--- title: "The 2024 IndyCar Game Seems All But Dead After Entire Staff Is Laid Off" description: "The IndyCar title Motorsport Games announced in 2021 had been planned for 2023, delayed until 2024, and now will likely never launch." date: "2023-11-07" modified: "2023-11-07" authors: - name: "Adam Ismail" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/adam-ismail" url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/the-2024-indycar-game-seems-all-but-dead-after-entire-staff-is-laid-off-report" categories: - "Culture" - "News" - "Racing" - "Video Games" --- # The 2024 IndyCar Game Seems All But Dead After Entire Staff Is Laid Off ![]() *\Jeffrey Brown/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images\* [Motorsport Games' officially licensed IndyCar game]() may have ended development before it'll ever get a chance to release. The "entirety" of the team working on the title has been let go, according to journalist Mike Straw on [Twitter](), who added that it's "increasingly likely the game is dead unless it's sold off," presumably to another publisher. Late Tuesday evening, the company confirmed it suspended work on the long-awaited release during its third-quarter earnings call. To recap, IndyCar's first licensed video game in decades was announced in 2021 and planned for a 2023 launch. It blew that target, and while the focus shifted to getting the game out the door in 2024 and [IndyCar publicly remained hopeful](), the odds have appeared increasingly slim that the title would ever see the light of day. All we've seen to date, officially, were some livery-free car models back in 2022. Screenshots and a teaser trailer did leak earlier this month, via [*Insider Gaming*](). https://twitter.com/MikeStrawMedia/status/1721897657235562622?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw The collapse of the IndyCar title mirrors the dissolution of NASCAR's relationship with the publisher, owned by [Motorsport Network](), which quickly began securing exclusive licenses to a variety of racing events including the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) and the 24 Hours of Le Mans upon its founding in 2018. NASCAR was able to get out of its contract with Motorsport Games and [jump ship for iRacing.com Motorsport Simulations](), which is of course behind the eponymous PC-exclusive sim platform. The company now expects to deliver a console title based around the stock car racing series in 2025. Meanwhile, TOCA, which operates the BTCC, released a statement on Monday saying it was "left with no option but to terminate the agreement and immediately withdraw all licensed BTCC rights that were provided to Motorsport Games." At the moment, IndyCar isn't revealing much on the status of the game, nor its agreement with the publisher. "We're not at the place yet where we have chosen which path that will be, but it is a top-of-mind question that we’re engaged in," Penske Entertainment CEO Mark Miles told *[Racer]()* in a story published Tuesday. In September, Miles related he was [unsure Motorsport Games had "the resources to finish the job;"]() it now appears those concerns were valid. Regardless of what IndyCar's official line is, if there's nobody on staff to make a game—[Straw wrote]() that the project's "lead developer, multiple senior developers, 3D artists, designers, audio designers, and producers" were all laid off—the game isn't happening. Whatever paths are available to Penske Entertainment going forward, it seems all but certain none will involve Motorsport Games. *Have a tip on an upcoming racing game? Hit my line at [adam.ismail@thedrive.com]()* ## Author Adam is a Senior Editor at The Drive, concentrating on curating and developing the site's slate of daily journalism, from initial pitch to final copy edit. When he's not at his desk researching leads and working with writers, he's testing vehicles or reviewing racing games, new and old. He joined The Drive in 2023, following seven years of covering consumer technology and cars. A car lover and gamer since his earliest memories, Adam came to know the automotive world through video games. First it was Daytona USA, Sega Rally, and Ridge Racer; then came Need For Speed, which inspired an encyclopedic knowledge of '90s supercars, and, of course, Gran Turismo. If not for them, he'd assuredly be doing something else right now. Adam is based in the suburbs outside Philly, where there are ample roads for his hot hatch to stretch its legs. In his car, he's probably listening to indie rock, drum and bass, or Yankees baseball. ### Author social links [Bluesky]() [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()