It covers the approximate area of Trinidad & Tobago, it’s larger than Hong Kong, Singapore, St Lucia and the Isle of Man put together. Innovative open-world racer FUEL – launching on June 5th for the PLAYSTATION 3, Xbox 360 and with a Games For Windows edition to follow - boasts 5,560 square miles of accessible in-game terrain, making it officially the largest playable environment in a console game ever.

The accolade, presented to FUEL developers Asobo Studio, was confirmed by Guinness World Records, who have verified the record for inclusion in the next Guinness World Records Gamers Edition of the best-selling guide.

Guinness World Records presented Codemasters and Asobo Studio with a certificate that officially documents: “Largest playable area in a console game: The largest playable environment in a console game is 5,560 square miles (14,400 km²), and is featured in FUEL (Codemasters, 2009). The area features rivers, deserts, forests and mountains and was demonstrated at the offices of Guinness World Records, London, UK, on 20 May 2009.”

“We’ve been very impressed with the technology powering FUEL, and I’m pleased to welcome Asobo and Codemasters into the Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition,” said Gaz Deaves, Video Games Records Manager for Guinness World Records, “What we’ve seen from FUEL places it right at the cutting edge of the open-world racing genre and really raises the bar for games developers in the future.”

“We knew FUEL was going to be big,” said Phil Wright, Producer, Codemasters, “but to have this confirmed officially by Guinness World Records justifies our faith in this ground-breaking title. No other game comes close to offering the variety of environments, the range of vehicles or the sheer size of FUEL. It’s one of the most innovative racers ever, and we’re thrilled it’s been recognised as the biggest console game of all time.”

To celebrate the award, today Codemasters has released a new video featuring David Dedeine and Sebastian Wloch, two of the co-founders of Asobo Studio, who explain gameplay features and the technical challenge in creating the record-setting FUEL. The video is available from www.fuel-game.com (in the Downloads section).

FUEL’s world is one of staggering size and beauty. To put it into perspective, if players choose to drive from one side of the map to the other, it will take over three hours straight. This unprecedented virtual playground offers nineteen environmental regions and features some of the most dramatic weather effects ever seen in a racing game. FUEL’s free-roaming nature allows players to pick and choose their route, races and career progression, offering almost limitless ways to play.

FUEL is set to become the ultimate racing sandbox when it launches Friday June 5th for the PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system and Xbox 360, with a Games For Windows – LIVE! edition to follow. Gain an insight into the creation of the game that sets the new standard in open-world racing by downloading the video at www.fuel-game.com, or stay right here at Electronic Theatre for all the latest gaming news.

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