--- title: "Wipeout, the Coolest Racing Game of the ’90s, Is Playable in Your Browser Right Now" description: "PlayStation's Wipeout was a cultural landmark for cutting edge art and music. Thanks to a clever dev, you can now play it in your browser." date: "2023-08-15" modified: "2023-08-15" authors: - name: "Adam Ismail" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/adam-ismail" url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/playstation-wipeout-coolest-racing-game-of-90s-is-playable-in-browser-now" categories: - "Culture" - "News" - "Video Games" --- # Wipeout, the Coolest Racing Game of the ’90s, Is Playable in Your Browser Right Now ![Title screen of Wipeout played in a PC browser window]() *\phoboslab.org/wipegame\* It's September 1995. "Creep"—the TLC one, not the Radiohead one—is sweeping the airwaves, America's still awaiting a decision on the whole O.J. Simpson thing, and an edgy thriller about cyber crime with a soundtrack full of all the cool, underground club music that cool, underground kids are listening to called *Hackers* releases to theaters. Also, the [PlayStation]() will soon launch in Europe, where it will be accompanied by a futuristic racing game titled Wipeout. You would've known that, though, [if you caught *Hackers* in theaters](). It wasn't a coincidence. Wipeout was a cultural force, particularly in the United Kingdom, where [an infamous ad]() depicting what many interpreted as a nod to drugs and rave culture caused a moral panic. It was a racing game, but one where the music and visual style were as crucial—if not, arguably more so—than the physical experience of actually playing it. And while Sony hasn't done anything fresh with Wipeout in more than a decade, one fan has taken it into their own hands to make the classic racer easy for everyone to revisit, in the very browser you're probably using to read this. ![Gameplay of Wipeout played in a PC browser window before race start]() *Altima VII has never looked sharper. phoboslab.org/wipegame* The effort comes courtesy of developer Dominic Szablewski, who got to tinkering with the source code behind Psygnosis' stylish anti-gravity racer after it was [leaked last year](). As Szablewski explains in a [blog post dated August 10](), this particular source code belongs to a Windows port that had been specifically written to support and be bundled with ATI graphics cards. The code, he writes, is "a mess," with ports of the game for every platform it was released on piled atop previous iterations: PlayStation (first PAL, then NTSC), followed by DOS, then Windows 95, and then ultimately this ATI variant. Presumably Saturn code might be hanging around there too, though Szablewski doesn't mention Sega's doomed 32-bit console. I am not a programmer, so I won't pretend to understand the steps necessary to transform this pile of slashes and brackets into something you can kill time with right now, but it seems like a lot of work. Most notably, Szablewski rewrote the physics, because he had to for Wipeout to play properly at framerates above the original's 30 frames-per-second target. The developer says the handling now feels appropriate running at even *4,000* frames per second, which is exponentially higher than any display's refresh rate, anyway. Szablewski also said he axed a ton of now-useless code particularly belonging to the PlayStation version, including support for Namco's [weird and wonderful neGcon controller](). It was a gamepad you twisted, and it was designed for racing games. The '90s truly were the best time ever. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2on6lf5T6I0 I invite you to read Szablewski's [entire account](), even if you're just as ignorant at deciphering code as I am. And of course, don't forget to [sample his work]() and vibe to Leftfield next time your mind wanders during a video meeting. This Wipeout port works with both keyboards and controllers, though I've had no luck with my Xbox Series pad as of yet. I highly recommend heading into the game's video options and dropping down the resolution to 480p, ratcheting up the UI scale and enabling the CRT filter for that period-perfect experience. "If anyone at Sony is reading this, please consider that you have (in my opinion) two equally good options: either let \[this port\] be, or shut this thing down and get a real remaster going," Szablewski concluded his post. "I'd love to help!" *Got a tip? Email us at tips@thedrive.com* ## Author Adam is a Senior Editor at The Drive, concentrating on curating and developing the site's slate of daily journalism, from initial pitch to final copy edit. When he's not at his desk researching leads and working with writers, he's testing vehicles or reviewing racing games, new and old. He joined The Drive in 2023, following seven years of covering consumer technology and cars. A car lover and gamer since his earliest memories, Adam came to know the automotive world through video games. First it was Daytona USA, Sega Rally, and Ridge Racer; then came Need For Speed, which inspired an encyclopedic knowledge of '90s supercars, and, of course, Gran Turismo. If not for them, he'd assuredly be doing something else right now. Adam is based in the suburbs outside Philly, where there are ample roads for his hot hatch to stretch its legs. In his car, he's probably listening to indie rock, drum and bass, or Yankees baseball. ### Author social links [Bluesky]() [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()