As the start of the Vendée Globe approaches on Sunday, hundreds of thousands of virtual sailors are preparing to take part in the race through Virtual Regatta, a simulation game that has been growing incessantly since its launch in 2008. In 2020, it had attracted a million participants before being bought by the world leader in online bridge a few months later.
The game is now part of the package of almost every Vendée Globe follower. For the fifth time, Virtual Regatta will allow several hundred thousand virtual sailors to take part in the single-handed offshore race, which will start this Sunday in Les Sables-d'Olonne.
The principle is simple: registration on the site, a small starting package, a boat and weather conditions almost similar to those of the 40 skippers at the start. The goal: to go around the world as quickly as possible by choosing the best trajectory, the most suitable sails and finding the windiest areas. All behind your smartphone or computer.
Numbers and partnerships doubled
Launched in 2006 by Philippe Guigné, creator of the company Manyplayers in 2002, the game welcomed more than a million participants during the last edition in 2020-2021. “It’s the absolute world record for players together in the same video game, and it’s a sailing game, it’s still crazy,” the founder still hallucinates.
This box allowed her to sell her baby to 52 Entertainment, the world leader in online bridge for a “confidential” price in 2021. It now allows her to “enjoy” life, her goal.
“I’m really wired as an entrepreneur,” he continues.
“When I created this company, the goal was to sell it and stop working. When I had the right window, that's what I did. Today, I I specialize more in chess, tennis, I race, I cruise.” On a real boat, his passion.
When leaving the Virtual Regatta ship, the winner of the Sailing Tour de France in 1997 employed between ten and fifteen people. There are now 20 employees responsible for ensuring the continued growth in the number of participants. A plebiscite that is a priori surprising for a sport that is normally followed in a rather confidential manner.
But the fascination of viewers for this great epic of the Vendée Globe operates. The ease of the game too. “It’s very good and very simple,” explains Guigné. “The principle of doing the same thing in terms of routing as sailors, of having real weather, real cartography, a boat which has performances which correspond to those of the physical world, is very rich. The species The miracle is that we managed to make it simple.”
The million thanks to confinements
He praises its universal side where professional sailors rub shoulders with a large majority of novices in sailing. “We managed to do something that appeals to everyone,” says the founder. “On the one hand, there is 'Madame Michu' in Cantal who has never been on a boat in her life, and on the other Armel le Cléac'h who won the Vendée Globe. And all these people play in the same game. 50% of our players say they never sail. Afterwards, there is the Vendée Globe which is super powerful, it's a great event, very unifying, a lot of people follow the race. the game.”
For the 2024-2025 edition, the challenge promises to be met for the new team in charge of the project. Technically first with a “70% redesigned platform”, explains Tom Gauthier, general manager and one of the three employees who remained after the takeover. But also in terms of objectives with the million mark still in the sights, but not as easy to achieve despite this insolent growth. “2020 was a year of pandemic with successive confinements and curfews,” underlines Tom Gauthier.
“The notion of freedom took on its full meaning for those who wanted to escape a little,” he continues.
“A large part of the video game industry benefited from a huge increase in audience overall. We rode a little on this wave. It brought us additional notoriety, we must not hide it. In 2020, we set the bar quite high and it's still a small challenge to succeed in reaching the million mark this year.
Five days before departure, more than 170,000 people had registered for the game, a figure which is increasing every day and which will explode on Sunday. It will continue to grow after the start since newcomers can join the race at any time. They will be able to rub shoulders with teams of gamers or experienced sailors.
Several former Vendée Globe winners and media personalities took part four years ago. This year, five participants in the Solitaire du Figaro have, for the moment, planned to line up at the start. Virtual Regatta can also be a gateway to real sailing as was the case for Basile Buisson, who went from virtual to the “real” Transat Jacques-Vabre.
A film about a Virtual Regatta player from his boat… in the garden
This popularity inevitably attracts partners. Before being bought, the company had already partnered with the World Sailing Federation to offer all Offshore (offshore) and Inshore (coastal) races, such as the regattas of the last Olympic Games in Paris 2024. “The CIO had publicly said that the partnership between the World Sailing Federation and Virtual Regatta was an example to follow for other game publishers and federations,” boasts Philippe Guigné. “It’s one of the biggest successes of games that are CIO labeled today.”
Notoriety that helps increase the value of the company. According to data from the Pappers site, the company had a turnover of more than three million euros (3,259,082 euros) in 2021 at the end of the edition won by Yannick Bestaven. It was down the following year (2,638,402 euros in 2022) without a race.
The acquisition made it possible to allocate additional resources to the strategic management of partners, whose number has doubled in three years. “We have more people dedicated to that in the company today,” explains Tom Gauthier. “We have quite varied and rather cool partnerships.” He cites operations with Panini, the Legend YouTube channel and a large part of the boat sponsors.
But also with Pathé as part of the release of the film The Valley of Foolsthis Wednesday. The feature film tells the story of a sailing enthusiast riddled with debt who decides to isolate himself for three months on his boat… in his garden to participate in the Vendée Globe by proxy at the helm of Virtual Regatta. When the virtual never seems so real.
Nicolas Couet Journalist RMC Sport
