This is the Next Car Game Wreckfest development archive: a definitive digital record of Bugbear Entertainment’s 2013 tech demo, released under the working title Next Car Game, through its journey to the demolition-derby racing game that later shipped on every major platform. Every build, every dev-diary entry, every renamed milestone is preserved here in order.
[Explore the Full Timeline]
What Is the Wreckfest Game, and Why Does This Archive Exist?
The Wreckfest Game
Wreckfest demolition derby racing is built on a soft-body damage engine that deforms every car in real time. It began life as a small tech demo called Next Car Game, built by the Helsinki studio Bugbear Entertainment to prove that destructible, physics-driven car damage could run at a playable frame rate. That tech demo is the direct ancestor of the Wreckfest game played today.
Wreckfest’s Demolition Derby History
Most coverage of Wreckfest starts at its Steam release. This archive starts earlier — at the original 2013 reveal, through the 2014 rename from Next Car Game to Wreckfest, through Early Access, to the 1.0 launch. That makes this the definitive record of Wreckfest demolition derby racing’s road from tech demo to full release. It exists because that history was scattered across dead dev-diary URLs that no longer resolved anywhere, and it deserved a single, organized record. The Next Car Game Wreckfest rename itself is documented in full on this archive’s dedicated name-reveal page.
The Reveal
Bugbear unveils the Next Car Game tech demo and its soft-body damage engine. By the time the free demo finished its run, pre-orders had grown from roughly 3,000 to more than 10,000 after clips of the destruction went viral online.
Early Access
Initial builds ship on Steam Early Access just before Christmas 2013; real-time mesh deformation goes public. Build #2 followed in January 2014, reportedly bringing in over $1 million in sales during its first week alone.
Re-Branding
Next Car Game is formally renamed Wreckfest as multiplayer is introduced. The October 2014 Build 6 update paired the new name with 18-player online racing across four modes: Racing, Demolition Derby, Deathmatch, and Team Deathmatch.
v1.0 Release
Wreckfest left Early Access on PC on June 14, 2018, later reaching PlayStation and Xbox as well. THQ Nordic acquired a majority stake in Bugbear Entertainment that same November.
Derby Prototype Environment
Try a small browser-based demolition derby demo, built as a tribute to the original Next Car Game tech demo’s collision logic.
Start Simulation
Wreckfest Archive: Frequently Asked Questions
Is Wreckfest the same game as Next Car Game?
Yes. Next Car Game was the working title Bugbear Entertainment used during the tech-demo and early-development phase. The name change to Wreckfest was formalized in 2014, alongside the introduction of multiplayer — documented on this archive’s name-reveal page. The Wreckfest game available today carries that same lineage forward.
Who developed the Wreckfest demolition derby game?
Wreckfest was developed by Bugbear Entertainment, a Helsinki, Finland studio previously known for the FlatOut series. More on the studio’s history is on the Bugbear Entertainment page.
Where can I buy Wreckfest today?
Wreckfest is available on Steam, PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch. Current editions and pricing are covered on the buy Wreckfest page.
Does Wreckfest support mods and custom tracks?
Yes — Steam Workshop support and track modding arrived in 2016, and both are still part of the game today. The full breakdown is on the Steam Workshop and modding guide.