Reiza Studios deserves to be thanked for what Automobilista 2 represents today. In a market where more and more racing sims are moving towards competitive multiplayer, ratings, online events and live service models, AMS2 still gives space to those who want to experience sim racing in a different way: offline, with freedom, variety, AI racing, dynamic weather, historical cars, modern tracks and classic layouts from the past. Developing such a wide and ambitious simulator is probably not the easiest or most profitable choice. Building a decent AI takes time. Managing such a large car roster requires constant work. Refining so many tracks and integrating everything with physics, tyres, weather and different classes is a huge effort. And yet Reiza is still doing it. For many players, AMS2 has become something of a happy oasis. Not because it is perfect, but because it still offers a complete, free and passionate experience, without forcing everyone to experience sim racing only through online lobbies, rankings and competitive dynamics that can sometimes become toxic. There is absolutely a place for multiplayer, of course. But there are also many players who simply want to turn on their PC, choose a car, a track, the conditions, and build their own race. That is why, beyond any legitimate criticism, I think Reiza deserves respect and gratitude. They are defending a way of understanding sim racing that many others seem to have pushed into the background.
Yup, I prefer having more control on the experience. I used to play really competitive PvP FPS games as a high school student. God, Escape from Tarkov made me so miserable. The more I grew, the more I grew tired of everyone having to be so sweaty. That made me quit FPS. So yeah, As long as AI opponents are fun to play against, PvE really is a great option regardless of game genre.
Funny timing as I was just thinking this morning that I'm getting closer and closer to accepting that -- despite dabbling in sim racing since the GTR days, and buying and selling hardware every few years when I think I'm done with it for good (mostly due to flight sims remaining my main hobby) -- maybe I'm just the kind of sim racer who wants to periodically just choose a car and track combination I like, set some basic conditions, and do a quick race with no setup adjustments and no obsession over optimizing FFB or utilizing telemetry. And this is why AMS2 just keeps pulling me back in year after year, while other sims that I dabble in inevitably end up feeling like too much work to get to the fun stuff. So yes, absolutely agree with the sentiment of being incredibly thankful to Reiza for keeping this going and sticking to this core fun racing experience!
