''NASCAR Heat'' is a series of

NASCAR video games NASCAR, the most popular motorsport in the United States, has worked with video game developers to design several video games. In 2003, EA Sports received an exclusive console license to produce NASCAR games, eliminating Papyrus and Hasbro Interac ...

developed and produced by

Monster Games Monster Games, Inc. is an American independent video game developer in Northfield, Minnesota, United States that specializes in racing games and ports in action, platforms and action role-playing game An action role-playing game (often ab ...

and 704Games, who has held the license to publish NASCAR video games since 2015. The first game in the series to be published in the series was '' NASCAR Heat Evolution'', and the latest game to be released in the series was '' NASCAR Heat 5''.

History

In May 2016, Monster Games announced the first NASCAR video game to be released for PlayStation 4 and

Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...

. The working title was ''NASCAR Heat Evolution'', and Dusenberry Martin Racing was named a co-developer. DMR had previously acquired a NASCAR license in January 2015. Released in September, the game received lackluster reviews for not including enough features. A sequel, '' NASCAR Heat 2'', was released on September 12, 2017, and included the

Xfinity Series The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...

and Camping World Truck Series in addition to the Cup Series, which NHE exclusively featured. '' NASCAR Heat 3'' was released on September 7, 2018, and featured the fictional Xtreme Dirt Tour. On September 14, 2019, '' NASCAR Heat 4'' was released. For '' NASCAR Heat 5'', 704Games replaced Monster as developer and brought on Motorsport Games as publisher. The game was released in early July, a departure from the traditional September date; as an effect, the developers focused on smaller improvements. In July 2021, Motorsport Games confirmed that they would be discontinuing the NASCAR Heat branding, it will be using the rFactor 2 physics engine and the Unreal graphics engine for the upcoming official NASCAR game.Reilly, Luke
Motorsport Games Confirms NASCAR 21; New Engine, New Physics
', at IGN, July 12, 2021 The game's name was later unveiled as '' NASCAR 21: Ignition'', and is set to be released in October 26 and 28. A standalone mobile game, ''NASCAR Heat Mobile'', was released on April 25, 2017.

Gameplay

''Heat'' has been criticized throughout its run for having little and low-quality presentation. The games feature playable challenges that unlock driver tutorials, and a single-player test mode was added for ''Heat 5''.

Physics

''Heat'' games feature a controller vibration when drafting. They also dynamic

artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech r ...

. The game features a default

automatic transmission An automatic transmission (sometimes abbreviated to auto or AT) is a multi-speed transmission used in internal combustion engine-based motor vehicles that does not require any input from the driver to change forward gears under normal driving ...

, criticized for not carrying enough momentum. The game has been described as a mix of arcade and simulation. Between ''Heat 3'' and ''Heat 4'', the developers redid physics at a number of tracks, and also revamped the game's artificial intelligence.

Multiplayer

The series started with a bare-bones multiplayer option. Beginning with ''Heat 3'', the eNASCAR Heat Pro League was sanctioned on the console, although NH3's online package was still criticized by reviewers.

Career

''Heat'' games allow players to create a custom character in Career mode. ''Heat Evolution'' was criticized for having little to no plotline in Career mode, but did allow users to improve their car through a series of upgrades. ''Heat 2'' introduced a new "Hot Seat" feature where players started in a part-time season before progressing to full-time. In ''Heat 3'', players could own their own team in any series.

References

{{NASCAR video games Video game franchises Racing simulators NASCAR video games Sports video games with career mode Android (operating system) games IOS games PlayStation 4 games Xbox One games Windows games