How Milestone is Bringing Monster Trucks to Life in Monster Jam Showdown

When I got the news that we were going to develop a game about Monster Jam trucks, I was filled with a mix of emotions — I was both excited and a bit lost. This would be my first title as Game Director but also Milestone’s first project with these kinds of vehicles. I was already aware Monster Jam had a huge and passionate fanbase all over the world, and all the elements were there for us embark on a unique and interesting journey.

The word ‘unique’ is intrinsically linked to the Monster Jam world. We’re talking about 10.5-feet-tall, 12.5-feet-wide, and 17-feet-long trucks that weigh 12,000 pounds and generate 1,500 horsepower. Only a few people in the world get the chance to get behind the wheel of such giants, and this was the first big challenge we had to face. When you develop a racing game with bikes or cars, at least you have an initial idea of the feelings you want convey. With Monster Jam trucks, you don’t have the starting base that you need to identify key elements for a successful gameplay.

The team and myself took a flight to Sweden to watch in-person my first Monster Jam event — this was probably the wisest decision I could have made. What quickly captured my attention was the sense of massive power that those behemoths convey, which immediately became the core of Monster Jam Showdown gameplay. The handling we developed will deliver all the key elements of driving a Monster Jam truck, but at the same time, we tailored the gaming experience to suit everybody’s needs, making the game as enjoyable as possible from the very first races.

In this regard, the work we did on the suspensions was fundamental, as these are one of the most crucial mechanical elements of a Monster Jam truck, and the reason why most of the maneuvers we see are possible. Importantly, we also added both a single-steering option, which controls the front and rear wheels at the same time from one stick, and a double steering option. The double-steering option allows you to control the front and rear wheels separately with both sticks, which mimics the set-up in a real Monster Jam truck.

However, this was not the biggest learning I took back with me to Italy. The whole atmosphere of the event and the general feeling of “being part of something” remained stuck in my head, lighting up the final spark I was looking for. Monster Jam Showdown would not just be a racing game with trucks, but would offer players a one-of-a-kind gaming experience, mirroring the real-life events. This became our mission, and we worked hard to offer the same combination of competition and spectacle in the game that you see lives.

On one side, we did that by giving you the opportunity to compete in the most beloved official competitions, such as Freestyle and Racing. On the other side, we put a lot of effort to recreate vehicles and objects destructibility and added some cool arcade elements like boost and combos. The final and probably boldest step was broadening the entertainment beyond official locations and competitions.

In Monster Jam Showdown, we give you the chance to drive your favorite trucks in some of the most iconic places on Earth. The barren desert of Death Valley, the stunning forests and crystal rivers of Colorado, and the wintry, wild mountains of Alaska will host a bunch of original game modes where things will get bigger, and even more extreme. Here, our design team crafted dramatic tracks that will immerse you into unprecedented scenarios, allowing you to race side-by-side with the other trucks looking for the smartest shortcut to gain the first position or even to fly over the opponents, leveraging the verticality of the layouts. This is something that will also help when performing the most difficult stunts in the open-air arenas hosting Freestyle events within those three original environments.

Learning about the Monster Jam world has been an exciting journey for us, and we combined such discovery with Milestone’s expertise in racing games to create a diverse arcade package where fans will become the protagonists of the most action-packed motorsports event on four wheels.

Monster Jam Showdown will be available on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One as of August 29, 2024, with Early Access available from August 26, 2024. Digital pre-order opens today on the Xbox Store. For more information, please visit MonsterJamVideogame.com.