Motorsport Games moves to acquire rFactor 2
Studio397 to lend hand to forthcoming BTCC and Le Mans games.
Motorsport Games continues to make inroads into the world of sim racing, with the announcement that it has entered a binding term sheet to acquire Studio397 and its widely acclaimed rFactor 2 platform.
It formalises a partnership that helped make last year's officially sanctioned 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual race, with the highly praised handling dynamics of rFactor 2 set to underpin Motorsport Games' forthcoming takes on BTCC - a hugely anticipated comeback for the series into the virtual domain - and Le Mans.
"Studio397 has a clear passion for virtual racing and together we recognised an opportunity to work as one team to advance the genre to the next level," said Motorsport Games' president Stephen Hood in an official press release. "We see this as great news for the sim racing community as we can now leverage the best elements of the rFactor 2 platform, combine it with our foundational use of Unreal Engine (developed by Epic Games) and layer in the additional components our talented teams have spent the last two years developing. Our aim was to start out with a product that had heart and soul. When the planned acquisition is completed, we can operate safe in the knowledge that another piece of an ambitious puzzle has been secured."
This is the latest acquisition to be made by Motorsport Games, with KartKraft and its members of its development team also set to join the rapidly expanding family.
Last year's 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual race was perhaps the most ambitious of the online events held as real-world motor racing was put on hold, with the classic race around the clock at Circuit de la Sarthe being officially sanctioned by the ACO and featuring many of the real-world stars. Motorsport Games' run at the race in video game form is particularly exciting as it coincides with a revival of the race's fortunes in real-life, with a new ruleset attracting the likes of Ferrari who are set to compete at the event in 2023 - its first officially-backed run for overall honours in some 50 years.