It’s a pretty sad day for sim racing and IndyCar fans.
iRacing, probably the world’s most popular simulator racing platform, has just received news that it will no longer have access to its iconic IndyCar series in 2023 – thanks to an exclusive licensing deal recently concluded with another developer.
For years, the virtual Indy 500 provided by iRacing has been among the most celebrated events within racing esports, making the news all the more devastating for countless of sim racers and true motorsport fans.
That means, come 2023, iRacing will no longer feature the IndyCar series and its regular season races.
iRacing Indycar license comes to an end
Greg West, the Associate Producer of iRacing, posted in a forum that their Indycar license will terminate on December 31.
Starting from January 1st 2023 onwards, another developer will have exclusive rights to this license.
As a result, iRacing says it will “no longer be able to run an official Indycar branded series and there will not be an Indy 500 on iRacing.”
Does that mean we won’t be able to drive Indycar on iRacing anymore?
No, fortunately you will still be able to drive IndyCar cars on iRacing.
However, you won’t be able to race in an official Indycar series or virtual Indy 500.
Toc larify, the cars and IndyCar tracks will still be available in iRacing, but they won’t have any IndyCar branding or mentions.
“Our current license agreement with Indycar is set to expire on December 31, 2022. Indycar has signed an exclusive license with another developer that goes into effect on January 1, 2023,” according to the forum post.
“While we are still working on finalising a new license with Indycar, it is clear there will be some notable changes to the way we are able to present Indycar racing on iRacing.”
“Most significantly, we will no longer be able to run an official Indycar branded series and there will not be an iRacing Indy 500. You will also see the removal of the Indycar Series logo from our sites.”
There will basically be no changes in regard to the non-Indycar series at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for other series – NASCAR, IMSA, etc.”
Who now owns IndyCar’s license?
While the developer of iRacing is undisclosed, we can probably assume that Motorsport Games (well-known for developing rFactor 2 and NASCAR 21 Ignition) now holds the rights to produce a new official IndyCar game.
This means that for the foreseeable future you’ll have to race on the IndyCar series with another game, which is currently not available.
Of course, the sim racing community did not take the news well. Even Dale Earnhardt JR., one of their own, was disappointed by this decision and called it a “gut punch” for all involved.
This oppressive situation has been a major setback for the iRacing community, as their much-anticipated IndyCar game is now in jeopardy due to Motorsport Games’ current financial situation.
Scheduled to roll out in 2023, its future remains uncertain at this time.
Conclusion
So there you have it, everything you needed to know about the new license deal and its implications for iRacing.
As you can see, the beloved IndyCar series will be no longer available on the platform from January 1, 2023 onwards.
We’ll just have to wait and see how the iRacing community will fill this void.
Until then, we wish you all the best and happy sim racing over the Christmas Holidays!
