Gamescom is drawing to a close this year, but it still brought its share of news for the gaming industry. Naturally, the various development studios and video game publishers were out in force to present their forthcoming titles. As far as we’re concerned, the most interesting were the sim-racing booths, including Thrustmaster.

This French company has been present in the sim-racing segment for many years, with products that are mainly aimed at Sunday drivers. Except that targeting just one market isn’t really viable, at least not financially. That is, unless you dominate that market, but that’s not the point. And this year, Thrustmaster intends to expand its range, notably with 2 new products under the slogan DRIVE INTO THE NEW ERA.

Thrustmaster’s new products at Gamescom 2024

An upgradeable crankset

This pedalboard, called the Raceline Pedals LTE, is brand-new from Thrustmaster, and aims to fill a gap currently found in the French brand’s range. The principle is as follows: the Raceline Pedals LTE comes in a standard configuration with 2 pedals, a metal structure, a spring resistance system and various settings, all compatible with current platforms and chassis.

In short, it’s basic. However, according to Thrustmaster, this pedalboard is evolutionary, and thanks to various kits, you’ll be able to upgrade it. For 2025, the brand is planning a Load Cell kit, with others to follow.

The resistance system is provided by springs and Hall sensors. Everything is adjustable on the Raceline Pedals LTE, such as pedal spacing, spring resistance and so on. In terms of feel, it’s really quite good, much better than a T3PA. As for price, we don’t yet have any precise details, nor do we know when it will be available.

A new entry-level DD base

Here’s a big surprise, and above all, a big mystery. I had the opportunity to do a few laps on a new base developed by Thrustmaster for the entry-level DD range. Unfortunately, the base was well hidden, but we did some laps with it on GT7 and ACC, on PS5 and PC respectively.

Feel-wise, it’s excellent, with crisp, precise detail sent to the driveshaft. Between vibrators, road imperfections, gravel and shocks, I was really surprised by this Direct Drive base from Thrustmaster. If you’ve ever driven a T-GT, the new base is really, truly better in every way.

As far as the technical specifications are concerned, nothing has been released by Thrustmaster, and neither has the price or availability. But my guess is that it will be launched either at the end of 2024, or at the beginning of 2025. I only hope that the price will be aggressive in order to give the king of the sim-racing market on consoles a bit of a battering: Fanatec.