The first full release of JDM: Japanese Drift Master has launched on Steam
a few days ago, and has been met with positive reception so far.
In addition to listening to community feedback, the developers also put out a roadmap for post-launch updates over the coming months:
- Phase 1 of the roadmap plans to address the car setup system, as well as adding quick-tune car presets for grip and drifting, along with deep rims & tires customization.
- Phase 2 has plans for expanding the driving school and an extension of the career mode, in addition to adding a photo mode and a livery editor for custom vinyls and stickers on cars.
- Phase 3 plans to add a split-screen multiplayer mode, arena rally events, and new special events with manga chapters (which is how the game tells its story).
The developers are also going to add new cars and tuning parts with each roadmap phase. More variety is always welcome, as the game currently has 30 drivable cars, which is kind of a small number compared to other racing games, but it's otherwise impressive for an indie racing game, considering a majority of them are licensed Japanese cars (and there will be more to come in the near future).
By the way, yes, the game does have a dedicated Eurobeat radio station.
Edited by IvanovTroping97 on Aug 1st 2025 at 4:07:03 PM

A discussion thread for the upcoming racing game JDM: Japanese Drift Master. It's an open-world racing game set in Japan, more specifically the Japanese countryside, on touge roads, and it's been in development for quite some time now by Gaming Factory and 4Divinity. Now, open-world racing games taking place in urban environments or exotic locales are dime a dozen these days, but I feel that Japan has been a bit underutilized in that genre. For now, at least, JDM: Japanese Drift Master seems to be the closest thing we'll be getting to a Forza Horizon or Need for Speed game set in Japan.
Recently, a playable demo was released on PC storefronts like Steam and GOG, called JDM: Rise of the Scorpion, which gives us a taste of the map and some of the event types. It also serves as a prologue to the game, going into the backstory of Hatori Hasashi, one of the five main antagonists to be featured in the final game. I personally thought the demo was pretty neat, and I can't wait for the full release.