Originally planned to be under the Motorsport Games umbrella, the unreleased IndyCar game is not in their hands anymore. Here's why MSG decided to no longer pursue the project.
It was not too long ago that Motorsport Games had big ambitions. Licenses for Le Mans, the BTCC and IndyCar promised three games for series sim racers generally tend to like, but only one of them has materialized - Le Mans Ultimate was released in Early Access in February of 2024, with Studio 397 and MSG working on getting the game to a full release while MSG is looking for an investor or a buyer.
The other two have not happened, and Motorsport Games CEO Stephen Hood has recently admitted that the company grew too fast and collected too many licenses a few years ago. While MSG has reconciled with the BTCC since, the IndyCar game is not in the hands of the company anymore. Despite its relatively advanced state, MSG did not feel like it could finish it properly - as a result, IndyCar themselves can now look for a studio to finalize the game, although this has not happened yet, either.
First, some convincing had to be done with IndyCar themselves, though, as Hood remembered: "We had to persuade IndyCar to give us the license, but we weren't competing against anybody. We weren't pushing them out or outbidding them - nobody wanted to make those games, because there was no franchise, nobody knew what the revenues would be, and everyone considered archaic." MSG saw this as an opportunity, "We imagined that if we make a good game with the great Studio 397 rFactor 2 physics, we could do something special and revive these products as a valuable franchise."
It did not quite work out that way. The IndyCar game got delayed and eventually, the licensing agreement with the premier US single-seater series was terminated, with the assets that had been developed so far now being in IndyCar's hands as a result. The series is free to look for another studio and publisher to finish the title, with MSG having agreed to aid the transition.
"I went to see them in person and to see what they were working on. I wanted to talk to the team. To my surprise, they had no idea when the project could be delivered", Hood looks back on the trip Down Under. "They asked me when it should be delivered, and I said 'yesterday', because we needed the revenue. They gave me a bunch of excuses as to why it couldn't be done." Hood admits that the studio was "somewhat understaffed, maybe underresourced, but that's fine if it means that the project would take longer to deliver. But there was no timeline."
Following this visit, Hood had to make a decision. "I came away with an external producer who used to work with me at Codemasters, and we both looked at one another and thought: 'If they can't even tell us when the project is going to be delivered, how do we keep financing it?' Money is tight, so you have to make some difficult decisions", Hood said. In addition, the game apparently also did not feature the Studio 397 physics engine, "which is why we acquired the studio in the first place", according to Hood.
This, then, led to one of these difficult decisions Hood mentioned - and the project was put on hold, while the studio got shut down. "It wasn't IndyCar pulling the license, it was us saying 'we are not going to make this'", explained Hood. "As a result of that, the license goes back to IndyCar, and they can give it to somebody else while we had to pay a massive penalty."
The fact that I closed IndyCar had nothing to do with the dream, it was more about the reality on the ground when I came back. It wasn't going anywhere, and I had to make a choice: Am I going to favor Le Mans Ultimate and put the resources into that, or should I favor IndyCar? It was much more advanced technology-wise. Especially using Unreal Engine, it would have been a great foundation for the future."
With all the eggs firmly in the Le Mans Ultimate basket, Motorsport Games and Studio 397 are looking to complete the 2024 season DLC for the game. With two packs already released, the third one is expected before the end of 2024, which will bring the first few LMGT3 cars into the sim. Two more tracks from the 2024 calendar are also still missing, those being Lusail and Interlagos.
IndyCar fans, on the other hand, still have to hope that a dedicated game around their favorite series will see the light of day eventually.
Are you still hoping to see a standalone IndyCar game? Let us know in the comments below and join the discussion in our forums!
It was not too long ago that Motorsport Games had big ambitions. Licenses for Le Mans, the BTCC and IndyCar promised three games for series sim racers generally tend to like, but only one of them has materialized - Le Mans Ultimate was released in Early Access in February of 2024, with Studio 397 and MSG working on getting the game to a full release while MSG is looking for an investor or a buyer.
