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Racing fans that haven't heard of Project Cars before will certainly remember the game after. Slightly Mad Studios' crowdfunded driving title has slowly been building a following over the last few years, and today it secured a distribution deal with Bandai Namco. The game still doesn't have a release date, but Project Cars will hit Xbox One, PS4, and PC at some point in the future.

As we mentioned, Project Cars found early success thanks to a crowdfunding platform, raising some $5 million over the past three years. What's unique about Project Cars' development, however, is that the folks at Slightly Mad decided to forgo Kickstarter in favor of their own crowdfunding system.

Because of that alternative approach to funding, the Project Cars developers have been able to work more closely with backers, building features specifically for racing fans. And now that dedication has paid off, with Bandai Namco footing the bill for distribution.

Although there are still a lot of questions surrounding Project Cars, one thing is pretty clear: this is the type of racing game fans dream of - like Gran Turismo on speed. From realistic physics and vehicle defamation/destruction to incredible visuals, Project Cars seems to be going for broke as far as the genre is concerned with a massive selection of cars and tracks. Even a cursory glance of the trailer above shows that Slightly Mad more than lives up to their name, as this game is not only ambitious, it's gorgeous.

Bandai Namco Will Release Project Cars

As far as the game's approach, Project Cars is shooting for a "sandbox" model when it comes to driving. That means players can have their pick of the litter when it comes to races. There are options for off-road races, racing events that span multiple days, and even community events with real-world prizes. We suspect Slightly Mad will have more to say about those and all of Project Cars' new features as they near release.

In addition to Bandai Namco's distribution deal, the press release also confirms that Project Cars is planning to support Oculus Rift and Project Morpheus, two of the leading, in-development VR headsets. Obviously, when it comes to racing games players want an awesome cockpit view option, and something like Oculus or Morpheus will give them that.

We'll admit that Project Cars slipped under our radar for a while, but this deal with Bandai Namco should help increase the profile of Slightly Mad Studios' racing game. And it's a good thing too because this is a game worth keeping an eye on.

What do you think of Project Cars? What features/race options do you hope the game includes?

Project Cars will release for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

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Follow Anthony on Twitter @ANTaormina