A newly announced Steam game called JDM: Ph4ntom Driver is an open-world racing simulation set in Japan, but it lets players smash folklore-inspired demons with their cars. Now, some Steam users are calling it a mashup of Forza Horizon 6 and Nioh 3 because it has the former’s gameplay and setting and the latter’s enemy design and lore.
JDM: Ph4ntom Driver is a spin-off of Japanese Drift Master, another racing simulation game on Steam. Released in 2025, the original game has earned Mostly Positive reviews from thousands of players. According to developer Gaming Factory, Ph4ntom Driver initially started as an expansion for the first game, but the team soon realized it had the potential to become a standalone action racing sim.
JDM: Ph4ntom Driver Turns Your Car into a Weapon
- Genre: Open-World, Racing, Arcade
- Developer: Gaming Factory
- Release Date: To be announced
As teased in the first trailer, JDM: Ph4ntom Driver revolves around smashing demons with reinforced cars. The game takes place in an alternate version of the fictional city Guntama in Japan, where the land is overrun by vicious demons known as Youkai. Players take on the role of drivers who can kill these hostile creatures with their cars as they seek to find and defeat their master. JDM: Ph4ntom Driver will feature no guns, swords, or other weapons, leaving players to rely solely on their upgraded cars to take down enemies.
As for the gameplay, developer Gaming Factory describes it as a “full-on arcade experience.” Unlike some racing simulation games that aim to replicate real-life driving, Ph4ntom Driver appears to offer streamlined controls and easy-to-learn gameplay mechanics. Additionally, unlike the original JDM, cars in Ph4ntom Driver are not licensed. Instead, Gaming Factory describes them as stylized versions of familiar vehicles. Players can collect new cars, customize their appearance, and reinforce them with upgrades as they progress through the game.
Find the odd one out before the timer hits zero.
Gaming Factory is also working on adding multiplayer to JDM: Ph4ntom Driver in the future. The developer says, “We are also planning a multiplayer mode, but you will have to wait for more information on that in the future.” The single-player mode, meanwhile, will feature a lengthy campaign that introduces the lore through hand-drawn manga. Not much has been revealed about the story at the time of writing, other than that it will take players to the Spirit World, where they must defeat the Demon King.
Fans of classic action car games might see JDM: Ph4ntom Driver as a potential successor to games like Carmageddon, which mixed driving with high-adrenaline combat. However, it remains to be seen how the game will perform at launch and whether it can achieve what games like Carmageddon: Rogue Shift set out to do. JDM: Ph4ntom Driver has no release date at the time of writing, but players can already wishlist it on Steam and learn more about it on Gaming Factory’s official website.
