Founder and CEO Ian Bell Announces Departure from Slightly Mad Studios

Ian Bell Leaves Slightly Mad 01.jpg
Ian Bell, who founded Slightly Mad Studios more than a decade ago, has announced that he is leaving the company.

It’s been a rocky past couple of years for game developer Slightly Mad Studios. The third installment of their successful Project CARS series, along with a licensed game adaption of the Fast & Furious movie franchise, were released in 2020 to tepid reviews. More recently, development work on the mobile version of the Project CARS series was shut down. And now, CEO Ian Bell is departing the company.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1454016780850974720

Slightly Mad Studios, which was purchased by Codemasters in late 2019, was founded in 2009. Best known in the sim racing world for their work on the Project CARS franchise, SMS also brought us Need for Speed: Shift, Test Drive: Ferrari Racing Legends, and Red Bull Air Race among others.

What Ian’s departure means for the future of the studio remains to be seen. As CEO, his vision for the company he started more than a decade ago strongly shaped the organization’s focus. The award-winning Project CARS game series trended away from its Community Assisted Racing Simulator theme over time, specifically in the most recent installment, to the dismay of many fans of the series. We’ll have to wait and see whether the new ownership and management structure will mean a return to the original intent of the series.

Also unknown is what lies ahead for Bell. His Twitter handle at the moment simply reads “Free Entity. Look out for TherapyGlobal”. Although many releases under the SMS name have been polarizing, his marketing and business development skills have been instrumental in building a successful business out of a niche passion, so expect to see Ian’s name in the gaming industry again soon.

Let us know your thoughts on this move. Was Bell the linchpin that made Slightly Mad as successful as it has been, or does the move away from his leadership hold the possibility of better things to come?
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About author
Mike Smith
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

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T
even though pcars 1 and 2 are rather a controversial product in the simracing community, you can't deny the effort put into these two games and the amount of content they offer - i am talking not only cars and tracks but also stuff like the live-track system, the seasons (in pcars2) etc. these are not small features, no other sim out there has a similarly good live-track system going for itself and Pcars 1 and 2 helped pave the way for a certain kind of racing game thats not iracing but also not Forza or Gran Turismo. I think games like R3E, ACC, AMS1+2 were inspired by the Pcars 1 game, so yeah, kudos to Bell for all of that.
as far as Pcars 3 goes, its a shame of a game and i'd rather not think about that.
i have no idea why they tried to deviate from the formula started with Pcars 1 and 2 and going 3 steps back basically instead of forward, but well, thats all in the past now.
 
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Copef1
TRASGU said:
Back then we also had Touring cars (live for speed, TOCA touring car 1 and 2, Gran Turismo 1 and 2), gt cars(Sports car GT, Viper racing), multiple series (TOCA race driver, Gran turismo 1 and 2), rally (Richard Burns rally, Colin mcrae rally 1 and 2, rally championship 2000), Motorbikes (GP500).

The simracing panorama wasn't as sterile as how you now remember it.
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There were racing video games all the way back to the 1970's, but I personally wouldn't consider TOCA, Viper racing, Grand Turismo, or even Colin Mcrae rally, sims. Richard Burns was great, as was Live for Speed, and Sports Car GT was heading in the right direction, but in my opinion not anywhere near as good as the original GTR mod for EA's F1 series. The GTR mod was one of the first on an ISI engine, which started all the vast array of cars and series we would later get with rFactor. I remember a lot of different series on Sega, Playstation 1 and the like, but not what I would call sims.
 
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Premium
Maybe an unpopular opinion but, while ACC and iRacing are better in terms of the racing mechanics, PC2 was the king of visual immersion.
Before iRacing set the bar on VR performance, PC2 was unrivaled in VR performance and visuals. It simply looked amazing, and the amount of content you got for the low price was mind-blowing.
I'll never forget how amazed I was by driving in the rain in my Rift S in PC2. I was inside my apartment in the heat and for some reason my body felt cold like if you're sitting in a car in the rain with the heater turned off.

It's a shame things went the way they did, PC2 had the content that could've really burned a fire under Kunos and iRacing's butt, but I think they just got overwhelmed with the volume of "small things" that made PC2 "almost but not quite" great. The physics had rubbery grip with an unpredictable drop. It was like, you're the God of Grip until the grip lets go and then none of the slip mechanics made sense. Combine that with seemingly no weight to the cars entering corners, slip streams that just were off by a bit, and the FFB being as rough as it was.

I maintain to this day, that PC2's content and graphics engine, with ACC's physics and audio and iRacing's match-making and laser-scanning quality, would be the sim racing title that would launch sim racing into the spotlight.

I hope they pivot things back to true sim. Maybe dust off PC2 (It honestly still holds up and if its issues were fixed, would serve as an amazing base for a new sim) and start working on the issues it has, using a DD as the base for the FFB feeling.
 
