Written by Kunos Simulazioni, Supernova Games, and 505 Games have pushed out Assetto Corsa Rally Update 0.5, and it’s a meaty one. Anyone following this rally sim’s early access rollout already knows the team doesn’t do small point releases. Update 0.5 brings the first taste of multiplayer, a brand-new location, and a serious rework of how the tires talk to the ground beneath them.
This isn’t a cosmetic patch. It touches the core of what makes a rally sim feel right: grip, surface transitions, and now, other people on track with you. We went through the changelog and pulled out what actually matters for anyone spending time behind the wheel in Assetto Corsa Rally right now.
Assetto Corsa Rally Update 0.5 Goes Live
The update landed as part of the game’s ongoing early access cycle, developed by Kunos Simulazioni in partnership with Supernova Games and published by 505 Games. For a project still building out its foundation, 0.5 is one of the bigger steps taken so far, since it’s the update that finally introduces multiplayer functionality alongside a substantial new stage location.
Early access titles live and die by momentum, and this release shows the team is keeping pace with community expectations. Rather than trickling out minor fixes, Kunos and Supernova bundled several headline features together, giving players a reason to jump back in instead of waiting for another round of patch notes.
What’s New in This Update
The two standout additions in Update 0.5 are multiplayer (in its first phase) and a new rally location set in Greece. Both have been on wishlists since launch, and both arrive with enough depth that they don’t feel like placeholder features bolted on for marketing purposes.
Multiplayer is the bigger structural change. Phase 1 supports lobbies of up to 16 drivers competing in single-stage events. That’s not a full rally-length multiplayer experience yet, but it’s a real starting point, and it opens the door to head-to-head stage racing rather than just chasing your own ghost times. If you’re weighing whether now’s the time to try Assetto Corsa Rally, this update makes a stronger case than any release since launch.
Alongside multiplayer, the new Rally Greece location adds proper variety to the stage roster. It was built from 22 kilometers of laser-scanned road, split across two named stages, Elatia and Loutraki, with a combined 12 layout variants between them. That’s a lot of route permutation from a single scanned location, and it should keep the stage feeling fresh across repeated runs.
Physics and Handling Changes
The tire model has been rebuilt from the ground up in this update. Kunos Simulazioni’s changelog describes a full revision of tire behavior, paired with improved surface recognition so the sim can better differentiate between gravel, tarmac, and the transitions between them mid-stage.
One of the more interesting additions is a bulldozing effect, which simulates the way loose surface material gets pushed and displaced under the tire rather than simply providing a static grip value. Camber dynamics have also been reworked, along with vibration feedback through the car, both of which should sharpen the feel of car placement on rough or cambered sections of road.
For anyone who cares about how a rally sim actually feels at the limit, this is arguably the most important part of Update 0.5, even if it doesn’t generate as many headlines as multiplayer. It’s the kind of change that rewards drivers who spend time relearning car placement rather than expecting the old tire model’s habits to carry over unchanged.
Bug Fixes and Stability Improvements
Alongside the headline features, Update 0.5 includes a round of gameplay optimizations, bug fixes, and audio refinements. These changes don’t make for exciting trailer footage, but they matter a great deal to day-to-day stability, especially for a title still in active early access development.
Audio adjustments in particular tend to fly under the radar, but engine, surface, and impact sound refinements go a long way toward making a rally stage feel convincing, especially at speed, when audio cues become part of how you read the road ahead.
Content Additions (Cars, Stages, Features)
Beyond Rally Greece, the update introduces new event groups, giving players more structured ways to organize sessions around car classes or stage types. Combined with the new location and the multiplayer lobby system, this update effectively expands both what you can drive and how you can drive it against others.
