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

Am I reading this right that it's purely e-sports oriented?
I'm just looking at first answer from Morris. While answering a question "what's there for casual player" he basically says "anyone can enter" and then continues how well this will title will target "numerous" e-sports viewers.
I found myself thinking the exact same thing. I read his comments the same way as you did... which really concerned me. If that comment from Morris is representative of the game, I won't be buying it.

I do basically no online racing, and if I ever do, it'll be with people I know in semi-regular chill sessions or a league. So for me, there's no appeal to a title which only allows racing online in an e-sports pipeline.

And while I do enjoy watching some sim racers online (e.g. Jimmy Broadbent, GPLaps) in leagues or iRacing – and thus I suppose some people might count me as an e-sports viewer – I personally do not watch and do not enjoy super 'sweaty' series labelled as top-tier e-sports like GT Sport World Tour, F1, iRacing Cola-Cola eNASCAR, and so on.

When I contrast my preferences with the game's existing marketing and the statements from the developers above, I think it's likely Rennsport just isn't for me.
 
Am I reading this right that it's purely e-sports oriented?
I'm just looking at first answer from Morris. While answering a question "what's there for casual player" he basically says "anyone can enter" and then continues how well this title will target "numerous" e-sports viewers.

This would explain lack of VR - in e-sports VR is not allowed usually.
I never understand what the financial appeal is for companies to focus on this e-sport-y market. There is 0 money in esports itself and the market for esports racers and viewers is miniscule. rf2 seemed to do this as well and to some extent ACC.

Is it that it rubs off on the image of a simulator? Is it that it leads to sound game design if a game works as an e-sport platform?
 
This "e-sports" in every word from their mouth is off putting.I like new sim's but with sim racing its about communitys and without communitys their's no "esport's" and word of mouth!!!
you can tell people don't like "esports" when you see post here about some Event here in RD like 2 comment's maybe none.
 
I have not seen a single unique selling point to this game yet. Everything it does either iRacing or ACC do as well.
 
Mod support and new Unreal engine maybe?
E-sports and mod support seem an unlikely pairing, no?

Also, for clarity's sake, is RD under some sort of NDA, and unable to comment on the game's handling/tire model(s)?

If so, although that's almost certainly just the industry standard, I can't help wondering whether they're afraid of attendees publishing their honest opinions.
 
I'm expecting this and Assetto Corsa 2 are both going to be the most realistic racing games by the mid-2020s decade.
 
I agree with people here. What is the selling point? Just UE4? The majority wont compete in ESL. This is good for pro drivers who compete for prizemoney.
And further more:
We know nothing about the pricing models. If there is a kind of iracing-like moneyhole - forget it. I bet that there will be some kind of monetarisation-mechanism and modding like in AC is out of the question.
 
Premium
I understand that only 18.7% of GT7 players have finished a race in GT Sport mode (within GT7) and only 3% have done 50 races or more.
That's over 80% not interested at all in on-line racing and 97% aren't really that into it...
Can it pay off for the developers? is the e Sports market really big enough for another one?
 
I understand that only 18.7% of GT7 players have finished a race in GT Sport mode (within GT7) and only 3% have done 50 races or more.
That's over 80% not interested at all in on-line racing and 97% aren't really that into it...
Can it pay off for the developers? is the e Sports market really big enough for another one?
I would not take GT7 as a benchmark, as there's an additional barrier (PS+) next to purchasing the game.
 
If it is purely an online multiplayer sim then it is not for me. If there is an offline mode where I can race AI cars, and it's a good quality sim, then sign me up, because surely, when you race in any car sim - even the old GT Legends game - aren't you doing an esport, albeit (in my case) on an amateur level. Is not every race organised by RaceDepartment (for example) an esport race?
 
Staff
Premium
Is not every race organised by RaceDepartment (for example) an esport race?
IMO esport implies that prizes are available, whereas multiplayer doesn't necessarily have any, also although people may enjoy MP they wouldn't think about entering an esport event.
I don't think MP should be confused with esport.
 
Sorry Kenny, I disagree. Whether a prize is on offer or not is not what defines whether something is a sport or not. By that logic Sunday league football is not a sport, the rugby I played during and after college is not a sport... Just because a sport doesn't have a monetary prize doesn't mean that it is not a sport. I'm sure I'm not alone when I say I try to be as competitive as I can when I'm driving in a sim race whatever it is. It is the competition that makes something a sport, not prizes. Multiplayer sim racing is an esport.
 
Staff
Premium
By that logic Sunday league football is not a sport, the rugby I played during and after college is not a sport
Of course you're welcome to disagree
The prize doesn't have to be monetary, the prize in any league is position and I think the vast bulk of people who play multiplayer games from Fortnite to Gran Turismo would not consider themselves esports players.
Maybe the main difference is the fun element.
 
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Sorry Kenny, I disagree. Whether a prize is on offer or not is not what defines whether something is a sport or not. By that logic Sunday league football is not a sport, the rugby I played during and after college is not a sport... Just because a sport doesn't have a monetary prize doesn't mean that it is not a sport. I'm sure I'm not alone when I say I try to be as competitive as I can when I'm driving in a sim race whatever it is. It is the competition that makes something a sport, not prizes. Multiplayer sim racing is an esport.
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.
 

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