Motorsport Games

Motorsport Games Inc.
Company typePublic
Nasdaq: MSGM
IndustryVideo games
Founded2018; 6 years ago (2018), in Miami, Florida, U.S.
Area served
Worldwide
RevenueUS$15,075,530 (2021)[1]
US$−33,161,991 (2021)
Total assetsUS$50,703,203 (2021)
Number of employees
189 (2021)
ParentMotorsport Network
Websitemotorsportgames.com

Motorsport Games Inc. is an American video game developer, publisher and esports event organizer based in Miami, Florida.[2] Motorsport Games is part of the Motorsport Network.

History

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Motorsport Games was founded in 2018 and on August 14 the studio acquired 53.5% equity interest in 704Games, at the time the current rights holder to the NASCAR video game series.[3] As a result, Motorsport Games became the official developer and publisher of the NASCAR video game racing franchise.[4][5] In the same month, Motorsport Games collaborated with Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) to launch the Le Mans esports series competition.[6]

In September 2019, Motorsport Games released the NASCAR Heat 4 game. In May 2020, 704Games replaced Monster Games as developer for NASCAR Heat 5,[7] which was released two months later on July 10.[8][9]

In 2021 the company acquired Studio 397 and its rFactor 2 sim racing platform. rFactor2 was appointed as the official sim racing platform of the all-electric FIA Formula E championship in 2022.[10]

In August 2021 former President of EA Sports and former CEO of Liverpool Football Club Peter Moore had joined the board of Motorsport Games.[11]

2020 esports events

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In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic Motorsport Games produced several official esports events for NASCAR,[12] 24 Hours of Le Mans,[13] FIA Formula E World Championship and FIA World Rallycross Championship,[14][15][16] eNASCAR Heat Pro League[17][18] and Virtual Race of Champions.[19]

Motorsport Games collaborated with Codemasters and Monster Energy, the sponsor of the FIA World Rallycross Championship, to create the World RX Esports Invitational which was held in April.[20]

In the same year in June, Motorsport Games, the Automobile Club de l'Ouest and the FIA World Endurance Championship organized the 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual race on the rFactor 2 gaming platform as a placeholder for the 2020 24 Hours of Le Mans which has been postponed from June to September as a result of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in France.[21][22][23] It was watched by 14.2 million television viewers and reached 8.6 million views,[24][25] and was the recipient of several awards such as Autosport Pioneering and Engineering Award at the Autosport Awards.[26]

IPO and 2021 acquisitions

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Motorsport Games completed its Initial public offering (IPO) in January 2021, ended up raising $69 million which was used for acquiring the remaining equity interest of 704Games,[27][28] and for acquiring KartKraft and Studio 397.[29][30][31] In February, Motorsport Games entered into an agreement to acquire game assets and code of PC kart racing simulator, KartKraft from Black Delta for an undisclosed amount with an aim to form a new studio called Motorsport Games Australia where the development of KartKraft will continue,[32][33][34][35] and completed the deal in March.[36] In March, Motorsport entered into an agreement with Luminis International to acquire Studio 397, the developer of rFactor 2 which was completed two months later.[37][38][39]

Motorsport Games combined the Unreal graphics engine and the rFactor physics technology for NASCAR 21: Ignition, which was released on October 26 the same year.[40][41][42][43] The combination of the rFactor and Unreal engines was used for all the upcoming titles produced by Motorsport Games,[41] such as British Touring Car Championship game which was in development. In the same month, Motorsport Games entered into a license with IndyCar to develop both IndyCar video game series, with a planned launch date in 2023, and events.[44] Also in June, Motorsport Games announced the development of a dedicated video game title for the 24 Hours of Le Mans through a licensing deal with that race's parent organizations, the Automobile Club de l'Ouest and the FIA World Endurance Championship, originally scheduled for release in 2023.[45][24]

The BTCC game was originally scheduled to have been released in 2022 but was delayed for 2024.[46]

In December 2022, Motorsport Games began an equity purchase agreement with NYC-based Alumni Capital in the amount of up to $2 million in company stock, with options up to a total of $10 million expiring December 31, 2023.[47]

By October 2023, Motorsports Games was no longer working on a future NASCAR title, as the license to produce NASCAR video games was transferred to iRacing, who have a long-standing relationship with NASCAR, with a title planned for 2025.[48] Motorsport laid off 40% of their workforce in the following month.[49] The same week, TOCA, the rights holder for the BTCC, ended its partnership with the company "due to ongoing fundamental breaches of the agreement by Motorsport Games".[50] Over a week later, IndyCar terminated its agreement with the company, citing Motorsport Games' failure to deliver a game within the 2023 season.[51]

