Development on the Indycar game has been suspended and the upcoming Le Mans Ultimate is being pushed back to early 2024.
The news was announced when Motorsport Games published its third-quarter earnings for 2023.
“This quarter has continued to be one of business transformation,” Motorsport Games CEO Stephen Hood said while touching on the sale of the NASCAR license.
He added: “Additional cost-saving measures have included the recent closure of our Australian development studio, with corresponding global headcount reductions, and the suspension of the development of our previously planned IndyCar game, to decrease operating expenses whilst also removing projects that are underperforming or are unlikely to generate revenue.”
In addition to the suspension of the IndyCar game, it was announced that Le Mans Ultimate is being pushed back from December to February 20, 2024.
Motorsport Games also announced that it had lost $3.5 million during the third quarter, bringing its total losses for the year to $16.7 million.
Originally planned for release in 2023, Indycar was delayed to 2024. However, layoffs last week at Motorsport Games saw the development team at the company’s Australian studio, the studio responsible for the game, let go.
One source told Insider Gaming that they “didn’t know what was going to happen” with the game after all the layoffs.
Another source, who reached out after that story was published, said that builds of the game had been given to QA each week with updates and that things seemed to be heading in a good direction. That said, the marketing department hadn’t been told anything about when to start pushing more on the game despite teaser trailers being produced along with marketing screenshots.
Despite the lack of release, IndyCar will still be due a “minimum guaranteed annual payment” from Motorsport Games within 60 days of the start of 2024. Without payment, IndyCar will be able to revoke its license from Motorsport Games.
One source close to IndyCar says that, despite not being able to legally announce anything just yet, the company already knows what its plans are and that “frustration” is setting in.
Insider Gaming has reached out to IndyCar for comment on the suspension of the game. As of publishing, a response has not been received.
