- Primary Subject: Hot Wheels: Infinite Rush
- Key Update: Game Director Domenico Celenza details the franchise's shift to an open-world setting featuring four unique islands, four vehicle classes, split-screen multiplayer, and major Track Builder upgrades.
- Status: Confirmed
- Last Verified: September 7, 2026
- Quick Answer: Game Director Domenico Celenza revealed how Hot Wheels: Infinite Rush transitions to an open-world design across four themed islands with four distinct vehicle classes.
HOT WHEELS Infinite Rush is just around the corner, and we had the pleasure of talking with Game Director Domenico Celenza before the game's global release.
The title marks the beginning of a new age for the historic franchise, with the transition to an open-world scenario taking the spotlight.
In this interview, Domenico Celenza talks about the biggest challenges faced during development, the decision to transition into an open-world setting, and what fans can expect from the game, among many other things.
Without further ado, let's race into the interview.
How would you describe Hot Wheels: Infinite Rush?
Domenico Celenza: At its core, Hot Wheels: Infinite Rush is a fast, fun arcade racer. But beyond the crazy races on those iconic orange tracks, we built a Hot Wheels-sized world packed with stuff to do and discover at your own pace in free roaming.
The game is deeply rooted in the brand's universe, authentically recreating the die-cast models loved by collectors of all ages, while bringing the legendary playsets and the imagination behind Hot Wheels to life across four unique islands packed with challenges to uncover.
What led to the decision to transition into an open-world setting?
Domenico Celenza: Moving from confined indoor environments to large open maps was the most natural next step for us. The Hot Wheels universe has always been about imagination, freedom, and scale.
Shifting to these open environments gave us the chance to connect the iconic orange tracks directly into the world, letting players seamlessly drive off the track and explore.
It fundamentally changes how you interact with the game, moving beyond standard race-to-race menus and allowing players to discover challenges, stunts, and secrets organically as they explore.
What were the biggest challenges the team faced while developing this title?
Domenico Celenza: The biggest challenge was definitely the shift in scale, which completely transformed our approach to level design.
Moving to large open maps meant rethinking how players navigate space, keeping the action fast and engaging, and ensuring that exploring off the track feels just as rewarding as racing on it.
On top of that, building an authentic Hot Wheels world brought its own set of creative challenges. We wanted to integrate iconic brand elements organically into the environments while carefully developing the world itself, and everything (the graphics, the visual effects, the sound, etc) has to work together.
We wanted the environments to feel like a true Hot Wheels universe, maintaining that distinct look and aesthetic scale in every detail.
What is the inspiration behind the four islands?
Domenico Celenza: The four islands were inspired by iconic Mattel playsets and classic Hot Wheels themes, with a focus on giving players a rich variety of environments.
Each island brings its own distinct identity: from the urban cityscape of Wheelswood and the natural landscapes of Tentacle Bay, to the heavy industrial canyons of Gearville and the neon-lit, Eastern-inspired architecture of Drifty Temples.
How would you describe the gameplay experience of Hot Wheels: Infinite Rush?
Domenico Celenza: The gameplay experience centers around two main pillars: competition and exploration.
The competitive side forms the core backbone of the game's progression. It consists of events made up of various game modes that you unlock and complete as you advance, all built on fast, fun, and accessible high-speed arcade action.
Exploration is everything that happens in between those events. You have the total freedom to roam across the four islands and choose your own path.
Whether you want to tackle specific challenges, hunt down hidden secrets and collectibles, or just drive around taking in the views, the game constantly encourages you to experiment and play at your own pace.
How do you keep open-world activities engaging without cluttering the map or overwhelming players?
Domenico Celenza: We manage map clutter by pacing how activities are unlocked through game progression.
Instead of dumping every icon on the map at once, new free-roaming activities unlock dynamically alongside new event sets in specific areas.
This naturally introduces side content to engage with while traveling between points, keeping exploration rewarding without ever overwhelming the map or taking away total player freedom.
Hot Wheels: Infinite Rush decreased the number of vehicle classes to four. Why is that?
Domenico Celenza: We wanted each class to feel genuinely distinct, with its own unique characteristics, and four felt like the perfect balance between depth and accessibility. Plus, it creates a neat parallel with the four islands and their Rush Masters, the boss drivers you have to defeat!
What challenges did the team face in implementing seamless vehicle swapping in an open environment?
Domenico Celenza: From a technical perspective, implementing vehicle swapping wasn’t a major issue. Instead, it was a natural evolution of our core vision: giving players full freedom to explore the world on their own terms and seamlessly experiment with the distinct characteristics of each vehicle class whenever they want.
What goes into adapting Mattel’s real-world die-cast vehicles in an authentic way?
Domenico Celenza: We work very closely with Mattel to reproduce the die-cast cars as faithfully as possible. They provide us directly with official CAD files and references, and we even scan and photograph the physical toys to capture every single detail.
Authenticity also means embracing the small imperfections. We make sure to include real-world quirks like die-cast mold lines and tiny indentations, giving each digital car that genuine physical feel collectors immediately recognize.
How was it decided which vehicles made the final roster?
Domenico Celenza: Building such a large roster across four distinct vehicle classes was a complex puzzle.
Our main goal was to offer a balanced mix of fan favorites, ranging from iconic Hot Wheels Originals to real-world OEM licensed models, while keeping every car true to its core identity.
