F1 23 is a racing video game developed by Codemasters and published by EA Sports. It is the sixteenth entry in the F1 series by Codemasters. It holds the official licence for the 2023 Formula One and Formula 2 championships. The game was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Linux (through Valve's Proton compatibility layer) on 16 June 2023.

Gameplay
F1 23 sees the return of the story mode, "Braking Point", which was introduced in F1 2021. Two characters from "Braking Point", Devon Butler, the main antagonist, and Aiden Jackson, the protagonist, return for Braking Point 2.0, as well as veteran now-retired driver Casper Akkerman, who also makes an appearance as a mentor and later Team Principal for Konnersport,  A new character named Callie Mayer, Devon Butler's sister, makes an appearance, along with their dad, Davidoff Butler who is the CEO of his own company, Butler Global, and Andreo Konner, the founder and owner of Konnersport, who was the team principal in the F1 2022 season.  The game features a narrative mode with live-action scenes similar to Grid Legends.

F1 23 features overhauled driving physics and added the option to set a 35% race distance. Red flags, which last appeared in F1 2014, make an appearance. The game's UI has been overhauled for an experience much more akin to the presentation of current Formula One races. New additions to the My Team Icons pack include  World Champion Nigel Mansell, W Series driver Jamie Chadwick (who also assisted the developers with Braking Point 2), former Williams driver Pastor Maldonado, and former Toyota reserve driver and Sauber and Caterham driver Kamui Kobayashi. Pre-orders also included characters from Braking Point 2 as icons.

"F1 World" expands upon the "F1 Life" feature of F1 22 and tied together all the game modes featured in the game, including ranked, esports, offline and online game modes. This also includes the return of the Podium Pass. The game introduces a safety rating for online players; similar systems have been featured in titles, such as iRacing and later Gran Turismo titles. This system is also utilised in offline game modes, though an option is available to disable it. The player's "F1 World" car can be upgraded with new car parts, and new team members can be hired. Both items can be obtained through gameplay; while an XP boost is made available with "PitCoin", no microtransactions to purchase such upgrades are available. Goals and compendiums are also available to unlock more rewards in "F1 World". Supercars and a virtual living space make their return from the previous title. Playing game modes, including progression throughout Braking Point 2, count towards Podium Pass progression.

The Losail International Circuit, home of the Qatar Grand Prix, is included in the game, as is the brand-new Las Vegas Strip Circuit ahead of the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix. The game also includes the Imola Circuit of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, the Circuit Paul Ricard of the French Grand Prix, the Shanghai International Circuit of the Chinese Grand Prix, and the Algarve International Circuit of the Portuguese Grand Prix, tracks that were removed from or not part of the 2023 schedule.

Story mode: Braking Point 2 
First introduced in F1 2021, F1 23 features Braking Point 2, set in the 2022 and 2023 seasons. The story centers on the Konnersport Butler Global Racing Team, a new team that has recently joined the grid. Aiden Jackson and Devon Butler, both returning from the first Braking Point, find themselves becoming teammates in this new team. Introduced in this story mode is Formula 2 prodigy Callie Mayer, who dreams of earning a shot at motorsport's most prestigious single seater category after winning the Formula 2 championship with Trident, becoming the first woman to claim the title in doing so. She also happens to be Butler's sister. As revealed in a Deep Dive video published on 22 May 2023, the writing team partnered with three time W Series champion and Williams development driver Jamie Chadwick to bring Mayer's story to life. Both Butler and Jackson retain their driver numbers of 71 and 89 respectively, while Mayer uses 66 during her stint in Formula One (20 as a Trident driver).

Plot 
In the 2022 season, after failing to sign an agreement with several teams, Aiden Jackson signs with the Konnersport Butler Global Racing Team, a team founded by Andreo Konner and funded by Butler Global, a company owned by Davidoff Butler, father to Devon Butler. During the Miami Grand Prix, Aiden's car loses power, forcing him to retire, while Devon secures some points for the team. At the Hungarian Grand Prix, Butler is ordered to give Jackson the position, but he ignores the order. Jackson manages to overtake Butler and finishes the race ahead of him. Aiden later faces more difficulties when he faces a slow pit stop at the Japanese Grand Prix, which lets him to decide to leave the team or not.

In F2, Callie Mayer, Butler's sister, becomes the first female Formula 2 Champion after finishing her season with Trident with the help of retired driver and Jackson's former teammate, Casper Akkerman.

In the 2023 season, Akkerman is appointed as the new team principal of Konnersport, with Andreo stepping down and remaining with the team, as well as Aiden deciding to stay with the team for another season. Devon meanwhile, faces difficulties when he loses his focus and ignores team orders. Casper attempts to help Devon, but during the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Devon loses his focus again, crashes his car into the barriers (in a similar fashion to how Charles Leclerc hit the barriers at the real life event the year before) and immediately leaves Konnersport. Akkerman later reveals that Butler had tinnitus prior to the 2023 season and had kept it secret to the team. As they enter mid-season, Konnersport are forced to scramble to find a new driver, and Davidoff says that Butler Global will pull funding if they do not finish fifth or higher. Akkerman later chooses to sign Callie as Devon's replacement. Callie, who had a conflict with her father because he never listened to her and her mother, Evelyn Mayer, is initially hesitant, but agrees to take Devon's seat.

During her debut in Baku, Mayer makes contact with Jackson after an unsuccessful attempt at letting his teammate through. Callie goes on to finish the race. Aiden believes that the collision was deliberate and is so annoyed that in the British Grand Prix, he impedes Callie and refuses to let her past. Callie, however, manages to overtake him. After the race, Konner and Akkerman later tell Aiden and Callie about the funding situation and that Konnersport will not be able to find an investor and will be forced to leave Formula One after 2023 if they do not finish fifth or higher in the Constructors' Championship.

At the Italian Grand Prix, Devon returns to Konnersport as the new team liaison. In the race, Aiden makes contact with Callie, resulting in her front wing coming off. Callie manages to finish in the top five. In Singapore, Devon gives advice to Aiden, which upsets him. In the race, he finishes in the top five, securing more points to the team.

In São Paulo, Callie confronts Davidoff, where the latter says he is doing this for business. During the end of the safety car, Callie finishes in the top five. During the teams briefing in Abu Dhabi, Casper snaps at Davidoff to leave the meeting, while Aiden apologises to Callie. During the race, Aiden suffers a mechanical failure and is forced to retire. Devon, seeing the team in danger, gives a fake order to Callie claiming not to push the car too hard, prompting her to drive faster and finish in the top four, achieving the goal that was required to keep Butler Global with them and thus allowing them to stay in Formula One.

In the aftermath of race, Butler Global's funding is secure. As Konnersport is set for their next season, Aiden says to the media that he will stay if Casper remains as team principal, with Butler Global set to renew their sponsorship with the team, and Callie look forward for her next season.

Development and release
F1 23 was teased on 1 March 2023 by its developers as a "fresh start" for the series. Codemasters, who worked on the series since F1 2009, and EA Sports returned to work on the game. A new trailer showcasing the "Konnersport Butler Global Racing Team" was released on 28 April 2023, with the official trailer launched on 3 May 2023. Prior to the reveal, a closed beta was made available.

The game features two covers, with Max Verstappen on the Champions' Edition cover, and Charles Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton, and Lando Norris on the standard edition cover. The game was released on Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Linux on 16 June 2023, with the Champions Edition of the game available three days earlier on 13 June 2023.

Reception 

F1 23 received "generally favorable" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic.

Notes

References

External links

 

2023 video games
Codemasters games
EA Sports games
Electronic Arts games
Ego (game engine) games
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F1 (video game series)
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