Will WEC Receive Their Promised Sim Racing Game?

PEUGEOT_9X8_2205TC002.jpg

What's next for WEC?

  • A dedicated game

    Votes: 392 44.2%
  • rFactor 2

    Votes: 318 35.9%
  • Nothing

    Votes: 177 20.0%

  • Total voters
    887
With the 6h of Monza coming up this weekend and their classes LMH and LMDh shaping up nicely soon, one can't help but hope for some digital representation for this endurance racing series. However, with the way the WEC license holder, Motorsport Games, has been going lately, seeing the software come to fruition is uncertain.

The Motorsport Games Story so Far​

It all started with the acquisition spree of Motorsport Games in 2021. Acquiring licenses left and right and even right out buying Studio 397, the rFactor 2 developers, Motorsport Games seemed like an upcoming powerhouse in digital racing. One of the licenses involved was the right to give FIA's WEC or World Endurance Championship a digital representation.

However, things didn't work as planned. Their first big release, NASCAR 21: Ignition seemed to be not much more than a haphazardly rushed title. Reports from within the company later confirmed that. But everyone could see it. Game-breaking bugs were only the tip of the iceberg and the game became a critical failure.

This whole scenario sent Motorsport Games' stock tumbling down. Even worse so when they announced in March 2022 that their existing cash in hand couldn't even support them for “at least the next 12 months.” Further delays to the well-hoped for BTCC title and subsequent release of BTCC content via rFactor 2 left more questions than answers. All the while Motorsport Games stock dropped below 1$ per share meaning they could be kicked off the stock market if things don't improve until December.

And just for your knowledge, being delisted from the stock exchange could mean complete de-validation of the stocks meaning financial trouble.

What This Could Mean For All The Licenses​

The licenses held by motorsport games are some grand ones with many hopes of them coming to fruition. IndyCar, NASCAR, BTCC and WEC are the biggest ones. While Motorsport Games owns all of these licenses, they might not be able to create dedicated games for all of them.

As we have already seen with BTCC and IndyCar content, the existing rFactor 2 platform could become a host of some of these titles. This, however, is all subject to the terms and conditions of the licensing contracts. What we can expect is that several licenses might, for short-term financial gain, be published via rFactor 2. All of which boost the rF2 community and roster strength.

This however doesn't mean that dedicated titles are not on the horizon.

What Could Happen to WEC​

While everything is in a state of turmoil, the WEC license is the one we know the least about. IndyCar and BTCC have received their rFactor 2 content and you know NASCAR is going to continue one way or the other.

WEC so far has received little care. That could mean 1 of 2 things.
  1. A WEC game is deep in development and on the horizon.
  2. A WEC game is not at all in development and will be the odd one out of Motorsport Games roster.
Now as much as I personally hope for 1. to be true, I can't help but have that little devil on my shoulder telling me about 2. But I don't know what will happen.

What do you think lies in store for the WEC license? Are we going to see a WEC title? Or is rFactor 2 going to feature WEC? Or have they just completely forgotten about it? Let us know in the comments below!
About author
Julian Strasser
Motorsports and Maker-stuff enthusiast. Part time jack-of-all-trades. Owner of tracc.eu, a sim racing-related service provider and its racing community.

Comments

AC modders will get all hypercars made for that game way quicker than Motorsport games get their job done if they'll do it at all. 3/4 hypercars that exist atm are out as AC mods, and good ones. Also, Peugeot teased some friendship with Kunos in their initial 9X8 reveal.
 
AC modders will get all hypercars made for that game way quicker than Motorsport games get their job done if they'll do it at all. 3/4 hypercars that exist atm are out as AC mods, and good ones. Also, Peugeot teased some friendship with Kunos in their initial 9X8 reveal.
However, AC is unfortunately a lackluster racing sim. There are tons of quality cars and tracks, but I cannot ever see a WEC race working properly in AC (singleplayer, that is).
Hopefully AC2 will turn out to be more than a driving sim, and combine the best of AC and ACC.

EDIT: You laugh? Enjoy "simulating" your WEC races with standing starts!
 
Last edited:
Premium
As far as i remember there were some statements back in 2020/2021 that the ACO/WEC/FIA and S397 are in succesful talks and would add the upcoming LMH/LMDH cars from 2023 on. I really hope that this becomes reality.
The longtime work from VEC with Jimmi on top for being the endurance series in simracing deserves this.
 
I would prefer it to be exclusively on rF2 even if it's not perfect it will always be better than a game made in a hurry like nascar heat...
and the work for the endurance is well advanced on rF2 with already beautiful pieces it is necessary to continue!:thumbsup:
 
Last edited:
Roadmap was long made official a while ago by Motorsport Games that WEC content will make its way to rFactor 2. Just like IndyCar and BTCC its safe to say we will not get a standalone game.
 
Staff
Premium
WEC so far has received little care. That could mean 1 of 2 things.
  1. A WEC game is deep in development and on the horizon.
  2. A WEC game is not at all in development and will be the odd one out of Motorsport Games roster.
Not an expert on lots of the details involved with this crowd, but having read what little I've read, I'd be guessing that #2 is a strong possibility. However, I'd split #1 up into
  • 1a: game on horizon and will actually be good or at least adequate
  • 1b: game on horizon but will be another complete turd
and of those two, I reckon #1b is the only credible outcome.
 
instead of going to rf2 or iracing, WEC could utilize R3E to increase competition....GTR3 has been the biggest lie of the decade....so much false hype....
 
Last edited:
I was really hoping for a WEC sim. And still am. But realistically I don't see any development happening until MSG sells the licenses.
 
If MSG ever delivers a dedicated WEC title it will be F1 20xx or inferior. It will not be a simulator, that we have understood from Nascar Ignition experience. So if a sim is what we are expecting it won't be the case. We will need to wait and see what iracing will rack up and possibly other sims like AMS2 and AC2 could muster in the coming years.
Of course some could spill into RF2 but we all know RF2 situation: it's far too long in the tooth to be revived by new content on old graphics and old buggy core.
 
Last edited:

Latest News

Article information

Author
Julian Strasser
Article read time
3 min read
Views
25,738
Comments
103
Last update

What would make you race in our Club events

  • Special events

    Votes: 33 25.2%
  • More leagues

    Votes: 26 19.8%
  • Prizes

    Votes: 23 17.6%
  • Trophies

    Votes: 14 10.7%
  • Forum trophies

    Votes: 7 5.3%
  • Livestreams

    Votes: 22 16.8%
  • Easier access

    Votes: 78 59.5%
  • Other? post your reason

    Votes: 19 14.5%
Back
Top