Footage of Ridge Racer 8 for Nintendo Switch has finally been leaked.

      Nenkai via YouTube

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      I believe that one day we will see a new Ridge Racer game. Gaming franchises seldom remain inactive indefinitely, even those that are niche. Unfortunately, that day is not today, as new footage has surfaced of a Ridge Racer title that was allegedly in development for the Nintendo Switch back in 2017. This footage indicates that Bandai Namco has made attempts to revive the beloved arcade racing series in recent years, but it has yet to come to fruition.

      On Sunday, a thread in the Gaming Leaks and Rumors subreddit featured this prototype Ridge Racer build among a collection of unreleased software that was reportedly extracted from a development kit—hardware utilized by developers to create games. Since then, various clips of the gameplay have been shared online from multiple sources, including X user Jesse Young and Nenkai on YouTube. The latter video, embedded below, showcases everything from the game’s interface to race replays.

      Certain elements of this build, such as the menus, appear quite polished, and the game largely features content from the last primary installment in the series released for the PS Vita. Players familiar with that 2011 title will recognize the cars and tracks. There is a customization feature, although it is limited to performance upgrades that don’t alter appearance and the option to repaint vehicles. The Grand Prix campaign consists of a brief series of individual races, similar to Ridge Racers on the PSP.

      However, once the race begins, it becomes evident that Bandai Namco Singapore, the team reportedly in charge of this canceled project, still had considerable work ahead. Every Ridge Racer has an announcer, but the placeholder voice here resembles a female version of Microsoft Sam, blends poorly into the audio, and continues to chatter throughout the three laps. The collision mechanics are clearly problematic, with the player’s car bouncing erratically while drifting and navigating inclines. The audio is delayed and sounds tinny, the lighting has issues, and environmental objects disappear and reappear unexpectedly. It’s quite chaotic.

      Rumors about this game began circulating around seven years ago when a designer from Bandai Namco Singapore who worked on "Ridge Racer 8" included it in their resume. This aligned with reports indicating that the same studio was involved with Metroid Prime 4; it has since become known that Namco’s version of that game was canceled, and development was restarted with Retro Studios. Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is now slated for release on Switch and Switch 2 later this year.

      This peculiar version of Ridge Racer, however, did not enjoy the same fortune. Personally, I heard a rumor years ago (from a source that will remain unnamed) that Bandai Namco was developing a new Ridge Racer using Unreal Engine 5, aimed at the PlayStation 5’s launch in 2020. That didn’t come to pass either, but considering this Switch version was reportedly developed in Unreal Engine 4, perhaps that work was adapted for next-gen hardware at some point before it was ultimately scrapped again. Without more insight from someone involved, we can’t be certain.

      What is clear is that Namco's classic arcade racer nearly made a comeback on Nintendo's outgoing console, and the results seem, well, unusual. Although it's challenging to make definitive statements about pre-release footage of any game, the car movements and the loose chase-view camera feel very uncharacteristic of Ridge Racer. The gameplay does not appear to be a true evolution for the franchise but rather an attempt to recreate the dynamics of every Ridge Racer game from the PSP era using a newer engine. It resembles an interpretation of the past using modern tools.

      Nenkai via YouTube

      However, this is merely a superficial observation; who knows what this project could have evolved into? As a long-time fan, all I can express is my hope that when Ridge Racer eventually returns, it does so with genuine purpose and an understanding of what originally made the series exceptional, rather than simply rehashing familiar elements. The exquisite artistic vision and world-building of R4 and Rage Racer come to mind, along with the meticulously crafted physics of Ridge Racer V. Ridge Racer deserves to make a comeback when it is truly ready, and not a moment sooner.

      Do you have any insights on what happened to this canceled Ridge Racer game? Feel free to reach out to me at [email protected]