EA and Codemasters have removed 3D audio from the PS5 version of F1 2021, not long after ray tracing was also temporarily removed.
F1 2021's 1.06 patch is live and as well as a number of other fixes and changes for the game, 3D audio for headphone users has been removed for those playing on the PlayStation 5. Codemasters says "3D Audio for headphones has temporarily been disabled on PS5. This will be re-enabled as soon as audio issues relating to it have been resolved."
The removal of the feature won't cause any drastic changes to gameplay but takes a little away from F1 2021's immersive experience whilst it's being fixed.
This isn't the first issue that Codemasters has had with the PlayStation 5 version of the game. During the game's 1.04 patch notes, it was noted that ray tracing was causing instability for a "limited number" of PS5 users and the company had to temporarily remove it from the game. The game features ray tracing in its photo mode and during in-game replays. Although it isn't a necessity, ray tracing is certainly a welcome addition to the series and shows how the developers are trying to push the hardware capabilities of the latest generation of consoles. Ray tracing was reintroduced after the 1.05 patch.
Whilst PS5 fans will be hoping that the game reinstates its 3D audio sooner rather than later, a number of other tweaks were also noted in the racing sim's patch notes. Many of these changes act as minor bug fixes and general stability improvements such as a fix for the game's splitscreen mode which was causing issues during wet races in the game. Despite all of the recent PS5 hardship, there is some good news for fans as the patch has improved the controller feedback felt by players when the controller's haptic feedback is set to weak on the PS5.
If you're enjoying your time with F1 2021, why not read our featured review where we gave the game an 8/10, praising it for being the "most customisable instalment of the series so far".
Jared Moore is a freelance writer for IGN who dreams of flying down the high-speed straights of Silverstone in real life one day. You can follow him on Twitter.