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TedBrosby- said:
I hope they pivot things back to true sim. Maybe dust off PC2 (It honestly still holds up and if its issues were fixed, would serve as an amazing base for a new sim) and start working on the issues it has, using a DD as the base for the FFB feeling.
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Though with AMS2 getting better and better and basically offering in terms of content what PC2 offered, albeit on a smaller scale, i dont see how dusting off PC2 would benefit them. Also the Madness Engine while still looking good is not exactly next gen. So if there shall be some sort of decision to make again more sim focused racing games, they should start from scratch and bring on in 2-3 years a banger product that could compete with whatever Kunos will be cooking up next.
 
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T
Premium
th3orist said:
Though with AMS2 getting better and better and basically offering in terms of content what PC2 offered, albeit on a smaller scale, i dont see how dusting off PC2 would benefit them. Also the Madness Engine while still looking good is not exactly next gen. So if there shall be some sort of decision to make again more sim focused racing games, they should start from scratch and bring on in 2-3 years a banger product that could compete with whatever Kunos will be cooking up next.
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I have the Season Pass in AMS2 and honestly I disagree.
There's a certain "unpolished" feeling to the in-car dash, UI and definitely single player mode.
I honestly think PC2 looks better. AMS2 drives better for sure, but PC2 definitely had it beat in looks for some reason even though they're built on the same engine.
 
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TedBrosby- said:
I have the Season Pass in AMS2 and honestly I disagree.
There's a certain "unpolished" feeling to the in-car dash, UI and definitely single player mode.
I honestly think PC2 looks better. AMS2 drives better for sure, but PC2 definitely had it beat in looks for some reason even though they're built on the same engine.
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As far as looks go i disagree, i also have both games and run them maxed out and i find AMS2 looks better, but sure, thats maybe just a subjective matter. I use both sims for quick races, no campaign or smth, so i can't judge the "single player experience", i just put one and the same race with one and the same settings next to each other and AMS2 is the better game there for me.
 
C
With PCars1 i must say it heralded a return to the 'proper' racing game.
With Forza and random racing cars, 6-8 car grids, no pits no practise no qually.

PCars1 changed that, we got UK tracks, unknown small tracks, pits, tyre deg etc etc.

PCars1 started my journey into what i have now, full sim set up.

But alas its gone back full circle now with people turning AC into Forza horizon and Gran T and NFS.

I dont get it personally. Used to be a time blur and hot air balloons and ferris wheels and "yo dude drifting" was for GRiD games.

Looking at what people want in AC now... its quite sad where its gone.
IMO.
 
Damage Inc
Patrik Marek said:
End of an era for me. Project cars was the racing game that I was probably the most involved with, despite the fact that I worked as freelancer earlier for game companies like Simbin / Eden Games and some more. With project cars I felt more connected , felt like there is a bigger potential to be involved , and while it maybe didn't deliver on al accounts, it definitely made other developers work harder to make their games better, as well as inspired other to add some of the features into their games

This decision is somewhat expected, as most of the CEOs go different route, once their companies are sold. Even all mighty lord Kunos left his company, it's normal. So I wouldn't really try to see anything behind the scenes on this one

I am however bit disappointed by seeing some of the comments here, especially the " good riddance " kind, .. I mean seriously? what does the guy owe you to be saying things like that? would that say that you your classmate / colleague face to face ?

I for one had personal issues with Stefano ( well maybe he had it more with me then the other way around) , but I would never be saying things like " good riddance" , despite our differences I could see what he brought to the table , but anyhow.

I also wouldn't put all the decision on Ian Bell though, there was a team of people making the games, bringing ideas, and there was also publisher, who can also have a lot of to say about what they are releasing.

One thing is for sure - at least in my opinion - the game scene wouldn't' be what it is, if it wasn't for SMS and Ian Bell. AC woudlnt' be as good as it is , becasue the competition pushed them to make it better, to avoid mistakes that people point out on SMS titles. It's a competitive and very small market, so when people complain about feature X in one sim, all other sims would be silly not to listen to that feedback

anyhow. Enjoyed Pcars1 and 2 , was really honored how much I could have contributed - especially to the first one. ( from the car design in the game to the steelbook cover ) , so pcars and sms will forever part of my successes of my work life, and I really thank Ian for giving me (and others) this opportunity
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Must have been awesome to get your car and name into the game!!
 
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cpubound said:
Looking at what people want in AC now... its quite sad where its gone.
IMO.
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i might be one of the few people who keeps his Assetto Corsa stock with all the official dlc's, i have none of the community created content installed, not even custom shaders patch or sol.
I had it and kind of still never liked it as much as the original, also i did not like to always have to close the game to change something, it felt weird to me.
 