Summary Table: Update 0.5 at a Glance
| Category | Change |
|---|---|
| Multiplayer | Phase 1 launched; lobbies up to 16 players, single-stage events, official and custom private/public lobbies, live spectating support |
| Content | New Rally Greece location; 22 km laser-scanned; two stages (Elatia, Loutraki); 12 layout variants total |
| Physics | Tire model overhaul, surface recognition improvements, bulldozing effect, camber dynamics, vibration feedback rework |
| Gameplay | New event groups added |
| Stability/Audio | Bug fixes, gameplay optimizations, audio refinements |
For those who want the full detail rundown rather than the category summary, here’s a more granular breakdown of what shipped in Update 0.5:
- Multiplayer Phase 1 with lobby support for up to 16 drivers in single-stage events
- Official lobbies alongside customizable private and public lobbies with control over car, weather, and stage selection
- Ability to join a lobby mid-session and spectate live
- New Rally Greece location built from 22 km of laser-scanned roads
- Two new stages, Elatia and Loutraki, offering 12 combined layout variants
- Full revision of the tire physics model
- Improved surface recognition across gravel and tarmac transitions
- New bulldozing effect simulating displaced surface material under tire load
- Reworked camber dynamics and vibration feedback
- New event groups for organizing sessions
- General gameplay optimizations, bug fixes, and audio refinements
Community and Early Access Reactions
Reaction from the simracer community has centered heavily on the multiplayer rollout, since it’s been one of the most requested features since Assetto Corsa Rally entered early access. Even in its limited single-stage form, having other real drivers on track shifts the experience from a solo time-attack exercise into something closer to a genuine competitive rally sim.
The physics changes have also drawn plenty of attention from the more technically minded corner of the community. Tire model rebuilds tend to be a mixed bag at first, since any change to grip behavior forces players to relearn car placement, but early impressions around the bulldozing effect and surface recognition improvements suggest the team is heading in the right direction for authenticity on loose surfaces.
Rally Greece has also been well received simply as new content. Two stages might sound modest on paper, but 12 layout variants from a single scanned location give players meaningful replay value without needing an entirely new geographic region added every update. It’s the kind of update that should also interest anyone keeping an eye on the broader rally simracing scene, not just current owners.
How to Update and Access Notes
As with previous releases, Update 0.5 should download automatically through your platform’s standard update process for early access titles. There’s no separate opt-in required to access the new content, physics changes, or multiplayer functionality once the patch has installed.
Full patch notes are available through Kunos Simulazioni’s official channels and were originally detailed by BSimRacing, which covered the update’s deployment directly from the source material.
What’s Next for Assetto Corsa Rally
Update 0.5 is described as the first phase of multiplayer, which strongly implies further phases are already planned. Reports around the changelog point toward an expanded multiplayer schedule down the line, potentially including a mix of standard weekly events alongside a premium weekend event structure, though the finer scheduling details weren’t fully confirmed in the material available at the time of writing.
Given the pace of this release, it’s reasonable to expect Kunos Simulazioni and Supernova Games to keep building on the multiplayer foundation while continuing to expand the stage roster. For a rally sim still in early access, Update 0.5 shows a team actively shaping the game around what the community has been asking for rather than sitting on a static roadmap. If the current cadence holds, expect future updates to keep pairing at least one content addition with a meaningful physics or stability pass, rather than shipping either in isolation.
FAQ
Is Assetto Corsa Rally Update 0.5 free for existing owners?
Yes, Update 0.5 is a standard patch delivered to everyone who already owns the early access title, with no separate purchase required.
Does Update 0.5 include full multiplayer rallies?
Not yet. This is Phase 1 of multiplayer, limited to single-stage events with lobbies of up to 16 players, rather than full multi-stage rally competition.
What’s new in terms of stages?
The update adds Rally Greece, a location built from 22 km of laser-scanned roads, split into two stages, Elatia and Loutraki, offering 12 total layout variants.
Who develops Assetto Corsa Rally?
It’s developed by Kunos Simulazioni in partnership with Supernova Games, and published by 505 Games.
Source: bsimracing.com
