The 2024 IndyCar season is in the books – what is not, though, is a timeline for the work-in-progress IndyCar game, according to IndyCar CEO Mark Miles.
Despite being one of the most exciting open-wheel racing series in the worl, IndyCar is still looking at 20 years and counting of being without an official video game. Of course, licensed content can be found in the likes of iRacing or rFactor 2, plus historic CART-era vehicles in Automobilista 2, but the gap to 2004’s IndyCar Series 2005 - confusingly portraying the 2003 season – remains a bit baffling, to say the least.
Of course, the attempt was there. Motorsport Games intended to release an officially licensed game in 2023 originally, but has since lost the license – which went back to IndyCar, including all the assets that had been developed already. The game is supposedly in a fairly advanced state, but without a developer to finalize the title.
While MSG has agreed to assist in handing things over to an eventual new developer, this seems not to be happening too soon, according to a report from US-based motorsports news website racer.com.
Supposedly, Penske Entertainment’s Senior Manager of Sponsorship Sales & Strategy, Ben Hendricks, “is on point for that. And then there’s another conversation with a person who has a whole different concept of developing a technology, not just a gamer”, according to Miles. What exactly this could entail remains to be seen.
Miles continued stating that the game is “within a given number of priorities. I would just say we would like to see it happen, and we have a really smart young executive (in Hendricks) that it’s a meaningful part of his responsibility to try and see how to land it.” Hendricks has worked as Coordinator and, later on, Manager of Marketing & Communications for NASCAR between 2018 and 2020.
A licensed IndyCar game featuring the full calendar of tracks would see some great venues being recreated as first-party content that are usually not in racing games or sims that often. Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama comes to mind, as it is only officially available in iRacing, or the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Cours. The latter is also in RaceRoom as well as iRacing, but given the status of the track, it is odd to not see it more often.
Over the years, IndyCar has looked into a brand-new design several times, but this has been postponed several times. Despite the different look and designation, the IR-18 still uses the same chassis as the original DW12. This means that with the conclusion of the 2024 season and no replacement planned for 2025, the car is set to enter its 14th (!) year of service.
Similarly, talk of a third engine manufacturer besides Chevrolet and Honda keeps emerging every few years, with none having actually joined the series thus far.
What would you like to see in an official IndyCar game? Let us know in the comments and join the discussion in our forums!
Despite being one of the most exciting open-wheel racing series in the worl, IndyCar is still looking at 20 years and counting of being without an official video game. Of course, licensed content can be found in the likes of iRacing or rFactor 2, plus historic CART-era vehicles in Automobilista 2, but the gap to 2004’s IndyCar Series 2005 - confusingly portraying the 2003 season – remains a bit baffling, to say the least.
Of course, the attempt was there. Motorsport Games intended to release an officially licensed game in 2023 originally, but has since lost the license – which went back to IndyCar, including all the assets that had been developed already. The game is supposedly in a fairly advanced state, but without a developer to finalize the title.
While MSG has agreed to assist in handing things over to an eventual new developer, this seems not to be happening too soon, according to a report from US-based motorsports news website racer.com.
“We would like to see it happen”
Long-standing IndyCar journalist Marshall Pruett asked IndyCar and Penske Entertainment – who own IndyCar – CEO Mark Miles about the state of things. The answer is likely to disappoint IndyCar fans who are also into sim racing: “I would say we’re not close to a title game in the short term.”Supposedly, Penske Entertainment’s Senior Manager of Sponsorship Sales & Strategy, Ben Hendricks, “is on point for that. And then there’s another conversation with a person who has a whole different concept of developing a technology, not just a gamer”, according to Miles. What exactly this could entail remains to be seen.
Miles continued stating that the game is “within a given number of priorities. I would just say we would like to see it happen, and we have a really smart young executive (in Hendricks) that it’s a meaningful part of his responsibility to try and see how to land it.” Hendricks has worked as Coordinator and, later on, Manager of Marketing & Communications for NASCAR between 2018 and 2020.
A licensed IndyCar game featuring the full calendar of tracks would see some great venues being recreated as first-party content that are usually not in racing games or sims that often. Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama comes to mind, as it is only officially available in iRacing, or the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Cours. The latter is also in RaceRoom as well as iRacing, but given the status of the track, it is odd to not see it more often.
IndyCar Fans Know Delays
However, you could also argue that the long delay regarding the official game is about par for the course when looking at IndyCar’s current race car. All teams use the Dallara IR-18, which was launched as the DW12 in 2012. The car first ran with a universal aero kit, then transformed into a winglet-laden spaceship using aerokits by Chevrolet and Honda between 2015 and 2017, before the current aero kit resembling 1990s CART cars was introduced for 2018. In 2020, the aeroscreen, IndyCar’s answer to F1’s Halo, was made mandatory on the car.Over the years, IndyCar has looked into a brand-new design several times, but this has been postponed several times. Despite the different look and designation, the IR-18 still uses the same chassis as the original DW12. This means that with the conclusion of the 2024 season and no replacement planned for 2025, the car is set to enter its 14th (!) year of service.
Similarly, talk of a third engine manufacturer besides Chevrolet and Honda keeps emerging every few years, with none having actually joined the series thus far.
What would you like to see in an official IndyCar game? Let us know in the comments and join the discussion in our forums!
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