This is the first time BMW has revealed a car through a videogame partnership, unveiling the new M5 at gamescom, Europe’s biggest trade fair for interactive games and entertainment.
Need for Speed Payback players will be among the first to experience the new M xDrive all-wheel drive as they tear through the city streets and diverse landscape of Fortune Valley this fall.
The M5 takes the BMW M-series into new territory, with 600hp and peak torque of 750Nm.
“While the M5 won’t be officially released until next spring, Need for Speed players can drive it first and exclusively in Need for Speed Payback," said BMW M Division president Frank van Meel.
BMW senior vice president for branding Hildegard Wortmann said: “With this cooperation, BMW can reach out to a new audience that is truly digital."
“The new BMW M5 is a stunning car,” said Ghost Games executive producer Marcus Nilsson. “With immense horsepower and torque combined with gorgeous design, our players are going to love getting behind the wheel of the new M5. Whether it’s pulling off intense heist missions, or outrunning cops in epic pursuits or just cruising the open world, this car embodies performance, speed and desire, making it one of the pinnacle rides in Need for Speed Payback.”
This is not the first time BMW has worked with the Need for Speed game series. The M5 was part of the first Need for Speed and since then the game franchise has added the M3 in 2005’s Need for Speed Most Wanted, the M3 GTR in Need for Speed Shift in 2009, and other models such as the M2, M4 and M6.
Need for Speed is one of the world’s bestselling video game franchises.
The latest instalment will be available worldwide on Nov 10 for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Origin for PC.
