JDM: Japanese Drift Master News

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[/p][p]November will be busy! We’re entering the month with some major updates to the game, so, without further ado, let us go through the highlights of upcoming changes and additions. [/p][p][/p][h2]JDM: MADE IN USA DLC[/h2][hr][/hr][p][/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p][/p][p]You’ve been asking for some diversity in terms of cars and we decided to deliver. The first ever DLC is coming to JDM November 6th (in just two days!). Six unlicensed cars, providing raw drifting power and a completely new, unique style to Guntama, for only 5,99 USD.[/p][p][/p][h3]Ironvale Thunderbolt T40[/h3][p][/p][h3]Ironvale Stallion ‘69[/h3][p][/p][h3]Taipan[/h3][p][/p][h3]Delray Vanquisher TR[/h3][p][/p][h3]Delray Venom[/h3][p][/p][h3]Falcon HellFeather[/h3][p][/p][p]The DLC will also launch with new, unique car parts for the above vehicles.[/p][p][/p][p]Buying the DLC will unlock the new cars at the Car Dealer. You will need to buy them in-game like any other model. Before you raise your hands and ask the obvious question here - we did not want to abuse the beginning of the game by giving an ‘unfair’ advantage and providing the DLC cars straight to your garage. Remember that you can always take the car for a test drive first before you grab it from the Dealer. 
[/p][p]Side note - we know you’re asking for new JDM cars as well; We are at it! 
[/p][h2]November Update Sneak Peek[/h2][hr][/hr][p][/p][p]First and foremost, thank you for participating in our small beta branch experiment.Your support is very much appreciated. Time and time again you prove you’re the best community we could’ve wished for. You’ve launched the game, you’ve played through the new features and you’ve provided feedback. We’ve heard you loud and clear - the paint shop update still needs more love and polishing and as such will remain in development for a little  longer. The goal is to bring it to you as soon as possible with your feedback and requests added to its scope. Once we have it nailed down, we’ll let you know about when we expect it to launch for all players. [/p][p][/p][p]So what will the new update bring?[/p][p][/p][p]Shortened loading screens / soft event restarts[/p][p]The other feature from the beta testing proved to be ready and as such will go live with the next update.[/p][p]We’ve drastically shortened the loading times needed to restart an event. [/p][p][/p][p]The first time you launch an event it will still need the time to load it all up to your memory before it’s playable but after that each restart will literally take only a couple of seconds to reboot it. [/p][p][/p][p]New Villain Side Story[/p][p]It’s time for the Honey Badger! You can learn all about his past by playing a new side mission campaign, complete with new manga pages. It spans over 6 events, consisting of time attack challenges and one drag race tournament. Completing it will reward you with Honey Badger's own, heavily tuned car. [/p][p]As always, you will find the new side mission marker in the open world. Completing the first event will unlock the next one, and so forth until you complete them all. [/p][p][/p][p]We’re planning to release the patch alongside the DLC on November 6th. Expect a full patch notes list that day as well. [/p][p][/p][h2]JDM Coming to Consoles[/h2][hr][/hr][p][/p][p]If you’ve somehow missed the news earlier - JDM: Japanese Drift Master is coming to Xbox Series X|S on November 21. We will be opening pre-orders on November 14. If you decide to support us early on Xbox, you will receive an exclusive reward - the Akina Phantom -  an unlicensed car, which should be more than familiar to fans of a certain manga / anime. [/p][p]
The PlayStation 5 version of JDM is scheduled to release in Q1 2026.[/p][p][/p][hr][/hr][p][/p][p]Aaaand that’s a wrap for today’s devlog. To sum it up:[/p][p][/p]

• [p]November 6th - JDM: MADE IN USA DLC launches[/p]
• [p]November 6th  - JDM update, featuring the shortened loading times and the new Honey Badger side story campaign.[/p]
• [p]November 14 - Pre-Orders start for the Xbox version of the game.[/p]
• [p]November 21 - JDM launches on Xbox[/p]
• [p]Q1 2026 - PlayStation 5 launch. [/p]

[p][/p][p]Mark your calendars![/p][p][/p][p]If you want to discuss the news or just talk about JDM (game), JDM (cars) and everything in-between, you can find us on our Discord server.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Let’s Drift[/p][p]The Gaming Factory Team[/p]

