Development The game was developed by Geoff Crammond as a follow up to 1991's Formula One Grand Prix (which was known as World Circuit in the US). In a time when the gaming industry had become dominated by development teams, it was a rare instance of an essentially one-man-project. It was the first serious racing simulation programmed with all three axes in it—i.e. the ability for vehicles to get airborne in the game (1990's Stunts and Stunt Driver featured this ability, but were not racing simulations of a series). However, GP2 lacked the feature of having a car flip over entirely, which not yet was seen in hardcore racing simulations. In some cases, the game would crash if the car was about to overturn. Microsoft's Monster Truck Madness (1996), simulating monster truck racing, may have been the first to have that feature. It included more extensive physics and included image mapping over the 3D model of the car to show vehicle liveries, a feature that emerged in racing simulations with Papyrus Design Group's 1993 IndyCar Racing. Reception Following Grand Prix 2s release in July 1996, its global sales reached 500,000 copies in September. This number rose to 750,000 copies by mid-January 1997, driven in large part by European purchases. In August 1998, the game received a "Platinum" sales award from the Verband der Unterhaltungssoftware Deutschland (VUD), indicating sales of at least 200,000 units across Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Grand Prix 2 sold 1.5 million copies worldwide by late 2000. That year, Andy Mahood of PC Gamer US described the entire Grand Prix series as "one of the most successful PC racing franchises in history". Critics hailed Grand Prix II as stunning and the class of the field for Formula 1 simulations. Jim Varner of GameSpot particularly applauded the way it breaks the convention of racing games always falling into either simulation-style or arcade-style, through the use of adjustable "driving aids", which when turned off make Grand Prix II a phenomenally complex and realistic driving sim, and when turned on make it one of the most fun and exciting arcade-style racers ever made. Calling it "unquestionably the best racing game yet made for the PC", he gave it a 9.5 out of 10. PC Zone gave the game 95%. The game was rated outstanding by CNet. Grand Prix 2 was nominated as Computer Games Strategy Pluss 1996 "Racing Simulation" of the