Over the years, a lot of companies and mega-gaming corporations have contributed to the development of NASCAR’s gaming ecosystem. It started with Papyrus Design Group in 1994, then EA Sports came out with its yearly series until 2010. This is when iRacing stepped into the picture and completely flipped the script.

Last year NASCAR announced that iRacing had acquired the NASCAR Team Properties (NTP), an exclusive license for simulation-style console games. 704Games, a subsidiary of Motorsport Game Inc., will transfer the license to Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s iRacing, which will develop new NASCAR console games from 2025 onwards.

Eutechnyx did try to revive the yearly series, but in 2016, they handed over the reins to Motorsport Games, who haven’t been able to appease NASCAR’s gaming community. They tried to overturn this sentiment with titles such as NASCARHeat, NASCARRivals, and NASCARignition. But these efforts didn’t deliver what the gamers were expecting. And now that the company is bidding farewell, the fans were in celebratory mode, expecting better things from iRacing.

Motorsport Games took to X and shared an official announcement about their departure, thanking the fans for their support. “From December 31, 2024, all NASCAR game titles and their DLC content will no longer be available for purchase on all digital storefronts but will remain available to play after this time. This includes the @NASCARHeat, @NASCARRivals, and @NASCARignition franchises.”

After iRacing purchased the NASCAR license for $6 million, it felt like a big gamble. After all, the stock-racing series doesn’t have a great track record for its games. That was until iRacing gave glimpses of its work so far. From laser-scanned tracks to working with actual NASCAR personnel, the game shows a lot of promise.

However, the NASCAR gaming community couldn’t be happier to see the publisher leaving, as they made their feelings heard with their comments on social media.

Fans are relieved to see Motorsport Games depart from NASCAR’s gaming scene

Motorsport Games doesn’t have a good reputation among the gamers. Frequent game crashes, glitches during the purchase of the game, and bugs are what gamers experience whenever they decide to give the publisher a chance. Well, the reviews on Steam speak volumes of how badly they handled these titles and were trouble for the fans wanting to enjoy a good NASCAR game. Now that they are ending their ties with NASCAR, this race fan held no punches in expressing what he felt about this announcement: “F–- you, good riddance.”

Well, it looks like they anticipated the backlash they were going to receive from the fans. Which is why they turned off the comments section of their announcement post. Now, it’s hard to judge if they were invested in delivering NASCAR fans a good video game or were just in it for the cream. But this fan was convinced they didn’t value their users based on the products they’ve delivered in their tenure. “The fact they turned off the replies tells you how much they care about the product.”

It seems the company tried to chew more than they could bite. In 2022, their investors turned against them and filed a lawsuit against Motorsport Games, accusing them of fraud. This move saw most of the board directors step down from their roles within the company. Meanwhile, they weren’t able to keep their promise after striking a deal to develop a game for IndyCar, which never came. Well, for once, they are now on the receiving end of things and won’t continue with NASCAR. And this news has lifted the spirits of this fan, who taunted the publisher by stating, “Doesn’t this mean they’ve become abandonware? Oh boy, now it’s time to put these on abandonware sights.”

When compared to other sports and their gaming ecosystem, NASCAR fans certainly have had the short end of the stick. To be fair to the gamers, after EA’s exit, they didn’t have a reliable publisher who could keep up with the changing dynamics of not just gaming but NASCAR as a sport in general. “As if NASCAR gaming fans haven’t taken enough of the shaft,” a user on X added. NASCAR games have been under a lot of scrutiny for the last two decades. With publishers never being able to satisfy expectations, iRacing stepping in may just be what fans need. iRacing is among the best racing simulators in the world. Even real NASCAR teams use it as part of their simulators.

Simulation is something that has become a part of the popular culture within the NASCAR community. Now, this is more than just a game, as gamers get a real feel of what it is to compete in a real race. iRacing is more than just a game, and they’ve helped NASCAR develop new tracks like the Chicago Street Race and Busch Light Clash. Even the drivers were hooked on this simulation game during the COVID-19 pandemic. So, gamers can certainly expect better days ahead with iRacing now in the driving seat. “We have better fish to fry in 2025 🙏🏼”

Hopefully, iRacing will prove to be a platform where NASCAR gamers can truly feel at home.