Hello, fellow bikers, this is Paolo Bertoni, Game Director of Ride 6. As we rev things up ahead of the game’s release on PS5, planned for February 12, 2026, I’d like to take you behind the scenes to explore the brand-new career mode we’ve been crafting, and share how it brings our vision to life.
The goal of a project like Ride is to immerse virtual riders in the same thrills that every real biker seeks when they open the garage door and hop on their bike. So we asked ourselves: what fuels that passion? It wasn’t hard to figure out, considering that for much of our team, motorcycles aren’t just a job, they’re a way of life. Over the years, the Ride franchise has built a huge roster of bikes and tracks to give players as many choices as possible. With Ride 6, we wanted to go further. We wanted to capture the very essence of being a biker, an experience we called Ride Fest.
Ride Fest is much more than a career; it’s a motorcycle festival that plunges players into the love of riding, freedom, and the sense of camaraderie that defines the biker spirit. It replaces the traditional championship format with a more open approach, offering a horizontal progression system based on chapters. You will get to choose which events to tackle, from single races and endurance challenges to championships and time attacks, all organized into themed areas based on criteria such as bike category, manufacturer, circuit type, weather conditions, or legendary champions.
Yes, you read that right! For the first time in the franchise’s history, Ride 6 will feature real-world riders. We’ve collaborated with 10 two-wheels legends who will put your skills to the test in their own area of expertise. For instance, Niccolò Canepa, Peter Hickman, and Ian Hutchinson will challenge your endurance and precision, while Tyler O’Hara will bring his unmatched experience on Baggers to the track, turning every lap into a display of power and control. Road races, instead, are the natural habitat of Guy Martin, while Thomas Chareyre and Skyler Howes embody the raw spirit of Motard and Off-Road racing. Facing these legends will allow you to unlock exclusive rewards, including their signature bikes and equipment, but first, you’ll need to build your reputation within the festival.
This is the key concept of the Ride Fest: proving yourself among the greatest riders in history. To do so, you’ll need to accumulate enough Fame Points along your journey, gradually expanding the career map and unlocking new events, including dedicated boss battles where you can take on each legend across a variety of challenges.
To give everyone the chance to perform at their best in every type of race, we’ve also decided to introduce a new dual-physics system. Depending on your level of expertise, you can choose between the Pro and Arcade experiences, freely switching between the two based on the event in order to tailor the gameplay to your preferred level of realism or fun, while always enjoying Ride’s signature simulation core. This will be especially useful for mastering the Maxi Enduro and Bagger, the two new bike categories introduced in this chapter, which, together with the new off-road tracks, will bring fresh dimensions to the riding experience.
Finally, when in need of a break from the competition, you can head to the Ride Fest Paddock, the hub where all in-game activities come together. Here, you can relax with the other riders, upgrade your bikes with the help of your mechanic crew, visit the shop, and customize your look using the bike, helmet, and racing suit editors. Throughout your journey, the official Ride Fest DJ will immerse you even more in the festival atmosphere, introducing each chapter through dedicated cutscenes.
Thanks for your time, I hope you enjoyed reading this! And don’t forget to mark your calendar, as Ride 6 will be available on PlayStation 5 on February 12, 2026, with Early Access available from February 9, 2026.