Wreckfest 2 Announced: Prepare for Fender-Bending Chaos and Rageful Drivers

I’ve never sat behind the wheel of a real car, but my friends often assume I’d be a natural driver because of all the racing games I play. Let me tell you, though, these games have taught me some questionable lessons: traffic lights are mere decorations, drifting is just aggressive cornering, and other cars are there to cushion your inevitable crash. Clearly, the skills I’ve picked up in Wreckfest wouldn’t make me the ideal candidate for the morning school run. Speaking of which, THQ Nordic just announced Wreckfest 2—a sequel that promises more destruction, better visuals, and newly animated drivers who now flinch and gesture when you smash into them. Check out the carnage in the announcement trailer below.

You can practically smell the burning rubber. That’s what real cars smell like, right? The trailer combines live-action chaos with in-game footage, showing cars mercilessly tearing each other apart. At a THQ Nordic preview event earlier this week, I also caught a glimpse of the game’s new car customization features, which are a big deal this time around. You can paint individual parts, slap on decals, and even add rust and impact damage to give your ride some character. Because, let’s be honest, who wouldn’t want to go out in a blaze of glory with a tricked-out, battle-worn vehicle?

As for what’s under the hood, Wreckfest 2 runs on an upgraded version of Bugbear’s ROMU engine, which enhances the vehicular carnage with even more detailed damage effects. Imagine doors flying off, exhaust pipes flapping around, and tires bouncing away like they’ve just seen a ghost. It’s all delightfully chaotic, but don’t expect the racing experience to stray too far from the original 2018 game. The new game modes include a single-player career, multiplayer options, tournaments, regular challenges, and even modding support to keep the mayhem fresh.

John Walker, who reviewed the original Wreckfest for Rock Paper Shotgun, praised it for making failure fun—a rare feat in the world of racing games. He said, “There’s so much fun in this, and it manages to make failure an entertaining element of racing, which is a trick all too rarely pulled off.” Wreckfest 2 seems poised to deliver more of that same chaotic joy, especially with less competition on the horizon. With the Need For Speed series and The Crew taking a breather, Wreckfest 2 has a clear path to win over fans of high-octane, no-holds-barred racing.

Want to see more of the madness? You can check it out on Steam.