Gaming Factory / Steam News

JDM: Japanese Drift Master adds multiplayer events on July 29

Steam News says PC players will get race events, 1v1 challenges, Ghost Mode in open lobbies, and a campaign expansion in the same update cycle.

Omar Al-Sabah

Straight wire

Official news External News Straight wire

JDM: Japanese Drift Master is set to add multiplayer events on July 29, according to an official Steam News post from Gaming Factory.

The update is confirmed for PC platforms first, with Steam, GOG, and Epic Store supported through active cross-platform multiplayer. Console players will have to wait a few more weeks while the developer continues testing and polishing the experience for PlayStation and Xbox.

For racers, streamers, and event organizers, the patch matters because it adds structured lobby-based races, 1 vs. 1 challenge routes, and session tools that can make organized competition easier to stage.

What the official Steam update confirms

In a Steam News post titled “Multiplayer Events are coming to Steam on July 29!”, Gaming Factory says the update will go live on July 29 for PC platforms. The post lists the release times as 10:00 AM PDT, 01:00 PM EDT, 17:00 UTC, 19:00 CEST, 01:00 CST on July 30, and 02:00 JST on July 30.

The developer says multiplayer events will be available on Steam, GOG, and Epic Store, with active cross-platform multiplayer between those PC storefronts. The same post says the console version is still being polished and tested, and will arrive “a few more weeks” later on PlayStation and Xbox.

Because this is an official update notice rather than a preview or rumor, the confirmed scope is limited to what the studio has publicly outlined: release timing, supported PC platforms, event types, and a separate console timeline.

15 tracks, two race formats, and open-world access

For the patch, Gaming Factory says it has prepared 15 tracks divided into races for up to 8 players in a lobby and separate 1 vs. 1 challenges. The post names several 8-player race routes, including Ebigo West Drift, Haikama Drift, Haikama Lake Drift, Ishihara Drift, Haikama Grip, Highway Grip, Hokkaido Grip, and Tsukuba Grip.

The Steam News post says these races use routes set on instanced parts of the open world as well as race tracks. The event types are split into drift racing and grip racing. In the developer’s description, drift races are won by the player with the most drift points after crossing the finish line, while grip races follow the traditional first-across-the-line format.

The studio also says the events will be visible on the open world map during a multiplayer session. Players can drive to the marker and interact with it to start the event. From there, they can choose to play solo or send an invite to everyone in the current session. Other players may join or decline, and those who accept will be grouped into a separate session for the race.

1 vs. 1 challenges add another layer for competition

The update also includes 1 vs. 1 challenge tracks: Tofuna Downhill VS Drift, Tofuna Uphill VS Drift, Ebigo West VS Drift, Enna Skyline Downhill VS Drift, Enna Skyline Uphill VS Drift, Enna Skyline Downhill VS Grip, and Enna Skyline Uphill VS Grip.

According to the post, a player must be in the same multiplayer session and driving in the open world to challenge another driver. When the cars are close, the game will let the player inspect the other driver’s stats and initiate a challenge through a pop-up screen. A map of Guntama then appears with 1 vs. 1 challenge tracks visible. Selecting an event sends an invite to the other player, and if they confirm, both are moved to a separate session and the race begins.

That structure is especially relevant for players who want direct head-to-head competition, and it may also matter for community organizers who want a clean way to stage quick matchups without leaving the open-world session flow. That is an inference from the mode design, not a claim about any tournament system built into the game.

Ghost Mode changes open lobbies

Another confirmed gameplay change affects multiplayer behavior in the open world. Beginning with this update, all open lobby multiplayer sessions will have Ghost Mode active, which disables car-to-car collisions.

Private multiplayer sessions will still let players choose whether Ghost Mode is enabled or disabled during lobby setup.

For racers and streamers, that means public sessions should be less prone to collision-related interruptions, while private groups retain control over whether contact is allowed. The official post does not claim this is intended for esports or ranked play, but it clearly gives hosts more predictable session rules.

Campaign expansion and bug fixes arrive with the patch

The Steam News post says the same update will also include a single-story campaign expansion with 8 new events and a unique car as a reward for completing it. Gaming Factory points readers to a previous devlog for more details, but the Steam post itself does not list the events or the reward car by name.

Bug fixes and adjustments for some long-requested changes are also part of the patch. The developer says a full patch notes list will be available on the update day. The campaign expansion and bug fixing will roll out for all platforms, including consoles.

Taken together, the update is broader than a multiplayer add-on. It brings new race content, a single-player reward path, and system changes that will affect both public and private online sessions.

Why the update matters

For players, the main value is straightforward: more structured online competition. The mix of 8-player races, 1 vs. 1 challenges, and session-based event invites gives JDM: Japanese Drift Master a more formal multiplayer loop than a simple free-drive gathering.

For streamers, the official map-based event flow and separate race sessions could make it easier to organize viewer races or host challenge segments on camera. For tournament organizers and community leaders, the confirmed lobby tools, visible markers, and Ghost Mode options offer a clearer framework for staging organized runs, even though the developer has not announced any official competitive circuit.

The broader takeaway from the Steam announcement is that JDM: Japanese Drift Master is moving from a single-player and content-update rhythm into a more social multiplayer phase on PC. The console release remains pending, but the PC patch is already locked to a specific date and contains enough structure to support community events from day one.

Newsroom

Source: Gaming Factory’s official Steam News post for JDM: Japanese Drift Master. The studio says full patch notes will be published on the update day.

Byline

Omar Al-Sabah

Straight wire

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