BeamNG.drive is now available on PS5, bringing its soft-body vehicle physics sandbox to console with local split-screen for up to four players. The October 19 launch costs $24.99 in the US and coincides with version 0.40 on PC.
The reception has been strong: the US PlayStation Store showed an average of 4.87 out of five from 7,580 player ratings when checked on October 20. The console release is in Early Access, so this is still a game under active development, not a finished 1.0 release.
Sharing the sandbox on PS5
BeamNG's version 0.40 announcement details two ways to play split-screen: explore together in Freeroam or choose a competitive mode. Those modes include races, police pursuits, demolition derbies, drifting, rock crawling and car soccer, alongside drag racing.
Players can also leave their vehicles and ride as passengers in someone else's. The update adds physical occupants whose weight affects vehicle handling and who react to the same physics as the cars.
BeamNG.drive simulates individual vehicle components and damage, with customizable cars and trucks to test across at least 12 open-world environments listed on the PlayStation Store. Racing is only part of it: delivery scenarios, time trials and experimenting with crashes sit alongside free exploration.
Newcomers get a replacement onboarding tutorial called First Drive, covering recovery, driving assists, vehicle spawning and customization. A redesigned main menu gives Freeroam and Split-Screen their own large tiles. BeamNG also confirms force-feedback support for several PS5 wheels, including the Logitech G29 and G923, Thrustmaster T300 RS and Fanatec Gran Turismo DD Pro; untested wheels may not work correctly.
No mods or VR at launch
The PS5 release does not include everything available on PC. In its September release-date announcement, BeamNG said mods and VR would not be supported at launch. The studio aims for feature parity where possible over the longer term, but has not confirmed the timing or scope.
PC players receive split-screen through update 0.40 too, with support for up to 64 local players if their hardware can handle it. The PC update also adds DLSS, FSR and XeSS upscaling options and a native Windows on Arm build. The latter does not include the Steam SDK or Steam overlay.