Grand Mountain Adventure 2 adds Val d’Isère — and it actually looks like the real mountain

Why this update actually matters for mobile winter-sports fans

Toppluva’s Grand Mountain Adventure 2 just got a huge dose of irl authenticity: Val d’Isère – complete with the Face de Bellevarde World Cup run – has been added to the game on iOS and Android. That might sound like a straightforward map drop, but this is the series’ first officially licensed real-world resort, and it changes how the game functions as both a competitive playground and a digital travelogue.

• This caught my attention because it’s rare for an indie mobile studio to recreate a famous, technical resort so faithfully.
• Toppluva scanned slopes with 3D cameras and used satellite imagery – not just hand-wavy “inspired by” level design.
• Timing the update with the resort’s opening is smart PR, but the real win is giving players a recognizable World Cup line to race and learn.

Key takeaways

• Val d’Isère is the first licensed real-world location in the Grand Mountain Adventure series (25M+ downloads across platforms).
• The Face de Bellevarde and other named slopes were reconstructed using 3D camera recordings and satellite data.
• The update is live on mobile to coincide with the ski season — great timing for virtual previewing or reliving runs.
• The press materials don’t say if the Val d’Isère map is behind a paywall or IAP — that’s the obvious next question.

Breaking down the Val d’Isère addition

Toppluva isn’t a faceless publisher — it’s a tiny Stockholm studio run by three brothers who pride themselves on building everything from their own engine to the physics and map tools. That DIY ethos shows in Grand Mountain Adventure 2: the game balances arcade tricking with believable slope physics, and adding a real resort is their statement that the series can double as a believable winter-sports sim.

The studio says they recorded every slope with a 3D camera and combined that with satellite imagery to “stitch the entire mountain together.” Translation: this isn’t a stylized homage. Players familiar with Val d’Isère should recognize the lines, the pitch of the World Cup run, and the layout of the resort — which matters when you’re trying to learn how to hit a tricky compression or set up a big speed turn.

Why this matters now

There’s a real-world trend toward licensed, location-accurate content in sports and racing games, but it’s usually dominated by big-budget studios. For a compact indie to land a partnership with an iconic Alpine resort and deliver a faithful recreation on mobile is notable: it shows confidence in the platform and a belief that mobile players want depth, not just quick sessions.

Also, the timing is clever. Dropping the map as Val d’Isère opens for the season turns the update into a digital companion for anyone actually heading there, and it’s an easy hook for travel-minded players to preview runs or fantasize about a trip they don’t yet have time or money for.

What players should know (and what Toppluva didn’t say)

Grand Mountain Adventure 2 already mixes activities — skiing, snowboarding, paragliding, ziplining and speed challenges — and Val d’Isère slots into that open-world formula as both a playground and a benchmark. Want to race the Face de Bellevarde for leaderboard bragging rights or take a calm “zen” run through the resort’s villages? Both experiences are possible.

But the press brief is quiet on a key point: whether the Val d’Isère map is a free update or paid DLC. Toppluva has commercial options across their releases (and mobile games often lean on IAPs), so expect the studio to monetize this in some way — perhaps via a modest map pack price, premium unlock, or event-limited challenges. I’d like transparency here: licensing a real resort should not be an excuse for a cash grab that splits the player base.

The gamer’s verdict: cool, with sensible caveats

This is a genuinely exciting update. If you love realistic slopes, speed runs, or simply want to virtually scout a famous resort, Val d’Isère in GMA2 delivers on the authenticity front. My only reservations are practical: check whether the map costs extra and how large the download is, because fidelity like this can chew storage on mobile devices.

Either way, the move is a strong indicator of where Toppluva wants the series to go: more ambitious, more grounded in real-world locations, and built for players who want a deeper winter sports experience on mobile than the usual endless-runner fare.

TL;DR

Val d’Isère’s Face de Bellevarde is now in Grand Mountain Adventure 2 — a faithful, camera-and-satellite-based recreation that turns the mobile game into a legit virtual resort. It’s an exciting step for an indie studio, but check whether the map is free and how it affects your device storage before you dive in.