Controversies

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On March 28, 2022, U.S. federal judge Stephanos Bibas accepted a motion by investors Innovate 2 Corp., Continental General Insurance Company, and Leo Capital Holdings LLC to sue Motorsport Games in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware. In the filing, the investors accuse four Motorsport Games executives of securities fraud, claiming that the executives provided misleading statistics to the remaining investors of 704Games about the company's financial situation and the sales performance of its main product, the NASCAR Heat franchise. The investors allege that the information they received allowed Motorsport Games to buy out the remaining shares of 704Games at a significant discount to what Motorsport Games offered at their IPO, at which point the NASCAR Heat series accounted for a majority of Motorsport Games' total net revenue, estimated at 99%.[52]

The same year in November, Motorsport Games received a notice of non-compliance with Nasdaq listing rules after its board of directors resigned over funding disputes. The company reported losses of $7.5 million against revenue of $1.2 million in the third quarter of 2022.[53]

In January 2023, Motorsport Games organised the fourth annual Le Mans virtual 24-hour endurance race, a parallel to the real-life 24 Hours of Le Mans event. The race took place in Motorsport Games' sim racing video game rFactor 2 and featured notable motorsport drivers, such as Formula One World Champion Max Verstappen and former Formula One driver Romain Grosjean. The event was plagued with server issues and disconnections, which lead a lot of backlash from participants. Verstappen described the event as a "clown show",[54] and online content creator and participant Jimmy Broadbent stated that this would ultimately "damage sim racing" as a medium.[55] Several days after the event, an anonymous employee threatened to publicly leak the source code for NASCAR Heat 5, NASCAR 21: Ignition, KartKraft and the unreleased IndyCar game unless unpaid wage payments were made.[56]

