RennSport Closed Beta Signups Open, Plus Exclusive Developer Q&A

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Sim racers looking to test RennSport before it is released can now be added to the waitlist for the closed beta program.

Earlier this year, a new racing simulator from an unknown developer began to make waves in the sim community. Developer Competition Company announced its plans to release RennSport and hosted a high-profile event to build their name in the community.

Competition Company is now setting up the next phase of release. You can visit the RennSport website to have your name added to the waitlist for closed beta access, which is currently scheduled to begin later this year.

In late May, a RennSport Summit was held in Munich. Sim racers from around the world were invited to the event and given hands-on experience with the title in early development. The group consisted primarily of eSports drivers who were there to participate in tournaments using RennSport, but a small number of influencers and media personalities were also present to learn more about the sim, the development team, and their plans for release milestones.

The RaceDepartment team had a chance to sit down for a private chat with Morris and Adam from Competition Company at the Summit to ask some questions about what players can expect from RennSport.

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RD: We’re just winding down on day three of the RennSport Summit here in Munich, and I guess Morris we’ll start with you. Amazing event, 100 people from around the world and we’ve had to put the sim through its paces and it seems like an overall positive reception. What’s been your impression of the event; what are your big takeaways from this weekend?

Morris: First of all, it’s really amazing to see that I would say 90-95% of all invited drivers really came and enjoyed the summit. We were really nervous, it’s tricky to have these professional drivers that early on in a game, that’s always a bit risky, and we worked hard over the last weeks to make that happen and I’m really happy that everything works good and yesterday night I really felt a nice vibe and a good vibration, and you cannot create this, it has to be there and it was there and I’m really happy to feel that. So, the response and then the feedback was really positive. There are a lot of things which came up and they say OK there and there we could do something and that’s why we do it. But the overall feedback was really positive and that’s really great to see.

RD: And Adam I’m just thinking, you know as I say it’s been such a positive reception here and opening it up and getting feedback from the community, what do you think this level of transparency and getting that feedback means for the future of RennSport?

Adam: I think this is what we planned from the beginning was to be this transparent and so I think at its core, the DNA and the approach is really, as you can see by example, it’s a community first approach so that happens through transparency and I don’t think we’re gonna change that. We won’t change that with the community and we won’t change that from a partnership POV either. So, we work with companies in much the same way that we work with the community. It’s a pretty open book and I think through that transparency we’ll build a lot of credibility and a lot of goodwill and I think, you know, what was really cool about this actual event and that we’re new so we know this is, and we’re a small company, this is a pretty big undertaking for us you know in many ways. I mean Morris talked about the commitment and getting the build ready during the last session and that was a big one, but just doing this and bringing people here and kind of being new, we didn’t really know what was going to happen right? But we didn’t know who is going to show up on Friday, you know, but people did and it was a great weekend and like Morris said, have established a really good vibe and I think a good rapport with everyone that’s here and everybody is still here today, three days into it, right? Having fun and good open conversation so that’s absolutely you know mission critical where we’re going to maintain that level of transparency and interaction.

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RD: Congratulations on the event. And obviously, the majority of the invitees were from competitive Esports but a lot of our readers don’t necessarily compete at that level so for the more casual sim racer, what is RennSport going to have to offer?

Morris: Definitely there is not only the top and the high levels sporting, so that's the thing we had in mind really to create the right tournament structure and make it ready for broadcast and having partners because we’re really thinking about what’s necessary to push the sport and reach broader viewership. But the game is free to enter so there's a possibility for everyone to jump in having the chance, being part of it, and using the game and there will be a lot of content for these guys as well then when they start. And it’s an open sport pyramid so you could jump into as a free to play and you will have a ranking system and a technique which brings it together with the right level of drivers. So having the possibility to improve and getting higher and higher, but it’s one system so that the best drivers in this system and the starter as well and there’s the possibility really to go to the to the top when you stay in and really drive and have some kind of passion and motivation so, for both sides.

RD: Just thinking about the timeline, you’ve talked about end of 2023 kind of being the target for getting this out there, what can people expect over the next 18 months or so - are there sort of milestones you want to hit in that timeline like when will we start to see more beta footage? When will we start to hear more confirmed content? Are there targets you have in mind or what can the public expect for the next 18 months?

Adam: Yeah so I think now that we’re out of what I would call stealth mode. You’ve seen content today, we introduced a little bit of new content actually today and that will continue over the coming months. So, I think in the transparency that we just talked about now we’ve switched from stealth mode, we’ve got our social channels up where we’re sort of out of the box and I think there will be a lot of regular communication. Some things that that we have in the works now, once they solidify it, it’ll be news so I think as we have the news and as we have more content and things to show we’re absolutely going be sharing that, that’s part of the transparency.

Let us know your thoughts on RennSport in the comments below. Did you sign up for the closed beta waitlist?
About author
Mike Smith
I have been obsessed with sim racing and racing games since the 1980's. My first taste of live auto racing was in 1988, and I couldn't get enough ever since. Lead writer for RaceDepartment, and owner of SimRacing604 and its YouTube channel. Favourite sims include Assetto Corsa Competizione, Assetto Corsa, rFactor 2, Automobilista 2, DiRT Rally 2 - On Twitter as @simracing604

Comments

You cannot make a game "e-sport." Every game that became "e-sports game" was initially just a very balanced game that a lot of people enjoyed. Then games become "e-sports".

