''FlatOut'' is a series of

action Action may refer to: * Action (philosophy), something which is done by a person * Action principles the heart of fundamental physics * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video gam ...

demolition derby Demolition derby is a type of motorsport, usually presented at county fairs and national events. While rules vary from event to event, the typical demolition derby event consists of five or more drivers competing by deliberately ramming their v ...

racing In sports, racing is a competition of speed, in which competitors try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time. Typically this involves traversing some distance, but it can be any other task involving speed to reach a specific g ...

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

s created by Finnish independent

video game developer A video game developer is a software developer specializing in video game development – the process and related disciplines of creating video games. A game developer can range from one person who undertakes all tasks to a large business with em ...

Bugbear Entertainment Bugbear Entertainment Oy is a Finnish video game developer based in Helsinki, founded by Janne Alanenpää in 2000. The company is best known for the '' FlatOut'' series and '' Wreckfest''. In November 2018, a majority stake of the company was ...

. The ''FlatOut'' series has sold a total of almost 3 million units worldwide. After Bugbear developed ''FlatOut: Head On'', Dutch

Team6 Game Studios developed the next three games in the series, which are the Windows-exclusive ''FlatOut 3'' and two spin-offs on

Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America, and in December 2006 for most other regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major home game console, f ...

and Android.

Kylotonn Kylotonn SARL is a French video game development studio founded in 2006 in Paris. They are best known for their racing games, and were the official developer of the ''World Rally Championship'' video game series from 2015 to 2023. History 4X ...

developed the series' fourth installment, '' FlatOut 4: Total Insanity'', which was released on March 17, 2017 for

PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013, in ...

and

Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was first released in North America, parts of Europe, Austra ...

in Europe and May 2 in the United States. In 2024, Flat2VR Studios announced a remake of FlatOut (2004) for

Meta Quest The Meta Quest, initially the Oculus Quest until August 2022, is a line of virtual reality headsets with augmented reality capabilities developed by Reality Labs, a division of Meta. The first-generation Oculus Quest was developed by Oculus (the ...

, PSVR2, and

SteamVR Steam is a digital distribution service and storefront developed by Valve Corporation, Valve. It was launched as a software client in September 2003 to provide video game updates automatically for Valve's games and expanded to distributing thir ...

. The series has received both critical acclaim during Bugbear's development and notable negative reception after the bankruptcy of Empire Interactive and ownership change to Team6 with most notably '' FlatOut 3: Chaos & Destruction'' being considered one of the worst video games of all time and '' FlatOut 2'' being considered the best in the series. It was called a welcome addendum to the derby-racing genre at first but eventually died out due to a lack of critical reception alongside constant developer and publisher changes. Original developer Bugbear have since released ''

Wreckfest ''Wreckfest'' is a racing video game developed by Bugbear Entertainment and published by THQ Nordic. ''Wreckfest'' is described as the spiritual successor to the ''FlatOut (series), FlatOut'' series, which was created by Bugbear, and takes furth ...

'' (2017), which is considered a spiritual successor to the FlatOut series.

Games

''FlatOuts'' gameplay style remained mostly consistent over the years, so much so that it was criticized for being stagnant and repetitive. The first game featured standard lap races and destruction derby competitions against 7 computer-controlled opponents in either open environments or stadium laps. It was notable for featuring excessive car damage, silly physics and fun gameplay and '' FlatOut 2'' was praised for evolving the gameplay of the first game and having better races, vehicles, graphics and controls. It received an enhanced version on

Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the Xbox (console), original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was officially unveiled on MTV on May 12, 2005, with detail ...

called ''FlatOut: Ultimate Carnage'', which also received a port to the

PlayStation Portable The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PA ...

called ''FlatOut: Head On''. After '' FlatOut 2'', the developers behind the series,

, left the series and Dutch Team6 Game Studios took over the franchise for the next three entries and

developed '' FlatOut 4: Total Insanity'', the latest game in the series. However, future games didn't exceed '' FlatOut 2''s critical reception, with '' FlatOut 3: Chaos & Destruction'' being considered one of the worst games ever made, ''FlatOut'' for the

being considered "awful" by ''

Nintendo Gamer ''Nintendo Gamer'' was a magazine published in the United Kingdom which mainly covered Nintendo video game consoles and software. It was the successor publication to ''N64 Magazine'', later renamed NGC Magazine (1997–2006), and ''Super Play'' ...

'' and '' FlatOut 4: Total Insanity'' receiving middling reviews. An

iOS Ios, Io or Nio (, ; ; locally Nios, Νιός) is a Greek island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. Ios is a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides. It is situated halfway between Naxos and Santorini. It is about long an ...

rag doll A rag doll is a doll made from scraps of fabric. They are one of the oldest children's toys in existence. Today, many rag dolls are commercially produced to mimic aspects of the original home-made dolls, such as simple features, soft cloth bodies, ...

spin-off titled ''FlatOut Stuntman'' was developed and published by Team6 Game Studios in 2013.

References

{{FlatOut series Nacon franchises Video game franchises introduced in 2005