Bsimracing Sim Racing Resources and News for the racing enthousiast.
Only a few weeks ago, iRacing acquired Independent Engine and Game Developer Orontes Games. Now iRacing officially announced that they have also acquired Monster Games, Inc.
Monster Games, Inc. is an American independent video game developer founded in 1996. Currently, Monster Games is best known as the developer behind the NASCAR Heat franchise, the Tony Stewart’s All American Racing game, and the more recently released SRX: The Game. On a personal level, I instantly remember their mega fun Viper Racing title from yesteryear.
iRacing stated that both the acquired companies will operate as standalone development studios, venturing into both the PC and Console world. The iRacing development team will continue work as usual on the companies flagship online racing simulation.
Press Release:
Chelmsford, MA – January 4, 2022 – iRacing.com Motorsport Simulations (iRacing) announced today the acquisition of Monster Games, Inc (MGI). The Minnesota-based game development studio has a long history of racing game development, including the NASCAR Heat franchise and more recently Tony Stewart’s Sprint Car Racing game. The acquisition will bring another level of expertise under the iRacing roof, and further the company’s ability to bring the highest quality racing games to the broader market, including the console space.
This acquisition along with the previously announced Orontes Games purchase are standalone development studios and projects. The iRacing development team will remain 100% focused on continuing to develop the core product, iRacing. The iRacing platform is regarded as the most realistic and leading PC-based racing simulation on the market and features multiple forms of racing including – NASCAR, Dirt Oval, sports cars, open-wheel single-seaters, prototypes, off-road trucks, and rallycross. In addition to its laser scanned tracks and officially licensed vehicles, iRacing provides a one-stop-shop for sim racers and race gamers – fostering a racing community with official races, multiple racing licenses and matchmaking, private leagues, and more.
President and owner of MGI, Rich Garcia, will join the iRacing development team and be reunited with iRacing CEO & CTO Dave Kaemmer, who worked together at Kaemmer’s former company, Papyrus Racing Games, where Garcia was instrumental in the early years of Papyrus in building the foundation for what iRacing has become today.
Garcia and his team will continue development on their currently unannounced project, with the aim to release the title later in 2022. Follow-up titles from MGI will be developed using technology and content from the shared resources of all three development studios – iRacing announced last month the acquisition of Orontes Games, see the announcement here.
“We are really pleased to be able to share this news, it’s been in the works for some time now,” said iRacing president Tony Gardner. “Rich and his team are a proven studio with unique skills that will really add to our already fantastic team here at iRacing. We’ll be able to add a lot to MGI’s products as well in the long run, including assets, graphics, technologies, and physics. We see a tremendous amount of synergies that we can take advantage of between the studios,” Gardner continued. “That being said, our core strategy, values, and culture will remain intact – to build the most realistic and best racing games possible.”
“Rich and I worked together for many years at Papyrus, with great success,” added Kaemmer. “We are at a point as a company that we are comfortable building out these two new teams to explore the broader racing game market to ultimately funnel serious sim racers to our flagship product iRacing on the PC. Rich and the Monster team will be an important part of that strategy as we use our code and experience to bring their games to another level. I am very excited to be working with Rich again, as well as the extremely talented team at Monster Games.”
“I’m really excited for the future of Monster Games and iRacing,” said Garcia. “To be working with my longtime friend and colleague Dave once again is awesome. Our studios will really compliment each other’s and I fully expect to see positive impacts on both products. To now have tools and resources, and quite frankly time, to build these games and to do it with the leading racing simulation company in the marketplace is beyond exciting for me. I can’t wait to get started!”
Just as with the recently announced acquisition of Orontes Games by iRacing, combining forces with Monster Games enhance iRacing capabilities and will allow iRacing to grow further in the racing and gaming spaces. The core product, iRacing, will benefit in both the short and long term and remains the focus.
We look forward to sharing more information on the direction of these studios and the products they will work on in the coming year.
Official Webpages – www.iRacing.com – mgiracing.com