Also, racing games are a genre of games. Simracing are a sub-genre of racing games. Simracing e-sports is such a niche, I fear there's not enough people willing to switch from established ACC and iRacing e-sports events to a newcomer.

And a lot of us, who have families, other obligations, other hobbies, just don't have enough free time. So I would very appreciate if anyone makes a simracing game with a good AI. So that you can just jump into your simrig for a 30min, have a blast with the AI, and if someone or something interrupts you, you can just quit. Which is much harder when you're online.
 
The 'E' in esports stands for electronic, not "organized multiplayer video game competition between professional players that is streamed to an audience". A local pub team on a Sunday plays exactly the same sport as Real Madrid, despite the players being unpaid and their games not being televised. Multiplayer sim racing is an esport. I agree wholeheartedly that what most people do is not professional esports, but it is still an esport. I think that when most people talk about esports they actually mean professional esports, which is something quite different.
 
The 'E' in esports stands for electronic, not "organized multiplayer video game competition between professional players that is streamed to an audience". A local pub team on a Sunday plays exactly the same sport as Real Madrid, despite the players being unpaid and their games not being televised. Multiplayer sim racing is an esport. I agree wholeheartedly that what most people do is not professional esports, but it is still an esport. I think that when most people talk about esports they actually mean professional esports, which is something quite different.
I believe that "organized...." thing was focusing on "sports" parts of "e-sports". Anyway, it should be quite clear that there is difference how "pub team" plays anything vs "professional" team. And, while the rule set probably is the same for players on the field, court or whatever, the rest is a completely different "game" (pardon my pun). From "pub team" to a "amateur" team is a wealth of difference and to "pro" team the gap is immense. The same as jogging around a pond is not a "sport" it's an "activity".
So, 10 lap multiplayer race with AI and buddies is not an e-sport.
 
Esports = "organized multiplayer video game competition between professional players that is streamed to an audience". You can use whatever definition of words you want but this is what everyone else means when they talk about esports.

So amateurs doing exactly the same thing isn't a esport?

Also 'everyone' is obviously not true due to fact that not even everyone on here thinks that true. Be careful about extrapolating from incomplete data.
 
Damn, I've been buying all my exercise clothing in the wrong category all this time. It was all under 'sports wear'.

Never figured all this time I've been playing football and basketball, it was just a leisure activity and not participating in a team sport.

Guess I've also gotta sell all my 'Pro' hardware/software/gear as I'm not a professional. Weird they even sell it to plain consumers.
 
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Rennsport: closed beta a success, contents revealed

Almost around 10 k registrations to the waitlist within the first week!

First of all, a big thank you to everyone who has engaged with RENNSPORT through various channels or events. You have already helped us a lot in drawing attention to our simulation and the journey around it.

In order to make the first preparations for the start of the Closed Beta, we wanted to collect everyone who is interested in racing in the RENNSPORT Closed Beta on a waitlist. Among those people Closed Beta keys will then be given out. Nobody could have expected how eager you were to participate, and we are still overwhelmed of your support! Alongside the crazy amount of new members on the waitlist, it makes us also super happy that around 10 K of you have also joined our Discord server after roughly 1 month. The exchange and discussion we had with you on that lately is helping us a lot in developing RENNSPORT.

Our CEO Morris and our Game Development Lead Krzysztof welcome everyone who is interested to the first AMA session which will be held for all our Discord waiting room members on Friday, October 28 from 7:30 pm – 8:30 pm. They will sit down with Lucas from the Marketing Team to give some insights about the current development phase, previews to the Closed Beta and further content releases. They will also answer some frequently asked questions of the Discord community. You can now hand in your questions in the respective Discord Talking Session question channel. We would be happy to seeing you on Friday. You can join our Discord with the button at the end.

In the next weeks, it’s all about getting the sim ready for the start of the Closed Beta. We want to repay your trust and go live with the best possible product. Only a handful of features will be available at the beginning, but you can already look forward to 4 cars (Porsche 911 GT3, BMW M4 GT3, Porsche Mission R, another release) and 3 race tracks (Hockenheim, Goodwood Hillclimb, another release). After that, we will test and implement more and more functions together with you. In this continuous process we will work with you to create a sim that offers the best possible racing experience.

We are very hyped about this and hope you are too. If you haven´t already, make sure to register for the Closed Beta waitlist here.

Besides checking your inboxes, you better follow our channels in order not to miss further Closed Beta key drops. See you around!
 
Simracing e-sports is such a niche, I fear there's not enough people willing to switch from established ACC and iRacing e-sports events to a newcomer.

Rennsport: closed beta a success...

Almost around 10 k registrations to the waitlist within the first week!

:whistling::laugh:

Also why always that PoV like "either this OR that" ? Theres no need to decide and pick only 1 you are allowed to enjoy them all. Just drive every sim you have fun with ^^
 

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