Logitech is asserting its first new racing wheel in five a long time: the G923 for the PlayStation 4, Xbox, and Laptop. The G923 succeeds the G29 and G920 and will be accessible in August for $399.99.

Even though the G923 looks extremely similar to the G29 and G920, it capabilities an all-new drive responses procedure the enterprise is calling “TrueForce.” The system is developed to provide additional reasonable suggestions by the wheel, thanks to integration with a game’s physics and audio engines. The wheel can then get individuals inputs, these types of as the amount of sounds coming from a car’s engine or the floor the wheels are touring above, and translate them into vibrations that can be felt as a result of the wheel. The firm says the electronics within the wheel are capable to sample these inputs 4,000 instances per 2nd and change its drive feed-back motors appropriately.

As opposed to other drive opinions systems, TrueForce is capable to present a broader assortment of inputs to the driver. In observe, that implies the wheel is generally buzzing or vibrating the complete time you are racing. You can sense the engine rev as you strike the accelerator or delicate alterations in the highway as you are driving. It is all meant to make the working experience nearer to actual everyday living, or at minimum more immersive than prior to.

Game developers will have to integrate Logitech’s SDK to support TrueForce, normally the wheel will have the exact power responses program as the prior versions. Logitech says GRID, Assetto Corsa Competizione, and Gran Turismo Sport will have support for the system promptly, though iRacing, F1 2020, and Filth Rally 2. plan to insert the feature in September.

Image by Dan Seifert / The Verge

Aside from the TrueForce technological innovation, the G923 is not massively diverse from the prior styles. Logitech says it has refined the stitching on the leather wrapping, the inner electronics have been upgraded to tackle the input from the TrueForce program, and there’s a new progressive spring in the brake pedal. The real motors and gear mechanisms are the same as the G29 and G920, as are the steel paddle shifters, aluminum spokes, and glass-crammed nylon clamps.

Unlike the G29 and G920, which had unique button layouts and abilities, the G923 is the similar regardless of whether you are purchasing the PlayStation 4 model or the a single for Xbox. (Both variations get the job done exactly the very same when hooked up to a Laptop.) That contains the more finish button structure and change indicator lights that had been unique to the G29 final time all-around.

Impression: Logitech

I had an possibility to examination the G923 and its TrueForce program in a pre-launch edition of GRID in advance of today’s announcement. I am not a racing professional, but even I could inform the big difference in between the primary force suggestions methods obtainable in other wheels and the new TrueForce engine. (Games that have aid for TrueForce allow for you to disable it or tweak the degree of its suggestions.) I could truly feel the engine vibrating by means of the wheel, a great deal like you can with a authentic racecar, and I realized precisely when I was driving off system and the wheels dropped their grip, even if I couldn’t see it taking place by way of the car’s cockpit see. Immediately after a handful of races with TrueForce enabled, I turned it off, and the working experience felt numb, like anything was lacking.

Image by Dan Seifert / The Verge

Logitech is launching the G923 at an attention-grabbing time, when racing simulators have under no circumstances been far more well known. All of the key skilled racing sequence held digital races this calendar year, the place pro motorists employed equivalent wheels and pedals to Logitech’s and other individuals, and games like iRacing have exploded in recognition with amateurs and specialists alike. Logitech states it has not been in a position to hold its wheels in stock for the earlier four months, and it expects demand for the G923 to be substantial as effectively. As a outcome, it is trying to keep the G29 and G920 in its lineup and will provide them at a lessen value than the G923.

At $400, the G923 is on the lower conclude of what is accessible in the racing wheel current market now, but it is nevertheless suitable with a vast range of racing seats and extras (which includes Logitech’s current six-velocity handbook shifter). Several enthusiasts and industry experts have crafted their overall racing simulation rigs around the G29 and G920, and it’s very likely that the G923 will be just as preferred.