Ever since Umamusume: Pretty Derby took the world by storm when it released globally last year, the series has received no shortage of updates, adaptations, and spin-offs, offering countless hours’ worth of content for players to enjoy. It’s hard to imagine a new game being able to usurp Umamusume‘s unprecedented success, but there have already been several attempts at recreating the popular experience.
Although most of these imitators have been limited to smaller-scale parody games or simply taking inspiration from Umamusume‘s initial concept, one upcoming game that got leaked ahead of schedule seems like the next best thing to an official sequel we could ask for.
While it’s still in the early stage of development, the upcoming game was revealed under the name Codename: GT, as noted by Dexerto on X. This gacha title coming from Chinese developers Siphon Studios should offer a similar Umamusume-style racing experience, but it uses characters based on real-world vehicles rather than famous racehorses.
While initial sources have credited the game being made from a Kickstarter using the title Project GT, it turned out to be a fake posting that was using leaked content from the project’s development stage to steal money from unsuspecting players. Thankfully, while the Kickstarter being a scam was more than a little disappointing, the gameplay and concept art shown are 100% real, as Codename: GT is still in development by an even larger studio.
Siphon Studios is currently pursuing legal action against the fake Kickstarter campaign, but promises that more updates regarding the development of Codename: GT are still on the way soon.
Although there isn’t an anticipated release date yet for Codename: GT, which will be released overseas, let alone be made available for global players, the gameplay and concepts we’ve seen so far already look like they’re off to an incredibly promising start.
The more involved racing mechanics of Codename: GT seem to provide far more control compared to Umamusume‘s princess-builder style gameplay. Each track plays out like a mix between both an action and a racing game in one, with a mix of unique abilities and course hazards to worry about as you speed to the finish.
While the trailer only showed a few playable characters so far that seemingly let you customize their color, some of the vehicles included in the concept art range from a BMW 2002, EMIRA GT4, 190E AMG DTM, E30MT DTM, and a Mercedes E-180. There should be plenty of classic vehicles for car fanatics to enjoy, with a practically infinite amount of potential vehicles or collaborations to add after release.
Similar to Umamusume, the content offered by Codename: GT is wrapped up in a story that integrates the humanized vehicle concept as a living part of the world, rather than just having it as a standalone gameplay experience.
Offering fast-paced gameplay mechanics, Codename: GT will let you swap between characters similar to games like Genshin for different combinations of combat and movement abilities to gain an edge against your opponents. While it will likely be some time before Siphon Studios is ready to reveal more about Codename: GT, it’s well worth keeping an eye out for whether you’re a fan of Umamusume: Pretty Derby or interesting gacha games in general.
- Released
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June 26, 2025
- ESRB
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E For Everyone
- Developer(s)
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Cygames
- Publisher(s)
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Cygames, Kakao Games, BiliBili
- Engine
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Unity