The track will debut in its official form within the EA SPORTS F1 23 game, which releases in June, a full five months before the real-world Las Vegas Grand Prix.
In the footage, EA and Codemasters’s Social and Content Manager PJ Tierney uses the generic and customisable player car, starting from 22nd on the grid of a three-lap race.
Held at night – as will the actual race in November – there’s a relatively short sprint into the first corner, a sweeping left-hander. After Turn 4, there’s a high-speed straight leading into a tricky, and tight, Turn 5 to Turn 9 complex abutting the illuminated Sphere venue.
Further around the lap, we head down Las Vegas Boulevard. While the asphalt is mostly a simple straight line with a kink, it’s adorned on either side by large hotels and the Eiffel Tower Restaurant – all faithfully recreated in-game. The average speed for the venue is set to be among the highest on the calendar.
The trackside furniture appears to be the main draw here, as opposed to the layout itself, although we’ll reserve final judgment for when the game ships next month, and perhaps more pertinently, the grand prix later in the year.
Unlike many contemporary rivals, the Formula 1 game does not use laser-scan technology to recreate its circuits. Instead, the Vegas venue has been recreated using reference images and photogrammetry data.
“Our team has designed a wonderful virtual recreation of one of the most exciting and striking cities in the world,” said Lee Mather, Senior Creative Director at Codemasters.
“The sheer scale and density of the buildings in Las Vegas has been a fun challenge for the team along with the vibrance and energy of The Strip lit up for the Saturday night race. It took over 1900 days of cumulative development time to deliver that level of authenticity.”
The footage also showcases the Champions Edition limited-time pre-order Las Vegas-themed customisation items: namely a chrome car livery, race suit, gloves and crash helmet.
Of note, Tierney’s team-mate appears to be Pastor Maldonado, the one-time Grand Prix winner presumably part of the My Team icons this season, again part of the Champions Edition.
