The bombastic Ork-themed racing game Warhammer 40,000: Speed Freeks is crashing onto console with a new PS5 and Xbox release. Following the game’s PC release last year, the game is getting a new console re-launch with a host of improvements.
In a promotional post for the high-speed, destructive racing game, game director Chris Mallinson explained that creating the racing game meant dealing with a lot of restrictions with Warhammer creator Games Workshop.
Mallinson explained that the Warhammer 40,000 IP is a “badass property with so much lore and [a] top-tier aesthetic”, but it can be “intimidating” to work on a game in the universe. After all, Games Workshop is highly protective over the franchise with the tabletop company forcing Space Marine 2 developers to change ankle designs as they didn’t match the miniatures.
The game director explained that working on Speed Freeks was quite challenging as everything had to be vetted by Games Workshop. “It’s also quite challenging since there are restrictions on how we’re able to handle the vehicles, Orks, environments – everything,” the game director said. “I think we smashed it proppa though, as the community (and Games Workshop) really like how faithful Speed Freeks is to the Orks faction.”
These restrictions in how levels can look and play also applies to the game’s post-launch level editor which allows players to create their own multiplayer tracks and share them via an online cloud service. “As far as we know, Speed Freeks will be the first Warhammer 40,000 game to include level editing tools like this where you can build custom structures and things from scratch,” the team said in a prior announcement. “Very Orky.”
“Our core community is really passionate, constantly throwing out wild ideas for Orky environments, so we figured: let’s just give them some tools,” the game director said as the update allows players to create pretty much anything they want on-track.
“How the editor worked really lent itself to quick iteration, and we also discovered we could have players drop in and drop out, like in any other mode,” he continued. “It’s actually my favourite part of the game, seeing a level being constructed in real-time with players driving around on a level while it’s being built, sometimes getting smacked by assets in the middle of being placed. It’s hilarious and a really fun, creative way to play – especially over voice chat.”
Warhammer 40,000: Speed Freeks does not currently have a release date for its upcoming console port, but the game is planned to launch on both PlayStation and Xbox later this year. For now, there is no news on a Nintendo Switch 2 port.
