TrackMania2 Canyon, the sequel to the racing game TrackMania, will be available as a closed beta beginning in July, also marking the beginning of ManiaPlanet, a new networked gaming system for PCs that provides easy-to-use tools for community-based game creation and participation.

After Nadeo released TrackMania in 2003, the game and its extensions grew to become an online phenomenon, attracting more than nine million players who in turn created hundreds of thousands of customized racetracks, thousands of videos, and hundreds of 3D car models. Nadeo has improved upon that foundation with TrackMania2 Canyon, delivering tremendous advances in graphic quality, racing realism and network infrastructure while maintaining the intuitive gameplay, captivating racing modes and familiar community tools that make the TrackMania series unique.

TrackMania² Canyon will be the first game released on ManiaPlanet, a system offering customers an unparalleled networked gaming experience. ManiaPlanet includes the creative instruments already familiar to the TrackMania community – such as the map editor, the players’ creations explorer and the ranking and match-making systems – and extends them into other popular gaming genres, including the first-person shooter and the role-playing game. As part of ManiaPlanet, these tools also will become more interactive and easier to access, resulting in greater game depth and diversity for players.

Nadeo issued the following statement:

We’ve never been that close to the launch and it is time for us to go even faster : may the red booster be with us!

That’s the reason why we’re offering from August 17 onwards, until the launch of the game, the multiplayer beta to each one of you buying TrackMania² Canyon.

It is a turning checkpoint for Ubisoft Nadeo as we will be opening doors to all of the players willing to jump into the 1st ManiaPlanet online title right away.

For $24,99 / £19,99, you will be able to buy the game before the launch and install the multiplayer beta, which includes the map editor and the mediatracker (for videos editing).