Thrustmaster marketing manager says you ‘just can’t afford the force feedback’ if you want to get an entry level wheel like its new T98 to sell for under $100 – but it does make it safer for kids

• The low cost of the Thrustmaster T98 is designed with children and entry-level players in mind, according to product marketing manager Xavier Pieuchot
• Pieuchot says the T98 is “everything you need to make your first step into a racing game”
• He also says the low cost meant Thrustmaster couldn’t implement force feedback, but that it’s more suitable for children

Thrustmaster’s new, Ferrari-licensed T98 is a low-cost racing wheel designed for kids and wheel newcomers, but this meant the manufacturer couldn’t add one key feature.

Speaking in an interview with TechRadar Gaming at Gamescom 2025^[1], following the T98’s announcement, Thrustmaster product marketing manager Xavier Pieuchot explained that the wheel’s $100 / £89.99 / €100 price tag allows first-time wheel users to get started cheaply, particularly children.

“It’s not aimed at sim racers, it’s aimed at kids, for first-time steering wheel users,” Pieuchot said, “but there is a big market here because all the guys now playing sim racing [games] with pro stuff should start with something cheap at the beginning, so that’s why we have launched this one [the T98].

“Below €100, most of the time you get very cheap design, very cheap plastic as well. Here we bring [the] Ferrari license, so we can’t say that it’s a replica because it’s not 1:1 scale. But it’s very inspired by the GTB.

“Basically, you have a kind of replica, good-looking steering wheel and everything you need to make your first step into a racing game.”

However, because of T98’s low cost, this meant the company couldn’t afford to implement force feedback, a common component found in many of the best racing wheels^[2] that uses an electric motor to generate realistic resistance.

Pieuchot explained that since it’s a more budget-friendly product, it couldn’t offer the same experience as a wheel with force feedback power, adding that it would be more suitable for small children anyway.

“You have a product which looks like a steering wheel, so you have a better immersion of driving a car, but we know that at the end it’s not the way you start and get serious with sim racing, so that’s why,” he said. “And, as I said, [the] motor is the most expensive part of the steering wheel.

“So if we want to achieve the below €100 target, we just can’t afford the feedback,” he said. “It’s way easier and safer for a family to put a steering wheel like this in a kids’ hands.”

The Thrustmaster T98 is available now^[3] and is compatible with PC, PS4^[4], and PS5^[5].

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