Motorsport Games has completed their acquisition of Studio 397, the developer behind the popular racing sim platform rFactor 2. Going forward this will allow Motorsport Games to feed the studio’s expertise into its growing portfolio of racing games. This includes a 2021 reboot of the NASCAR video game franchise for consoles, as well as upcoming licensed games based of the British Touring Car Championship and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The acquisition of Studio 397 changes very little. The team will continue to retain its own branding and will continue to develop rFactor 2, and they have already been collaborating with Motorsport Games. The NASCAR reboot has been in development for over a year internally at Motorsport Games, with Studio 397 helping on the game’s vehicle physics, tyre model and AI – it’s not clear if they’re essentially lifting these from rFactor 2 for the new NASCAR game or if their inputting into a different physics engine, but it sounds encouraging for the game to have a more exacting simulation model.
Stephen Hood, President of Motorsport Games, said “Studio 397 shares our same passions for virtual racing and creating the best possible driving experiences for our players. We originally chose to work with them on our new NASCAR game franchise to bring top class elements to the titles, as rFactor 2 has the best vehicle physics, AI and tire model available today. Therefore, when the opportunity arose to bring them into the Motorsport Games family, it made perfect sense to all parties.”
Marcel Offermans, Director of Studio for Studio 397 said, “We are delighted to become a part of the Motorsport Games family. We remain committed to growing the rFactor 2 platform, as well as providing the base for the simulation components in all future Motorsport Games titles.”
Studio 397’s been in the spotlight over the last year or so, as real world motorsports were put on hold last spring due to the pandemic. While Formula 1 used the F1 2019 video game for its own virtual grand prix events, rFactor 2 was used for virtual events that included the Formula E Race at Home Challenge and the 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual, both of which were run by Motorsport Games.
The NASCAR franchise has needed an overhaul for quite some time. We reviewed NASCAR Heat 5 last year, with Tom saying:
Including all of the NASCAR license must be a mammoth task, and while Heat 5 is an improvement over its forbearers, the overall feeling of the game is that of a vacuous slog. With no obvious USP other than the volume of cars and tracks, or magic new features that other racing games should take inspiration from, NASCAR Heat 5 is a perfunctory depiction that’s enjoyable in small doses but runs out of tyres once you get past the initial stages.
Source: Motorsport Games
