Road Rash Makes Its Digital Debut With 60 FPS Gameplay as EA's Motorcycle Combat Classic Returns

Electronic Arts released Road Rash: 30th Anniversary Edition for PC on 5 November 2026, bringing the 1996 PC version of its motorcycle combat game to digital distribution for the first time. EA lists the edition on Steam and the EA app. The release adds modern PC features, restored full-motion video (FMV) sequences and a fully relicensed soundtrack while retaining the original game.

Road Rash Returns With Modern PC Features

The original Road Rash combined motorcycle racing with combat between competitors as they raced through scenic routes such as The Peninsula and Napa Valley. Its PC release challenged players to dodge traffic, outrun police and attack rival riders while working towards the Cup. The game includes 25 races, arranged across five levels with five courses in each, according to its Steam listing.

EA senior producer Jim Vessella detailed the restoration in an account published on 5 November. He said EA recovered the master source tapes for Road Rash from its physical media vault. The tapes were digitised and the footage re-edited frame by frame to restore dozens of FMV scenes. EA technical director Brian Barnes also recovered the PC source code, making the game a candidate for the restoration project.

Vessella said the first modern PC build was close to the 1996 release and already ran its racing gameplay at up to 60 frames per second. However, it crashed frequently, could not play the newly recovered videos, offered limited audio options and had dated controls. Barnes worked through those problems, with the finished edition adding support for frame rates of up to 60 fps, native Xbox and PlayStation controller support, vibration, windowed mode and cloud saves. EA describes the release as optimised for modern systems.

Restored Videos, Music and Multiplayer

EA says the soundtrack contains 14 songs across seven bands. Its relicensing effort involved the EA Worldwide Music team, record labels and the artists who controlled the rights to the tracks. The edition features music by Soundgarden, Paw, Hammerbox, Monster Magnet, Swervedriver and Therapy?, among the acts listed in the official store description.

The PC edition also lets players hear the licensed rock tracks during races, a feature EA identifies as having appeared in the Sega CD version. The original PC release used MIDI music during races, and the anniversary edition retains that option. Players can turn off the rock music in the settings to return to the original PC soundtrack.

The cinematics have three viewing choices: the original videos as they appeared in 1996, high-resolution footage captured from the master tapes, and an optional AI-upscaled version. Players can also disable the videos. The developers say the AI enhancement increases resolution for larger displays and repairs some visual artefacts caused by the age of the tapes. Steam's AI disclosure confirms that AI was used to upscale the resolution and frame rate of the master FMV material.

The game retains LAN play for its Mano a Mano multiplayer mode, but its original modem and internet service were discontinued decades ago. The development team cautions that the 30-year-old LAN technology may not work with some modern hardware and software configurations.