Asphalt 9: Legends now available on Google Play (Updated)

Update #2, July 25 (9:29AM EST): Psych! It looks like Asphalt 9: Legends is available in the Google Play Store a day early. Head to the link below for the download.

Update #1, July 25 (06:43AM EST): Gameloft has announced it will release Asphalt 9: Legends on July 26. It made the announcement during a live stream on the game’s Facebook page (as spotted by Droid Gamers).

Gameloft has already launched the game in select regions and has released updates to improve the in-game experience. The most recent update brought graphics enhancements to the garage menu, bug fixes, and additional races to the game’s Hunted mode.

You can pre-register for the game on the Play Store by clicking the button below.

Update #2 (07/03): You can now pre-register for Asphalt 9: Legends on the Google Play Store, indicating the global Android release is just around the (hairpin) corner. Developer Gameloft had previously confirmed that the game will drop this summer.

The latest entry in the popular racing series has been in soft launch in selected regions for the past few months. Gameloft has been improving the game with updates during this time, with the latest bringing a ranked-events feature, improved multiplayer, and increased rewards for online races.

Update (06/04): Gameloft has confirmed that Asphalt 9: Legends will rev its way onto Android devices this summer. The game will be shown next week at the E3 gaming expo in Los Angeles ahead of a global launch in the coming months.

The next installment in the racing series, which is also coming to iOS and PC, looks set to deliver the same cutting-edge graphics and performance we’ve come to expect but with a few major changes in the gameplay department.

The biggest change is “Touchdrive” — a new control scheme where players swipe left or right to turn and ram into opponents while the car otherwise drives itself. If this new more strategic gameplay style isn’t to your liking you can always switch back over to the series’ standard motion controls.

You can sign up to hear more about the racing sequel here.

Original post (02/27): It’s somehow been almost five years since the launch of the last main entry in Gameloft’s prolific Asphalt series. But now, after several spin-offs, the popular racing franchise is roaring back onto the grid with Asphalt 9: Legends.

The true sequel to Asphalt 8: Airborne was revealed yesterday in a debut trailer (above) that is jam-packed with high-octane races, crazy tricks, slow-motion crashes, and the kind of ridiculously impressive visuals we’ve come to expect from the series.

The game will feature over 50 real hypercars from the likes of Ferrari, Porsche, Lamborghini and more, as well as 70 race tracks based on real-world locations, each with a unique layout of ramps and hazards.

Players can take part in the game’s Career mode which takes place over a whopping 800 races, or take on up to eight other racers in real time in the World Series Multiplayer mode. One major new addition is the Club feature, where you can create and join communities and work together towards milestones for group rewards.

Unfortunately, at the time of writing Asphalt 9: Legends has only been confirmed for iOS devices following a soft launch in the Philippines (thanks, Droid Gamers). We’ve reached out to Gameloft to see if there’s any word on an Android release and will update this post when we hear back.