Games

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Cancelled games

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References

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  1. ^ "Inline XBRL Viewer". www.sec.gov.
  2. ^ "Nascar Video-Game Maker Motorsport Sued by Investors Before IPO". Bloomberg.com. 2021-01-11. Retrieved 2021-10-20.
  3. ^ "Motorsport Games acquire 53.5% equity interest in 704 Games". www.sec.gov. Retrieved 2021-10-20.
  4. ^ Perishable (2018-08-22). "704GAMES ANNOUNCES NEW INVESTMENT FROM MOTORSPORT NETWORK". NASCAR Heat. Retrieved 2021-10-20.
  5. ^ Wolkin, Joseph. "Motorsport Games Announces Launch Date For A Rebranded Nascar Video Game". Forbes. Retrieved 2021-10-20.
  6. ^ Robinson, Martin (2018-08-20). "Le Mans esports series announced as motorsport gets serious about gaming". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2021-10-20.
  7. ^ Kato, Matthew (May 6, 2020). "NASCAR Heat 5 Makes Pit Road Adjustments". GameInformer. Archived from the original on May 9, 2020.
  8. ^ Kato, Matthew (May 6, 2020). "What's In Store For The Future Of NASCAR Heat". GameInformer. Archived from the original on May 9, 2020.
  9. ^ "NASCAR Heat 5 set to launch two editions in July". www.motorsport.com. Retrieved 2021-10-20.
  10. ^ Reilly, Luke (29 March 2022). "Formula E Expands Partnership with Motorsport Games, rFactor 2". IGN.
  11. ^ "Game industry veteran Peter Moore joins Motorsport Games board of directors". Sports Business Journal.
  12. ^ Robinson, Martin (2020-06-12). "How the world's greatest motor race is coming to video games this weekend". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2021-10-20.
  13. ^ "What next for 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual?". www.autosport.com. Retrieved 2021-10-20.
  14. ^ "What next for 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual?". www.motorsport.com. Retrieved 2021-10-20.
  15. ^ "Sim Racing Experts Discuss: COVID-19 Boost and the Esports Niche's Future – ARCHIVE - The Esports Observer". 2020-07-27. Retrieved 2021-10-20.
  16. ^ "Motorsport UK launches new Karting Esports series with Motorsport Games". www.autosport.com. Retrieved 2021-10-20.
  17. ^ "Motorsport Games announces new Winter Heat Series". www.autosport.com. Retrieved 2021-10-20.
  18. ^ "Motorsport Games welcomes Gérard Neveu as Motorsports Advisor". www.autosport.com. Retrieved 2021-10-20.
  19. ^ "Watch Live: Virtual Race of Champions". www.autosport.com. Retrieved 2021-10-20.
  20. ^ "World RX to launch Esports series with Motorsport Games, Codemasters". www.autosport.com. Retrieved 2021-10-01.
  21. ^ Rehman, Mohammed (2020-06-20). "Why the 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual was a success". Last Lap. Retrieved 2021-10-20.
  22. ^ "Virtual 24 Hours of Le Mans event launched". SportBusiness. 2020-05-18. Retrieved 2021-10-20.
  23. ^ "24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual - Who's driving, how can I watch and more". www.autosport.com. Retrieved 2021-10-20.
  24. ^ a b Bradley, Charles (21 July 2021). "What next for 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual?". Motorsport.com. Retrieved 2021-10-20.
  25. ^ Lloyd, Daniel (19 June 2020). "Virtual 24H Le Mans Viewing Figures Revealed". SportsCar365. Archived from the original on 31 December 2020. Retrieved 2021-10-20.
  26. ^ "24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual wins Autosport's Pioneering and Innovation Award". Autosport. 12 December 2020. Archived from the original on 31 December 2020. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  27. ^ "Motorsport Games to Acquire All Remaining Shares of 704Games – ARCHIVE - The Esports Observer". 2021-03-15. Retrieved 2021-10-20.
  28. ^ "Motorsport Games". www.canaccordgenuity.com. Retrieved 2021-10-20.
  29. ^ "Update: Motorsport Games Looks to Raise Around $60M Going Public on the Nasdaq – ARCHIVE - The Esports Observer". 2021-01-11. Retrieved 2021-10-20.
  30. ^ "Motorsports Games upsizes IPO to raise up to $60 million, as expected pricing also increases". www.msn.com. Retrieved 2021-10-20.
  31. ^ MarketScreener. "Motorsport Games Inc. entered a binding term sheet to acquire Digital Tales USA, LLC from EleDa s.r.l. for $2.2 million. | MarketScreener". www.marketscreener.com. Retrieved 2021-10-20.
  32. ^ "Motorsport Games announces expansion into karting with KartKraft". www.autosport.com. Retrieved 2021-10-20.
  33. ^ "Motorsport Games announces expansion into karting with KartKraft". MSN.
  34. ^ Motosport Snaps Up KartKraft; Street Sees 41% Upside, at nasdaq.com, Feb 21, 2021
  35. ^ "Motorsport Games vs. Activision Blizzard: Which E-Sports Company is a Better Buy?". Entrepreneur. Retrieved 2021-10-20.
  36. ^ Harrison-Lord, Thomas (2021-03-23). "KartKraft takeover by Motorsport Games now complete". Traxion. Retrieved 2021-10-20.
  37. ^ "Motorsport Games acquires racing simulation tech firm Studio397". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved 2021-10-20.
  38. ^ Tobias Seck Motorsport Games to Acquire rFactor 2 Developer Studio397 in a $16M Deal, at esportsobserver.com, March 3, 2021
  39. ^ Robinson, Martin (2021-03-03). "Motorsport Games moves to acquire rFactor 2". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2021-10-20.
  40. ^ Good, Owen S. (2021-08-26). "NASCAR's newest game pretties up with Unreal Engine 4". Polygon. Retrieved 2021-10-20.
  41. ^ a b Reilly, Luke, Motorsport Games Confirms NASCAR 21; New Engine, New Physics - IGN, retrieved 2021-10-20
  42. ^ "NASCAR comes back to console video games, with the Unreal Engine". Polygon. 2021-08-11. Retrieved 2021-10-20.
  43. ^ Newby, John (2021-09-02). "Motorsport Games Highlights Track-Building Process in Latest Dev Diary". Heavy.com. Retrieved 2021-10-20.
  44. ^ Motorsport Games Partners with IndyCar, Official Game Planned for 2023 - IGN, retrieved 2021-10-20
  45. ^ All-New Le Mans Game drops in 2023, at overtake.gg, Sept. 1st, 2021
  46. ^ Martin Bigg (November 15, 2022). "BTCC & IndyCar games in doubt". racinggames.gg. Gfinity PLC. Retrieved December 23, 2022.
  47. ^ "Motorsport Games Enters Into Equity Purchase Agreement" (Press release). Miami: Motorsport Games Inc. GlobeNewswire. December 9, 2022. Retrieved December 23, 2022.
  48. ^ Engle, Greg. "iRacing Acquires NASCAR Team Properties License From Troubled Motorsports Games Inc". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-01-28.
  49. ^ "MSN". www.msn.com. Retrieved 2024-01-28.
  50. ^ Richard Devine (November 6, 2023). "The Xbox racing game I was most looking forward to may now never see the light of day". Windows Central.
  51. ^ "IndyCar terminates license agreement with Motorsport Games". RACER. 2023-11-15. Retrieved 2024-01-28.
  52. ^ INNOVATE 2 CORP. (f/k/a HC2 HOLDINGS 2, INC.), CONTINENTAL GENERAL INSURANCE CO., and LEO CAPITAL HOLDINGS LLC v. MOTORSPORT GAMES INC., MIKEZOI, JONATHAN NEW, DMITRYKOZKO, and ALEX ROTHBERT, 21 cv 165, SB (D. Del. March 28, 2022).
  53. ^ "Motorsport Games Regains Full Compliance With Nasdaq Listing Rules". Yahoo Finance. 2023-01-31. Retrieved 2024-01-28.
  54. ^ "Wow. It's unusual I find myself in firm agreement with Max, but - he's right". Brad Philpot. January 15, 2023. Retrieved January 16, 2023.
  55. ^ "My Thoughts On The Le Mans Virtual Controversy". Jimmy Broadbent. January 15, 2023. Retrieved January 16, 2023.
  56. ^ Galekovic, Filip (2023-01-17). "Motorsport Games Employee Threatens to Leak Source Code Over Wage Dispute". Game Rant. Retrieved 2024-01-28.
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