First of all, we’re not interested in getting into controversies. This rumor has been bouncing around the American internet for about three weeks now, and honestly, when we combine this with the results from the last quarter that Motorsport Games (hereafter referred to as MSGM) offered two weeks ago, it makes you think.
- In mid-August, news emerged that NASCAR could potentially revoke MSGM’s exclusive license to develop console games. These rumors, as nothing has been confirmed yet, come from various sources of journalist Mike Straw. This has since led to a YouTube video where others have laid out the points clearly.
- This signals a significant move on NASCAR’s part to rescue its troubled video game projects, as the exclusivity agreement with the current license holder, Motorsport Games, wasn’t scheduled to expire until December 31, 2029. Until now, information about the future of NASCAR video games has mainly come from unconfirmed or anonymous sources, leading to vagueness about what this specifically means. For instance, the upcoming NASCAR Arcade Rush game is published by GameMill and Team 6, so there already seems to be some sort of exception to MSG’s exclusivity agreement. However, there’s still no news about a flagship Cup Series title for this season.
- Straw suggests he’s heard the names of some studios, but he still can’t confirm which of those studios will work on future projects. It should be noted that modern big-budget video games typically take around 3 years to develop, meaning that any game fans receive before 2026 could simply be another mid-quality title similar to recent entries. Also, it hasn’t been announced yet which company or companies will publish these titles.
- Despite the lack of specific details, fans are overwhelmingly excited to hear this news. With little or no recent communication from NASCAR or Motorsport Games, fans are taking this news as a change in the status quo of NASCAR console video games. Then we have the results from the second quarter in which things appear worse than last year.
Analyzing the numbers, which we understand just enough, losses have increased, revenues have decreased, and liquidity has also diminished, all compared to 2022.
In fact, the company believes it doesn’t have enough liquidity to survive until the end of the year, requiring external financing. One of the options being considered to address this is the sale of some licenses (NASCAR, Indycar, or BTCC) that would allow it to stay afloat.
Let’s not forget that Le Mans Ultimate is scheduled for December 2023.
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