We never forced a vehicle into a class where it didn't belong; a sleek racer naturally fits a different category than a heavy, bulky truck. Ultimately, every car made the roster because it brought authentic personality and genuine variety to its specific class.
How do physics and handling profiles differ between classes?
Domenico Celenza: Drifters excel at drifting and offer some of the most precise handling in the game, making them incredibly responsive through corners. They can also build boost quickly while sliding, but maintaining high speeds isn't their strongest suit.
Speeders, on the other hand, are built for pure speed. Their boost increases as they accelerate, but drifting comes at a cost, as they tend to lose a significant amount of momentum through corners
Titans, instead, are the heavyweights of the roster. They don’t stand out for speed and agility, but they make up for it with some serious boost capacity. Their unique challenge is learning how to stay in boost for as long as possible without completely draining it, as overcharging it will temporarily slow you down.
Finally, Versatiles. As the name suggests, they can adapt to almost any situation. They don’t excel in a specific area, but instead offer a balanced mix of speed, handling, and power. Unlike the other categories, their boost is divided into charges, with each button press consuming a full charge.
How did you structure race tracks so the uniqueness of every vehicle class can shine?
Domenico Celenza: Each track is built specifically for one vehicle class, which is locked during vehicle selection. This allowed us to create tracks that feel far more distinct and better showcase the identity of each category, tailoring layout, jumps, and turns to highlight the unique strengths of that specific class.
How did designing an open-world setting change track creation?
Domenico Celenza: Designing for an open setting completely changed track creation because tracks are no longer self-contained circuits.
Instead of just snapping orange pieces together in an isolated room, official tracks are now a seamless hybrid: high-speed orange plastic sections blend directly into the natural environment, off-road terrain, and elevation changes of the islands.
The open setting allowed us to use the map's natural layout and obstacles to define key race sections, making driving off the track to find shortcuts or smooth lines a core part of the racing experience.
How difficult was it to adapt the track generation tools to account for uneven terrain compared to indoor spaces?
Domenico Celenza: Adapting our tools to uneven open-world environments was a challenge, but we solved it by developing two key features.
First, we built an adaptive snapping tool that automatically adjusts track height to match the terrain, whether following city roads in Wheelswood or snapping to the hills of Tentacle Bay, without manual adjustments.
Second, we implemented automatic asset removal, so if a track intersects with buildings, trees, or poles, the game automatically clears them away.
We used these tools ourselves during development and integrated them directly into the in-game Track Builder, so players have the same freedom to create easily.
What were the big improvements made to the Track Builder feature?
Domenico Celenza: As mentioned earlier, two of the biggest upgrades are the adaptive snapping tool and automatic asset removal, which originated as internal dev tools.
The third major improvement is the support for virtual opponents on custom tracks. One of the biggest limitations in previous games was that virtual opponents couldn't race on player-created tracks.
This time, we've introduced dedicated markers. By placing them along your track, you can define the racing line, the acceleration, and the braking areas that virtual opponents will follow.
The track-making process is still the same, but once you’ve finished your design, you can place these markers and test out the track to validate it for sharing.
Would you say this is a beginner-friendly game?
Domenico Celenza: Absolutely. We included various difficulty settings and driving assists to ensure the racing experience and game progression are accessible to players of all skill levels.
When it comes to exploration, since every activity is completely optional and open-ended, casual players never feel pressured to beat every challenge.
At the same time, competitive players will still find plenty of depth and a real challenge, including a rich online multiplayer mode.
The Hot Wheels: Infinite Rush UI is quite intuitive. Was delivering a streamlined and easy-to-navigate UI one of the focuses of the team?
Domenico Celenza: In a fast-paced, open-world arcade game, the UI needs to get out of the player's way so they can stay in the flow.
Our goal was to keep navigation seamless and frictionless, allowing players to jump straight into races, manage their vehicles, or check the map without ever slowing down the action.
In an age where most games have moved away from split-screen, why did Hot Wheels: Infinite Rush find it important to include the feature?
Domenico Celenza: Couch co-op is at the very heart of the Hot Wheels experience. The brand has always been about sharing the fun with friends and family in the same room, whether with physical die-cast cars or on a screen.
Even as the industry shifts toward online-only multiplayer, keeping split-screen was very important for us. We wanted to preserve that classic, side-by-side local racing excitement.
What can players expect in terms of post-launch support?
Domenico Celenza: Players can rest assured that launch day is only the beginning. We’ve just unveiled a robust post-launch roadmap to keep the experience fresh, so you can expect plenty of new content, vehicles, and surprises down the road.
What are Hot Wheels: Infinite Rush's biggest goals? What do you expect players to feel when they pick up the controller and dive into the world the team built?
Domenico Celenza: Our ultimate goal was to deliver the definitive Hot Wheels experience, blending high-speed arcade racing with pure creative freedom across expansive, dynamic islands.
We hope they get that same spark of imagination they feel when playing with physical die-cast cars, now brought to life in a fast, thrilling, and vast digital playground.
Closing Remarks
That was our interview with HOT WHEELS Infinite Rush Game Director Domenico Celenza.
I want to thank Domenico for their time and insightful answers.
I hope you enjoyed reading the interview and that it answers all the questions you have about HOT WHEELS Infinite Rush.
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