Things have taken a tumultuous turn at Motorsport Games, with the company announcing mass redundancies for 40% of its staff, likely affecting games currently in development. The studio holds licenses for official IndyCar, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and British Touring Car Championship games.
Motorsport Games lays off 40% of its staff
Motorsport Games has been in financial turmoil for sometime now. To help raise cash, the studio, which developed the maligned NASCAR 21: Ignition and the Switch-exclusive NASCAR Rivals, recently sold the NASCAR license to iRacing. Now, Motorsport Games has announced plans to lay off around 40% of its staff to further reduce operating costs.
According to its latest financial report, Motorsport Games is reducing its workforce in Australia and the UK by “approximately” 38 employees, affecting around 40% of its total employees. These redundancies are expected to be completed by the end of the fourth quarter of the 2023 fiscal year.
IndyCar game looks in doubt
The long-awaited IndyCar game is in development by Motorsport Games Australia. It was originally slated for a 2023 release before being delayed to 2024.
After the NASCAR game license was acquired by iRacing, development of the IndyCar game was said to be “under review.” With the layoffs primarily affecting Motorsport Games Australia, its future now looks even more uncertain.
Meanwhile, Le Mans Ultimate, which is currently in development by Studio 397 but published by Motorsport Games, is currently still on track for a December 2023 release at the time of writing, while the BTCC game is still expected to arrive in 2024 according to the official website.
Our thoughts are with everyone affected by the layoffs at Motorsport Games.