With IndyCar’s return to iRacing this year, fans have been speculating about how the game will utilise the racing series. With talk on whether iRacing would produce a console game for IndyCar, there was a lot of excitement among the console crowd.
The silence has now been broken, however, and it’s not good news for PlayStation and Xbox racers.
A racing return
After losing the IndyCar license at the end of 2022, we didn’t expect IndyCar to return to iRacing so soon. However, after the well-documented issues with Motorsport Games, iRacing swooped in to reclaim the rights to use IndyCar in the racing sim.
Signing a new multiyear licence agreement in January 2024, IndyCar, along with NASCAR, is back in the capable hands of iRacing, with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway also returning to iRacing as part of the deal.
When the deal was announced, it was hinted by iRacing that the IndyCar work would expand, leading many to speculate a console IndyCar game was coming soon.
Considering Motorsport Games’ IndyCar game was originally due to be released on console, this seemed a logical step for iRacing to make. However, it seems it’s bad news for console players.
IndyCar won’t be coming to console
In a recent interview with Insider Gaming, iRacing president Tony Gardner stated that a console IndyCar game won’t be coming anytime soon. This is despite plans to grow the relationship between iRacing and IndyCar.
With iRacing itself being a PC exclusive, taking IndyCar to console would be a step into the unknown, so it makes sense to rein in expectations for now. This is still disappointing news, but Gardner did hint that a console version of IndyCar could still happen in the future.
“I know that’s what people want. And we, you know, in a perfect world, we could do that, too. But we don’t want to make the same mistake Motorsport Games did and bite off more than we can do.” Gardner revealed.
Overreaching is ultimately what cost Motorsport Games so heavily, so it’s clear iRacing doesn’t wish to repeat the same mistakes. This does lead to bad news for console racers in the short term, but it seems the door isn’t completely closed on iRacing bringing IndyCar to console.
Would you like to see IndyCar come to console? Let us know in the comments below!
Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get the latest racing game news and deals straight to your inbox!