Grid 2 new track packs and FREE Demolition Derby DLC announced

Grid 2 developer and publisher, Codemasters, has announced that it’s working on two new DLC offerings, both based on community feedback. First, fan-favourite mode Demolition Derby, which was dropped after appearing in the original Grid, is back and it’ll be made available as a free download. No release date yet, but Codemasters says to ‘expect more news in the coming weeks’.

Second piece of in-the-pipeline DLC are two new track packs, which will feature ‘two of the most requested circuits to date’. In addition to each containing a new race circuit, the packs will contain some cars, and new Achievements and Trophies to unlock. Again, no specific release date, but the packs will be available ‘in the months ahead’.

Codemasters’ original DLC plan was to release three bits of add-on content across June and July, and then more DLC every month until October. It’s successfully released each of the three packs as promised – Super Modified Car Pack, Drift Car Pack, and Peak Performance Pack – but always made it clear the DLC schedule was subject to change as the content was very work-in-progress. Still, with this announcement, it’s good to know what some of the future DLC is going to be.

In addition to its DLC plans, Codemasters also revealed details of an upcoming ‘Community Patch’, which – like the DLC – is also based on fan feedback. Included in the update, which it’s hoping to release sometime in August, will be a new ‘Hardcore’ Playlist, the online level cap will be raised, and a selection of new livery designs will be added. Here are the patch notes in full:

Custom Playlist: We want to make the Custom Playlist a more worthwhile experience and as such we’ve made a change that increases the amount of experience and money you get for participating. This will ensure that you are no longer penalised for wanting to opt out of the Online Playlists and you’ll now be able to race the way you want to race, with no hindrance to your online progression. We’ll be keeping an eye on how it goes and if needed we’ll validate it with yourselves and adjust further should it be deemed necessary.

Hardcore Playlist: We’ve heard your feedback regarding the online playlists and once the patch hits there’ll be an additional playlist for you to select. Called ‘Hardcore’, this playlist will remove the use of flashbacks and turn on full mechanical damage. It will also prioritise race events around circuits. Think you’re an elite racer? Go hardcore and prove it.

Level Cap: If you’ve hit level 30 online you’ll be pleased to know that we’re now giving you the ability to progress even further. The online level cap will be raised to 99…good luck!

Fastest Lap Times: The addition of fastest lap times is something we’ve heard come up again and again and as a result we’re pleased to confirm that they will now display at the end of an event on the race results screen while playing online.

New Liveries: We’ve loved seeing what you’ve created so far with your custom liveries and you’ll soon have access to a host of new designs, including some of the AI designs from single player.

Maximum Laps: We’ve heard a lot of feedback, especially from Clubs and Leagues, about the maximum number of laps you can set in a race. As a result we’ve increased the maximum from 5 up to 10. For those of you who want longer races we recommend using the Endurance game mode.

Veto Weighting: Previously if you wanted to veto an event type or location it turned out it was difficult to get a passing vote. We’ve made some changes to the system so that vetos are now much fairer and only require 51% of the lobby to make the vote for a change to occur.

Voice Option: As requested, you can now mute your own microphone.

Country Flags: We know many of you enjoyed this feature in the original GRID and we’re pleased to confirm it will make a return. A player’s country flag will now be displayed next to their name plate while racing and on the event results screen.

Clean Race Bonus: The amount of money rewarded for racing clean has been increased.

Skip the Level up Graphic: We understand that not everyone wants to watch the ‘level up box’ at the end of each race and you’ll now be able to skip this at the press of a button.

Anti-Cheat: We’ve also made some changes to our anti-cheat system and while we won’t go into detail about how we’ve approached these changes, what we will say is that we’re hopeful the leaderboards within the game will now be free of those who have to use illegitimate means to succeed.