Indeed, if there is nothing unusual in seeing automobile simulations disappear from the shelves due to the expiration of licenses granted by manufacturers, this simultaneous withdrawal of all games NASCAR Heat, NASCAR Rivals et NASCAR Ignition is the consequence of a particular event, namely the sale of the NASCAR license to iRacing.com Motorsport Simulations, in October 2023. The press release at the time already mentioned the expiration of Motorsport Games' rights to NASCAR games at the end of 2024.
« Beginning December 31, 2024, all NASCAR games and their downloadable content (DLC) will no longer be available for purchase on digital platforms, but will remain playable after this date. This includes the @NASCARHeat, @NASCARRivals and @NASCARignition franchises. Take advantage of the various promotions on the platforms in December to complete your collection of NASCAR games on console while you can “, we can read.
The sale of the NASCAR license arises from the restructuring started in 2022 by Motorsport Games, which also had to terminate other contracts (IndyCar, British Touring Car Championship) to continue operating. Without the NASCAR games, which it has held since 2018, the Motorsport Games label is reduced to KartKraft and its Dutch subsidiary Studio 397, author of the venerable rFactor 2, which today takes care of the early access of the Le Mans game Ultimate on Steam.
The latest financial report from Motorsport Games is also transparent as to the urgency of the situation. “ Based on its position in cash and cash equivalents as well as its average monthly cash consumption, the Company estimates that it does not have sufficient funds to finance its activities during the coming year. Therefore, additional funding will be required to continue its operations. »
For its part, iRacing is working on NASCAR '25, which is aiming for a fall 2025 launch on consoles. A fair return for the company of veteran David Kaemmer who had already developed numerous NASCAR games between 1994 and 2003 under the banner of his former studio, Papyrus. No images of the game are yet available, but the developers share their enthusiasm in two notebooks.
- Also read | Forza Motorsport: NASCAR is back with the latest update
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