We are nearly two years on from the launch of ESL R1 and Rennsport has still not been released.
Some of the best sim racers on earth have been competing for huge prizes on beautiful stages with amazing production values on a platform that is still, publicly at least, in beta.
With rival titles gathering momentum and the pandemic boom in sim racing subsiding Rennsport may already be a dead game.
Missing in Action
Rennsport announced itself in April 2022, and launched its ESL R1 series in early 2023. Since then though, the game has barely made a dent in the public consciousness.
While hype for every new season of iRacing grows and the anticipation for Assetto Corsa Evo builds, there is no buzz for Rennsport at all.
The beta is now open to the public, with Rennsport also available on Steam after previously only being available through Epic. And no one cares.
Esports vs public
The decision to lean into esports with Rennsport via ESL R1 was an interesting one. Initial curiosity was there, especially as ESL was able to blend traditional esports teams like FaZe Clan and Mouz with sim racing teams like Redline and Williams.
This quickly faded though. The repetition of tracks and length of competition sessions drained fans. There is still decent viewership for the series, based on Twitch viewer numbers, but the broader appeal of ESL R1 has dried up.
By leading with esports, the team behind Rennsport was taking an active decision to favor the competitive over the casual. The inability of interested racers to jump into the title at the same time as the esports drivers, even if it was only a handful of cars and tracks, definitely soured the perception of the game.
Sim racers are used to games being in early access with only a small amount of playable content. Le Mans Ultimate did this very thing in 2024 and has found a reasonable audience and now has a clear path forward. Meanwhile, Rennsport is nowhere.
Vanishing Gaps
The sim racing world exploded in 2020. As everyone was stuck indoors and with little sport on the TV, esports and sim racing came to the fore.
The Virtual Grand Prix series saw Charles Leclerc, Lando Norris, and others jump onto the F1 game every week. IndyCar and Formula E joined in and suddenly you couldn't get hold of a Logitech G29 as players around the world decided to try out racing at home.
Since then, those players who have stuck around have gravitated to a handful of titles. iRacing and the Assetto Corsa family have been the biggest winners, and rightfully so.
The issue for other games is that Assetto Corsa Competizione, until recently, dominates the GT racing scene while iRacing hoovers up everything else. Console players have Gran Turismo, Forza, and F1 so they aren't begging for alternate options either. That leaves very little space for a newcomer to stand out.
When every game has Spa, Monza, and Silverstone and a collection of modern and classic cars to drive how exactly do you make a mark as a new title? Le Mans Ultimate is trying to do it with the WEC license and endurance racing. What does Rennsport offer? Not much.
Is there any coming back?
It is incredibly hard to see how Rennsport could launch with any meaningful momentum behind it. I'm sure Competition Company will try to create some buzz. They will reach out to Jimmy Broadbent and Super GT to get some videos done. They will lean on the esports drivers to promote the title.
The problem is that Assetto Corsa Evo just stole the spotlight and any breathing room for a new sim title. Players have sunk hundreds or thousands into iRacing and won't walk away easily. Unless Rennsport can truly be a class-leading simulation of racing or offer meaningful upgrades to offline play and online competition then it will release without anyone noticing and simply fade into oblivion.