William Ian Bell, former CEO of Slightly Mad Studios, announced the project in 2022 under the working title GTR Revival, explicitly referencing the well-regarded SimBin titles GTR and GTR 2, in which he had been involved. The project was later renamed GT Revival and then Project Motor Racing in 2024. Bell stated from the outset that the game would be developed with "zero publisher input."
Straight4 Studios assembled a team largely drawn from veterans of SimBin and Slightly Mad Studios. The game uses the Hadron proprietary physics engine running alongside GIANTS Engine 10, the same technology that powers the Farming Simulator series. An early test build previewed by designer Doug Arnao in 2023 used Unreal Engine 5, but the final game did not. Ben Collins, former The Stig on Top Gear and a veteran of the Project CARS series, was engaged as a consultant. Composer Stephen Baysted, who had also worked on Project CARS, was brought on for the music. Straight4 introduced a "Factory Driver Program," an invite-only beta limited to experienced sim racers and professional racing drivers, to gather development feedback.
Some vehicles shown in pre-release preview images, including a selection of Ferrari race cars, did not appear in the finished game.
The game features a detailed career mode allowing players to start with a budget ranging from an amateur beginning in low-cost race cars to a professional driver with immediate access to high-end sports cars, including a historic motorsport option. A sponsorship model rewards or penalises players based on on-track performance. Up to 31 AI opponents can race in single-player and multiplayer, with console versions limited to 15 AI to maintain 1440p at 60 frames per second.
Several circuits and car classes are presented as unlicensed representations of real-world counterparts: Brianza for Monza, Lexington for Mid-Ohio, Northampton for Silverstone, San Marino for Imola, Takimiya for Okayama, and the JP1/JP2 class for Super GT GT500.
The True2Track system, highlighted in pre-release trailers, handles dynamic track surface evolution. Pre-release analysis of the True2Track trailer identified circuits including Imola, Interlagos, Mid-Ohio, and Red Bull Ring that were not yet officially confirmed at the time. The game launched with 18 locations and 28 layouts; Le Mans was confirmed for a later Endurance Racing Expansion targeting Q4 2026.
Project Motor Racing received "mixed or average" reviews according to Metacritic, scoring 64/100 on PC and 58/100 on PlayStation 5. OpenCritic reported only 16% of critics recommended the game. On Steam, player reviews were "very negative." IGN's Luke Reilly described it as "an early access game that hasn't actually been identified as such," citing unfinished AI behaviour, an immature penalty system, inconsistent vehicle physics, and substandard graphical fidelity.
Within two weeks of launch, Straight4 Studios issued a statement acknowledging the game's issues and committed to a roadmap. On 8 December 2025, the studio announced it would reduce its team size, while reiterating commitment to delivering all Year 1 season pass content.
On 25 March 2026, Straight4 released version 2.0 as a "soft relaunch," featuring an overhauled user interface, tyre model updates, graphical enhancements, bug fixes, and a preview of JGTC and Super GT DLC. The JGTC/Super GT DLC had been temporarily delisted following Straight4 losing the rights to use the "GT500" name.
On 18 May 2026, Aristotelis Vasilakos — formerly a physics developer at Kunos Simulazioni, the studio behind the Assetto Corsa series — joined as Chief Creative Officer.