Criterion Games expects their latest Burnout Paradise update to go live on Thursday, Sept. 18. The free update will add motorcycles as new vehicles, new online events, day- and nighttime play, and dynamic weather.

Said Criterion’s Jeremy Chubb:

It’s tough to give specific dates on downloadable content, because we don’t know for certain until the last minute. But hey, we’re really excited about bringing bikes to [Burnout Paradise], so we’re going to take a chance and tell you that we’re aiming for Sept. 18 -- that’s this coming Thursday!

Upon updating the game, players can choose one of two motorcycles -- the Nakamura Firehawk V4 and the Nakamura FV1100 -- select either a male or female rider, and play through a series of 38 racing events. These events, separated into "Burning Rides" and "Midnight Rides," take players throughout Paradise City in day and night races, respectively. Players use these events to earn their own Bike License. Players may also play through 70 new challenges, modeled after the game’s normal events.

The addition of motorcycles into the once-four-wheel-only game proved challenging to the team at Criterion. Said Jeremy Chubb:

"We’ve never done bikes before in a Burnout game before. The way our cars handle has always taken a lot of work and getting the cars to feel just right has taken a lot of time and energy over the years. Bikes are all new, but we wanted to get them right first time. We’re pretty happy with the way they feel."

Night play changes the landscape of races through Paradise City: headlights turn on and traffic thins out. Players can adjust the rate at which time flows in Burnout Paradise and when playing online, the host can set the daylight for all players in their game.

Criterion Games has stood alone in offering large updates to their game for free. Said Jeremy Chubb:

"We want to change [Burnout Paradise] this year. Big time. And we want to do it through downloadable packs. We want you to know that if you buy Burnout Paradise, you buy much more than the disk we shipped back in January, and the Bikes Pack is the biggest indication yet of how far we’re willing to push the game."

Chubb said that more info regarding the addition of Trophies to the PS3 version of Burnout Paradise is coming next week.