Start your tiny engines, a Hot Wheels Unleashed sequel is on the way

Milestone's big racing game about tiny cars is getting a sequel: Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged will launch on October 19, 2023 across PC and consoles. The sequel will have a ton more cars, 130 at launch, and five environments to race in. It'll also add motorcycles and ATVs, as well as new customization options for your rides, all of which can be shared with others online.

Two new powers, dashing and jumping, will be at our disposal in the sequel, too. Dashing will let you slide your car laterally, sideswiping opponents or extending a drift right across the finish line. Jumps are a vertical boost that takes you airborne—you know, a jump—which is something I'm sure course designers are going to have a field day with when it comes to shortcuts.

While the first game's City mode was a singleplayer campaign of sorts, the sequel's campaign promises to be an "enhanced, story-driven" experience that features four original characters. "Each character's background and personality will be presented through animated cutscenes that immerses racers in a captivating narrative," said Milestone in a press release.

Here on PC Gamer, contributor Phil Iwaniuk heralded the first Hot Wheels Unleashed as a delightful revival of the mid-tier arcade racer. The cars "fly around like they've been shot out of the Large Hadron collider, and you're somehow expected to guide them through loop-de-loops and around hairpins, all while pinging off 11 other vehicles with all the predictability of a trading market," he wrote.

Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged will also have online crossplay and cross-platform custom track sharing from day one. That'll work between PC on Steam and the Epic Games Store, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox One. Crossplay won't be available with Nintendo Switch.

For my part, I know a six-year-old who's going to be pretty dang excited about this one—and I'm with him for that ride. Arcade racers are good. You can quote me on that. You can find out more about Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged on its official website, hotwheelsunleashed.com.