it is ready to be brought into the game.
Priced at just £39.99 / €46.99 / $49.99, the pass will offer a saving of almost 25% compared to purchasing all four packs individually.
The 2024 Season Pass will bundle together all four packs, which will include four new Hypercars, four iconic circuits and seven of the closely matched GT3 cars in larger packs towards the end of the release schedule.
Remember all 2023 content is part of the base game, along with the free 2024 BMW M Hybrid V8 Hypercar and 2 of the soon-to-be-released 2024 LMGT3 cars, meaning this is all accessible without the Season Pass.
2024 DLC Pack 1 – Tifosi Italia
The first DLC Pack is here and it has a distinctly Italian theme to it, with the first of the 4 circuits – Imola, officially called the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari arriving on the scene, followed by the Italian manufacturer, Lamborghini, and its 2024 SC63 Hypercar.
The final piece to this DLC puzzle comes in the form of the newly updated Peugeot 9X8 2024, which also made its debut at Imola this year with its new aero package, namely that chunky-looking wing!
The Italian-inspired DLC pack is available to purchase at an early access price via Steam for just £9.99 / €11.99 / $12.99 respectively when you consider the cost of other content or DLC bundles in other racing titles.
DLC Pack 2 – Name TBD
Based on the first DLC Pack dropping, it is safe to assume we will get another circuit added to the calendar and if Studio 397 are following the WEC calendar it can only be one of three others which include Qatar, Brazil or COTA, however, no information on the next circuit is available yet.
We can also assume they will complete the Hypercar grid with the next DLC Pack which means we will see the introduction of the Isotta Fraschini Tipo 6 LMH-C and the Alpine A424_B Hypercars.
As DLC Pack 1 came at the end of July we would expect a break between releases. September is touted as being the next date for content to come from Studio 397. Which seems reasonable. We would assume the cost of this DLC Pack would be the same as Pack 1 as it contains the same type of content.
DLC Pack 3 – Name TBD
With the Hypercar class complete from the first 2 DLCs we know they will move on to bringing in the entire 2024 LMGT3 field. With 9 brand-new GT3s to get into the game, we can again assume they will split these into groups of 4 and 5 across the final 2 DLC Packs, with the possibility of making 1 of the GT3s in each pack free, as we know they are giving 2 of the GT3s as free content.
What we would like to see from Studio 397 is a play on where the GT3s originate from to create the DLC Bundles, for example, we have 2 British GT3s, 2 German GT3s, 2 Italian GT3s, 2 American GT3s with one lone Japanese entrant in the Lexus.
They could pit the Aston Martin Vantage GT3 and McLaren 720s GT3 Evo against the Corvette Z06 GT3.R and Ford Mustang GT3 in a Britain Vs USA theme pack. With the Lexus thrown in for good measure.
If they do run with a theme, COTA or Sao Paulo could be a good fit here in this pack, as they are the most popular venue on drivers’ lists that are not currently in the game, and if Pack 2 comes in September and they are following the same timeline for releases we can assume this DLC Pack could come in November.
DLC Pack 4 – Name TBD
The final DLC Pack will complete the entirety of the content for the 2024 World Endurance Championship. With only one circuit left to add, Qatar, it has no other place to appear apart from within this DLC Pack.
Like the previous DLC Pack where we would love to see a Britain VS USA theme develop with the release of certain LMGT3 cars, the same could happen here but with a battle of Europe, because you have the BMW M4 GT3 and the Porsche 911 GT3 RS from Germany against the Ferrari 296 GT3 and the Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo 2 from Italy.
This final pack may not come in 2024 either, if we continue with the timeline of DLC releases, meaning this DLC Pack would actually reach us in January, which also seems fitting, as it arrives just before the start of the brand-new real-life 2025 World Endurance Championships.
As this and the previous DLC Pack contain more content than the first two, we believe they are going to cost a little more. Simple maths tells us DLC Packs 3 & 4 could cost £14.99 / €16.99 / $17.99. This is because the Season Pass saves you 25% against purchasing the packs individually.
What Else Could Appear Through The Year
Let’s not forget that with each DLC Pack, Studio 397 is sure to bring updates to features, gameplay, UI improvements and more. With many big features sure to come.
VR Compatibility
Watch out for VR to be fully compatible with the game at some point, VR is a much-craved feature by the community and this is something many would love to see, no more needing to find workarounds to get your VR headset working. They are sure to make VR native with Le Mans Ultimate to immerse yourself in the experience of the World Endurance Championships even more.
Co-op Modes
Studio 397 previously spoke about bringing a co-op mode to the platform for drivers to compete with each other in teams and they have made no secret that this feature is on the horizon. They have been working tirelessly in the background and were close to releasing it already before wanting to improve its functions further. Just know that when this is released it will be incredible.
Community Racing
Dedicated servers are something they are surely working on as well. Communities are the bread and butter of sim racing and they can do wonders for the LMU platform by introducing dedicated servers for communities to host their own league racing on Le Mans Ultimate.