The other two have not happened, and Motorsport Games CEO Stephen Hood has recently admitted that the company grew too fast and collected too many licenses a few years ago. While MSG has reconciled with the BTCC since, the IndyCar game is not in the hands of the company anymore. Despite its relatively advanced state, MSG did not feel like it could finish it properly - as a result, IndyCar themselves can now look for a studio to finalize the game, although this has not happened yet, either.
A Franchise To Eventually Rival F1?
Interestingly, Motorsport Games had planned the IndyCar game to be one of the pillars of the company, the other being LMU. "We thought that with the right physics, the right handling, the right game engine and a proper career mode, we could probably make it pretty cool and comparable to the Formula One game, if not better over time", Hood told OverTake. "We could build a new franchise and maybe one day, the Formula One license might be available. This was the romantic dream."First, some convincing had to be done with IndyCar themselves, though, as Hood remembered: "We had to persuade IndyCar to give us the license, but we weren't competing against anybody. We weren't pushing them out or outbidding them - nobody wanted to make those games, because there was no franchise, nobody knew what the revenues would be, and everyone considered archaic." MSG saw this as an opportunity, "We imagined that if we make a good game with the great Studio 397 rFactor 2 physics, we could do something special and revive these products as a valuable franchise."
It did not quite work out that way. The IndyCar game got delayed and eventually, the licensing agreement with the premier US single-seater series was terminated, with the assets that had been developed so far now being in IndyCar's hands as a result. The series is free to look for another studio and publisher to finish the title, with MSG having agreed to aid the transition.
No Timeline, No S397 Physics
What exactly did prompt Motorsport Games to axe the first standalone IndyCar game in 20 years, though? Put simply, it was a trip to Australia that Hood took. The purpose was to visit Motorsport Games Australia, which took care of developing the game - but the state of things were not exactly promising for a company that was already struggling to make ends meet at that point."I went to see them in person and to see what they were working on. I wanted to talk to the team. To my surprise, they had no idea when the project could be delivered", Hood looks back on the trip Down Under. "They asked me when it should be delivered, and I said 'yesterday', because we needed the revenue. They gave me a bunch of excuses as to why it couldn't be done." Hood admits that the studio was "somewhat understaffed, maybe underresourced, but that's fine if it means that the project would take longer to deliver. But there was no timeline."
Following this visit, Hood had to make a decision. "I came away with an external producer who used to work with me at Codemasters, and we both looked at one another and thought: 'If they can't even tell us when the project is going to be delivered, how do we keep financing it?' Money is tight, so you have to make some difficult decisions", Hood said. In addition, the game apparently also did not feature the Studio 397 physics engine, "which is why we acquired the studio in the first place", according to Hood.
This, then, led to one of these difficult decisions Hood mentioned - and the project was put on hold, while the studio got shut down. "It wasn't IndyCar pulling the license, it was us saying 'we are not going to make this'", explained Hood. "As a result of that, the license goes back to IndyCar, and they can give it to somebody else while we had to pay a massive penalty."
"IndyCar were very good with us"
While Hood did label the situation itself "a massive sh*tshow", he underscores that the relationship with IndyCar is still rather positive: "They were very good with us, we talked about many ways of architecting delivery of the project with their help. But at the end of the day, I just didn't think that we were able to deliver it, so I focused on Le Mans.The fact that I closed IndyCar had nothing to do with the dream, it was more about the reality on the ground when I came back. It wasn't going anywhere, and I had to make a choice: Am I going to favor Le Mans Ultimate and put the resources into that, or should I favor IndyCar? It was much more advanced technology-wise. Especially using Unreal Engine, it would have been a great foundation for the future."
With all the eggs firmly in the Le Mans Ultimate basket, Motorsport Games and Studio 397 are looking to complete the 2024 season DLC for the game. With two packs already released, the third one is expected before the end of 2024, which will bring the first few LMGT3 cars into the sim. Two more tracks from the 2024 calendar are also still missing, those being Lusail and Interlagos.
IndyCar fans, on the other hand, still have to hope that a dedicated game around their favorite series will see the light of day eventually.
Are you still hoping to see a standalone IndyCar game? Let us know in the comments below and join the discussion in our forums!