[p][/p][p][/p][p]It’s finally time to unpack the entirety of the surprise we have promised you. When the game updates for you today you will receive access to a whole new four-mission long Side Story, featuring Hyundai Motor’s Concept Car - the INSTEROID.[/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p]The first mission unlocks after completing Mission 06 from Chapter 01 in the Main Story Campaign. The last challenge of this side story will become available after the ending of Chapter 04. Touge downhills, a time attack and a drag race against other Hyundai cars - the INSTER and the IONIQ 5 - are the events to beat while driving the Electric INSTEROID. Beating the challenges will of course reward you with the Concept Car for your garage. [/p][p][/p][p]As always, to access the Side Mission content you will need to drive to the event’s Point of Interest on the map and interact with it.[/p][p][/p][h3]The INSTEROID[/h3][hr][/hr][p][/p][p]We’ve already said a few words about the new car but let us unpack this fearless drifter further. [/p][p][/p][p]INSTEROID is an electric Concept Car from Hyundai Motor, which truly blends the two cultures of modern gaming and motorsports - pixel aesthetics, animated plates (both inside and outside of the car), stylized clocks and enough power to shame the fastest of cars.[/p][p][/p][p]Being an electric, its acceleration is uncanny and for its small size it packs a really powerful punch - six gear shifts can propel it to 300 kph! There’s nothing quite like it in JDM and we’re having a blast driving it back at the office! We can’t wait for you to take it for a spin as well! [/p][p][/p][p][/p][hr][/hr][p][/p][p]Join our community on Discord to discuss everything INSTEROID, JDM, motorsports and gaming in general. [/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Let’s Drift[/p][p]The Gaming Factory Team[/p]

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[/p][p]You know how we were promising to provide a livery system into the game? Cut down the loading times? Well, we did.[/p][p][/p][p]However.[/p][p][/p][p]The amount of modifications we had to do to the game’s engine was so vast that we’re unsure how big of an impact all of these will have on your game performance and experience. The sheer amount of possible PC setups makes it impossible to test out all of the potential issues this may generate. Which is why we’re asking for your help.[/p][p][/p][p]Today we’re opening a Public test Branch for JDM. We will be uploading a new build there with two new features:
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1. [p]The livery system. Accessible from the Paint Shop. You will now be able to apply stickers on your cars to further modify your car. There’s a max of 10 stickers you can put on one car - we cannot, in good faith, extend this number further as it brings down the game’s performance drastically and we don’t want to push the game’s specifications even higher. There’s still plenty of creativity available for you and we hope to see all of the awesome screenshots you will be sharing of your creations.
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2. [p]Drastically reduced loading times when restarting events. Yes, this was frustrating for us as well and we had to do something about this. Restarting a mission right now should be almost instantaneous. From now on you can start over and chase the perfect run without staring at your loading screen for ages..[/p]

[p][/p][p]We were testing these features day and night for the past few weeks, but we still feel that we need more information to push these changes publicly for everyone. So if you want to check them out in action (and help us along the way), access the Test Branch and let us know what your experience was! Fair warning, the game might crash on you. You may encounter bugs and (hopefully not) stability issues.[/p][p][/p][p]Because we consider both features as a Work in Progress, we would kindly ask for anyone who logs into the Test Branch to not record and share footage from it. We expect issues, sharing them publicly may give a wrong impression about the current, stable version of the game. Thank you for understanding! [/p][p][/p][h3]How to access the Public Test Branch?[/h3][hr][/hr][p][/p][p]Before you opt in, please make sure you read the guidelines below![/p][p][/p][p]1.[/p][p]You need to own the copy of the game.
[/p][p]2.[/p][p]First and foremost - backup your save files![/p][p]You will find your save files for JDM by following this path in your File Explorer: %localappdata%\\JDM\\Saved\\SaveGames (just paste the line into your file explorer and hit Enter). Please copy all of the save files into a different folder (ideally outside of the game folders, like to your desktop for instance)[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]3.[/p][p]Right click on JDM in your Steam Library Page and select “Properties”.[/p][p][/p][p]4.
Click on “Betas”[/p][p][/p][p]5.[/p][p]Provide the following key in the text box under “Private Betas” section of the pop-up screen.[/p][p][/p][h2]i5asgTA9wDN0QzJFmMQi[/h2][p][/p][p]6.[/p][p]Click ”Check Code”[/p][p][/p][p]7.[/p][p]Now you should receive a notification asking if you want to opt-in into the Test Branch. Click yes. You can also select the beta branch from the “Beta Participation” section of the Betas pop-up screen. [/p][p]8.[/p][p]Congratulations, you’re in! The game should automatically update at this point for you.

