Someone took the Crusader, cut it in half, and decided the front wheels would do just fine
In the ongoing construction of a game that treats chaos as craft, Bugbear Entertainment has released its seventh Early Access update for Wreckfest 2, layering new vehicles, a fresh American track, and a head-on race mode atop a newly overhauled physics and tuning foundation. The update reflects a recurring tension in racing game design — the balance between absurdist spectacle and mechanical depth — and suggests the studio is pursuing both with equal seriousness. It is a small milestone in a longer journey toward a full release, but one that reveals the shape of the thing being built.
- A half-car that drags itself around a track on its front wheels signals that Wreckfest 2 is not softening its commitment to gleeful destruction.
- The new Suicide Race mode — two groups of drivers hurtling toward each other on an oval — introduces a tension that is as much existential as competitive.
- Beneath the carnage, a comprehensive tuning system now lets players adjust suspension, gear ratios, and brake bias, with saveable presets that carry into multiplayer lobbies.
- Overhauled collision physics and upgraded visual damage systems mean the destruction now feels as considered as the engineering behind it.
- A full console release remains on the horizon with no confirmed date, leaving the game's most ambitious chapter still unwritten.
Wreckfest 2's seventh Early Access update is the kind of patch that demands a second read. Bugbear has added two-and-a-half vehicles — the Stahlwagen, a turn-of-the-century wagon echoing the Mercedes-Benz E-Class; the Valken, drawn from the 1990s Saab 900; and the Half a Crusader, which is precisely what it sounds like: the front half of the game's Cavalier-adjacent sedan, repurposed as a rolling wreck. It is the kind of absurdist detail that defines the series.
The new US-based track location offers three layouts — an oval, a traditional circuit, and a short sprint — and the oval exists for a specific purpose. Bugbear's new Suicide Race mode splits the field in two, sending half the drivers clockwise and the other half counter-clockwise. Fans of the 2004 cult title Test Drive: Eve of Destruction will recognize the lineage immediately, and the deliberate nod suggests Bugbear may continue drawing from that underappreciated well of destruction-racing ideas.
Update 7 also marks a technical turning point. Collision physics have been substantially reworked, visual damage systems upgraded to match, and — most significantly for competitive players — the game now features its first proper tuning suite. Steering response, suspension geometry, brake bias, gear ratios, and differential behavior are all adjustable, with configurations saved as presets usable in multiplayer lobbies.
A console release is confirmed for after Early Access, though no date has been set. For now, Update 7 makes clear that Bugbear is building something that rewards both the player who wants to crash and the one who wants to understand why their car corners the way it does.
Wreckfest 2's seventh update since entering Steam Early Access last March is the kind of patch that makes you stop and read the patch notes twice. The developers at Bugbear have added two-and-a-half new vehicles to the game—yes, that half is intentional—along with a fresh track location, a new race mode, overhauled physics systems, and the game's first proper vehicle tuning suite.
The vehicles themselves tell you something about the spirit of this game. There's the Stahlwagen, a turn-of-the-century wagon inspired by the Mercedes-Benz E-Class, and the Valken, which draws from the 1990s Saab 900. Then there's the Half a Crusader, which is exactly what it sounds like: someone took the Crusader—the game's Chevrolet Cavalier-adjacent sedan—cut it in half, and decided the front wheels would do just fine for dragging the remains around the track. It's the kind of absurdist touch that defines Wreckfest's entire philosophy.
The new track location is based in the United States and actually comprises three separate courses: an oval, a traditional circuit, and a short sprint layout. That oval is there for a reason. Bugbear has introduced a new race mode called Suicide Race, where the field splits in half—one group racing clockwise, the other counter-clockwise. Anyone who spent time with Test Drive: Eve of Destruction back in 2004 will recognize the concept immediately. That game, which never quite got the attention it deserved, pioneered a whole category of destruction-focused racing, and Wreckfest 2 seems to be mining that vein deliberately. If the developers keep pulling ideas from that 2004 classic, they could resurrect modes like trailer races and flagpole races that made it memorable.
Beyond the new content, Update 7 represents a significant technical step forward. The collision physics have been substantially reworked, and the visual damage systems have been upgraded to match. More importantly for serious players, Wreckfest 2 now has a comprehensive tuning system—its first. You can adjust steering response, suspension geometry, brake bias, gear ratios, differential behavior, and much more. These tuning configurations save as presets, so you can swap between setups instantly. The system works in multiplayer lobbies too, which means competitive players can finally dial in their machines the way they want them.
Bugbear has confirmed that a full console release is coming once the game leaves Early Access, though no date has been announced. For now, the work continues on PC, and Update 7 suggests the team is thinking seriously about depth alongside destruction—the kind of game that rewards both the player who wants to crash into things and the one who wants to understand why their car handles the way it does.
Notable Quotes
Bugbear appears to be deliberately mining ideas from Test Drive: Eve of Destruction, a 2004 game that pioneered destruction-focused racing modes— Update notes and developer direction
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does the update add two-and-a-half vehicles instead of just two or three?
Because one of them is literally half a car. It's a novelty vehicle—the front half of the Crusader, dragged around by its wheels. It's funny, but it also works mechanically in the game.
And the Suicide Race mode—that's a real name?
It is. Half the field goes one direction, half goes the other. It's borrowed from a 2004 game called Test Drive: Eve of Destruction, which Bugbear seems to be drawing inspiration from deliberately.
Why would they do that? That game came out over twenty years ago.
Because it was ahead of its time and never got its due. It had modes nobody else was doing—trailer races, flagpole races, pure destruction racing. Wreckfest is the spiritual successor, and they're not shy about it.
The tuning system sounds like it changes the game significantly.
It does. Before this, Wreckfest was about crashing and watching things break. Now you can actually tune your suspension, gearing, differential settings—it's a real racing game underneath the destruction.
Can you use those tunings in multiplayer?
Yes, and that matters. It means competitive players can finally optimize their setups, not just show up and hope for the best.
When's the full release?
No date yet. Console versions are coming, but they're still in Early Access on PC. The work isn't done.