New TT video game set for 2017 launch

Author: Oli Rushby at the Isle of Man TT launch Posted: 15 Apr 2016

You can ride as John McGuinness

Isle of Man TT bosses have announced a new, multi-platform video game simulating riding 200bhp+ superbikes around the iconic mountain course will be launched next year.

There hasn’t been a game featuring the gruelling 37.73 mile Mountain course since the TT Superbikes Legends title for PS2 was released in 2008.

The company taking on the challenge of virtually re-creating the TT course have history in producing top-class racing games having worked on the successful World Rally Championship titles.  

A representative from the firm, Big Ben Interactive said: “When you’re doing simulation titles you really want to do the best stuff out there and the TT brings feelings no other competition in the world brings, so we’re pleased to announce that we are working on a new official TT video game.

“We’ve been working on the title for the last year but it’s a long project. We have to take the time to produce it and that means it won’t be out until 2017. The scope of this project is something we have never done before, nobody has ever done it before. It’s a full simulation game and we want it to be as close as possible to the actual TT, for instance the circuit will be a full-scale reproduction.”

Big Ben have already had members of their development team working on the Isle of Man to enable them to begin constructing an image of the course – one of the most difficult parts in creating such a game.

“We’ve had a few members of our development team coming to the Isle of Man taking hundreds or thousands of pictures of the circuit. Of course we will need to work with the Isle of Man to get all the data we can get to create this game.”

But making the circuit as realistic as possible is only part of the challenge, the team are keen to ensure the experience of riding on the game is as close to riding the 200bhp+ beasts we see on the course today as possible.

“There’s also the experience of recreating the feeling, which is the hardest part and where we’ll need to work with TT racers on this. It’s not our first simulation game and it’s very much a case of trial and error until you get something that’s as realistic as possible.”

To help them recreate this feeling, Big Ben are set to work with a leading TT rider over the next few months but aren’t at a stage to announce who this could be. 

No further details about the game have been released, although it's expected to be available on multiple platforms including Xbox One, PS4 and PC.