The Superbike World Championship, also known as SBK, is the international racing series that features real motorbikes available in showrooms for Joe Public to buy. It’s this relevance to the everyday biker that has catapulted SBK’s popularity in the UK and other countries around the world since it began in 1988.

Motorbike racing as a videogame offers a radically different and spine-tingling challenge for players compared to car racing games. Remove the sure footing of four wheels, introduce sub-two-second 0-60 acceleration, tarmac flying past you at 180MPH, and you’ve got a taste of what’s in store.

SBK X will be shipping in America with the Legends Pack DLC on disc for console versions.

The Legends Pack brings the biggest names in Superbike racing back onto the track! Players can destroy the competition as “King” Carl Fogarty on his beast of a Ducati 996, or take control of Ben Spies’ devastating Yamaha R1. With 16 legendary racers to choose from, players will be able to take the competition of the present and face off against the masters of the past! No matter who they choose, they’ll ride the track as a Legend.

“We feel that bringing these luminaries of the circuit as playable characters to SBK X is a real honor,” said Geoff Mulligan, Chief Operating Officer at Deep Silver, while strapping on his racing helmet. “While fans of the Superbike World Championship will enjoy the robust selection of current competitors to race as or against, having the men who truly left their mark on the sport represented will really excite them. Who wouldn’t want to race as their favorite competitor, whether they’re currently racing or not? With the Legends DLC pack built into the console versions, gamers will be able to do just that.”

A ‘Legendary Roster’ function, graphic enhancements, career mode, new online features, arcade and simulation modes are amongst the improvements that make this version of SBK X a must-have for every bike enthusiast and petrol-head gamer.

The challenge for the developer has always been to digitally recreate what are essentially two purely analogue machines working in perfect unison: the rider and the bike. For example, the rider’s position affects cornering, acceleration and braking, whilst the bike’s weight has to be shifted and power carefully applied at the rear wheel to deliver the blistering speeds these bikes are capable of on the tracks.

Most importantly, Milestone have worked all this control into a simple and accessible arcade mode, making it possible for anyone to pick up and play, but with enough depth and detail to satisfy committed petrol heads and bike tuners thanks to the full simulation mode.

SBK X features 1000cc and 600cc machines from Aprilia, BMW, Ducati, Honda, Kawasaki, KTM, MV Agusta, Suzuki, Triumph, and Yamaha with the 14-track racing roster, which includes Germany’s notorious Nürburgring.