Asphalt 8 races around the Great Wall in Windows Phone and Windows 8 update

Just this morning we listed Asphalt 8: Airborne as one of Windows Phone’s top racing games. Well, it just got better as today Gameloft has launched a major update for Asphalt 8 on both Windows Phone and Windows 8 and RT.

The new update adds a brand new location with six track variations, new racing events, lots of new sports cars, and music from bands who unfortunately aren’t Bad Religion or The Offspring. And remember, Asphalt 8 has been free to play on Windows platforms since January, so nobody needs to miss out on the arcade-style racing action. Head past the break for full details!

Asphalt 8 Year of the Horse update details

Asphalt 8 Great Wall update Windows Phone Windows 8

  • We're celebrating the Year of the Horse by adding some horsepower to the game with a whole new Asian-inspired racing location! Discover the Great Wall with your McLaren P1, Ferrari Testarossa or any of the other new dream cars!
  • Explore the Far East: Race through the gorgeous new Asian-inspired location, the Great Wall, which will provide 6 new tracks like you've never seen before -- but don’t get distracted by the beauty of the scenery or you might fall off the edge.
  • New cars coming: Stay tuned as we'll regularly release amazing new cars, including the unique 2014 McLaren P1, along with the iconic Ferrari Testarossa, and the powerful Dodge Challenger! More of a cross-country racing fan? The mighty 2014 Ford F-150 is there for you too!
  • Immersion at its finest: Get hyped for the ride of your life with a new soundtrack and way more to discover! New songs come from The Crystal Method, Band of Skulls, and Silversun pickups.
  • Overall bug fixes and optimizations.
  • Multiplayer matchmaking improvements.
  • Leaderboard changes: inactive players drop off the global leaderboard after two weeks.

Neck and neck

Asphalt 8 matchmaking update Windows Phone Windows 8

Today’s update brings the Windows versions of Asphalt 8 totally in line with the Android version of the game. The iOS version, however retains one exclusive feature that didn’t make the cut on Windows platforms or Android:

  • Twitch integration: Connect with the Asphalt community on Twitch.tv to broadcast your gameplay online, share your biggest stunts, or take a look at your rivals’ skills. Think you’re the best driver? Prove it with Twitch!

Twitch streaming relies on SDK support from Twitch.tv itself, so we shouldn’t expect to see it in Windows Phone and Windows 8 games until Twitch adds SDK support to our platforms of choice.

Asphalt 8 is an intense and beautiful racer, though of course the change to free to play also brought a bump in difficulty. Get it now and start earning those new cars! Remember, Windows Phone games need up to four times more free space than the game’s download size in order to install. Good thing the Windows Phone 8.1 developer preview added SD card support!

  • Asphalt 8 – Windows Phone 8 – 946 MB – Free – Store Link
  • Asphalt 8 – Windows 8 and RT – 1.5 GB – Free – Store Link

QR: Asphalt 8

Thanks to Taras Buria for the tip!

Paul Acevedo

Paul Acevedo is the Games Editor at Windows Central. A lifelong gamer, he has written about videogames for over 15 years and reviewed over 350 games for our site. Follow him on Twitter @PaulRAcevedo. Don’t hate. Appreciate!