9.[/p][p]When the game is downloaded, you will be able to play on the Test Branch.[/p][p][/p][p]**[/p][p][/p][p]10.[/p][p]When you’re done testing. Repeat steps 3 and 4. In the “Betas” screen select NONE in the Beta Participation selection screen. This will bring you back to the default branch of the game that is publicly available for everyone.

11.[/p][p]When the game updates. Go to your save file folder - [/p][p]%localappdata%\\JDM\\Saved\\SaveGames[/p][p]and restore your pre-test save files that you’ve backed up in step 02. [/p][p]
12.[/p][p]You can now safely launch the game.[/p][p][/p][p]Attention! We do not take responsibility for lost save files. If you forget to make a backup of them, we cannot guarantee that coming back to the default branch of the game will not result in a permanent crash on start. You have been warned.[/p][p][/p][h3]How can you help?[/h3][hr][/hr][p][/p][p]Just play the game on the test branch and please let us know if you have experienced any problems. These include game crashes, loss of performance, game bugs, anything out of ordinary which feels like it was not supposed to happen.[/p][p][/p][p]You can reach out to us in various ways:[/p]

1. [p]Use the create report button on our Drift Hub webpage - FORM
   When selecting a subject, please choose the “Public Test Branch”.
   This is the most efficient and productive way you can share your experience with us.
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2. [p]Through a dedicated Topic on the Steam Discussion Forums - THREAD [/p]
3. [p]On our Discord server on a dedicated channel - DISCORD[/p]

[hr][/hr][p][/p][p]The test branch will be available between October 29 to November 3.[/p][p][/p][p]Your feedback will determine if the update is actually ready to be released for all drift enthusiasts who bought the game. [/p][p][/p][p]We really appreciate your help and support. Have fun testing![/p][p][/p][p]Let’s Drift![/p][p]The Gaming Factory Team[/p]

[p][/p][p]We promised you a surprise and here it is - we’ve partnered up with Hyundai Motor to bring their INSTEROID concept car directly to the game! [/p][p][/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p][/p][p]The INSTEROID is a cutting-edge electric concept vehicle, which perfectly blends the digital gaming culture with motorsports. What makes it truly exciting is that it’s designed specifically for drifting. An everyday drive car modified into a vehicle taken straight from a cyberpunk setting, with animated plates inside and outside of the car, it is a fun and interesting addition to the current roster of drift beasts available in JDM.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]The INSTEROID will drift into Guntama on October 30! It will launch alongside some more surprises but that’s for another devlog 🙊[/p][hr][/hr][p][/p][p]Have question? Want to discuss the INSTEROID ahead of launch? We, as well as the whole JDM’s community, is on our DISCORD server. Jump in![/p][p][/p][p]Let’s Drift[/p][p]The Gaming Factory Team
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[hr][/hr][p]Powerful muscle cars are already warming up their engines in the comfort of our backstage garages, and soon will be ready to hit the road. To celebrate their arrival, we've just launched a brand new, very first JDM: Made in USA DLC contest! Join the enormous excitement of our community, visit the Discord server and sign up for the fun now Here »[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]All details, rules (although very simple) and rewards are described in the dedicated contest Discord announcement. Meeting the event's requirements won’t take you more than a minute of your time, so be sure to check them out now. See you there, drifters![/p][p][/p][h2]About JDM: Made in USA[/h2][hr][/hr][p]If by some miracle you haven't heard the news yet, we have announced the first JDM: Japanese Drift Master DLC, namely JDM: Made in USA. Soon, you will have a unique opportunity to taste the raw thrill of American motor culture with exclusive rides! The DLC delivers six standout cars, each packed with tuning parts designed to dominate the track and turn heads wherever you go. Sounds interesting? Support the Made in USA project now by adding it to your Steam wishlist![/p][p][/p][p]Wishlist now »[/p][p][/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][p]JDM: Japanese Drift Master has always been a true passion project for us. We're committed to crafting the best racing experience possible - and to do that, we need your input and support. Join us on our Discord server and help shape the future of the game with your feedback![/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]We wish you the best of luck![/p][p] [/p][p]Let’s Drift![/p][p]The Gaming Factory Team[/p][p][/p][hr][/hr][hr][/hr][h3]GAMING FACTORY - UPCOMING RELEASES[/h3][p]We're not only a developer but also a publisher. If you like JDM, take a look at what other titles we have gearing up for launch. Who knows, maybe you'll come to love them, as much as we do! [/p][p]Thanks![/p][p] [/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][p]
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