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TedBrosby- said:
I have the Season Pass in AMS2 and honestly I disagree.
There's a certain "unpolished" feeling to the in-car dash, UI and definitely single player mode.
I honestly think PC2 looks better. AMS2 drives better for sure, but PC2 definitely had it beat in looks for some reason even though they're built on the same engine.
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I think you are not wrong AMS2 many of the car models are not very good although i still think AC car models & cockpits somehow look better than any other sim though. One of the main differences between ams2 & pcars 2 are the trees, pcars2 had the 3d trees & i don't think it worked well there was a lot of pop-in & moving glitchy shadows as a result. AMS2 is a bit cleaner in regards to the tracks & environment & this was something they actively tried to improve on.
 
Austin Ogonoski
Vasilis Katerinakis said:
I mean ok the guy wasn't the best of characters but the things he has done for the racing community and industry are some that really i would say probably haven't been done before. So props to him but very odd timing i would say...
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You're not the only one on this train of thought.

I can't say much beyond stating I feel very uncomfortable and probably need someone to talk to.
 
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th3orist said:
i might be one of the few people who keeps his Assetto Corsa stock with all the official dlc's, i have none of the community created content installed, not even custom shaders patch or sol.
I had it and kind of still never liked it as much as the original, also i did not like to always have to close the game to change something, it felt weird to me.
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Hah, there's two of us - well, 1.5.

I do use community tracks as long as they are laser-scanned/LiDAR (there are MANY great tracks, even if you are this strict). No cars though. (I did flirt with the GTEs, but no.)

I also have CSP, but without CM and turned off everything - I only wanted it for the new FFB gyro, which, for me, is a game-changer in terms of being able to actually control a car on the limit, getting the needed info about slides to be able to countersteer and also to straighten up.

It is a bit of work to set these up - but once I've done it, I don't have to touch them again for config work.
 
gunner25
Project cars 3 for me is very beautiful and really funny. What's the problem if sometimes it's not pure simulation? :)
 
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TRASGU said:
Back then we also had Touring cars (live for speed, TOCA touring car 1 and 2, Gran Turismo 1 and 2), gt cars(Sports car GT, Viper racing), multiple series (TOCA race driver, Gran turismo 1 and 2), rally (Richard Burns rally, Colin mcrae rally 1 and 2, rally championship 2000), Motorbikes (GP500).

The simracing panorama wasn't as sterile as how you now remember it.


Not really, they didn't were pioneers in the modding scene. I remember mods for as early as in grand prix 2 (1996), F1 racing simulation (1997), grand prix legends (1998), F1 racing championship (1999) and EA's F1 2001.

Moded games with different series as early as in grand prix legends (1998) with initially the lotus cortina mod and the TC cars mod, Grand prix 3 (2000), Nascar racing 2003 with the legendary GTP mod.

As a sidenote Grand prix legends share with GP500 the honor of being the first sims that I remember being able to add new tracks, what a great year was 1998 for simulators of all genres.


True. You either die as a heroe or live long enough to see yourself turned into the villain.
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I partially agree. And I never thought GTR2002 was so amazing, because of the F1 2002 game limitations. For GT cars, SCC mod for F1 Challenge was far more superior, and WSGT was the highest achievement. WSGT didn't get a lot of attention, maybe because GTR1 came out around the same time, but you could feel very similar physics in WSGT.

Sim racing was a thing at that time, but not as nowadays. And Pcars1 for sure was the game which brought the sim experience on the consoles mass market (RBR had not been that successful on PS2, for sure because of the awful base setups). GTR2, rfactor, Gran Turismo, and the TOCA series (GTR2 would not been the same without all the amazing TOCA tracks conversions), put the racing genre in general on another level, but I don't think that without Pcars1, so much people would be involved in the sim racing hobby now.
 
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Nestoche said:
WHAT? Sure, the ego is not all that but the Madness engine? (Barf) No Thanks!...I'll take the ego any day! F1 2021 is a million times better than any PC's games. Go ask Rezia and The Madness"
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And still DR2 struggles to render dirt and tarmac rally tracks with the same quality. I like CM"s games, I think the ego engine had been capable for years (and I still wish new FPS with this engine, Operation Flashpoint games on this engine still look and feel great), but it cannot be compared to the madness engine. Reiza took the decision to use the latter for its potential ; it may be not easy to use, it takes time. And why would CM buy SMS if not for the Madness Engine? For the brands? Pcars was the only brand SMS had, and it had been ruined by bad decisions. For the console project? We already know the answer, and both CM and EA are not that stupid to try to enter a market dominated by 3 major and historic players. For the team? Yes, but you don't need that to hire people, and you need new projects to do so (or to fire your employees). What's left? The madnesss engine...
 
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