ACC | Stefano Casillo Leaves Kunos Simulazioni

Paul Jeffrey · Apr 2, 2020

One of the key men responsible for Ferrari Virtual Academy, NetKar Pro, Assetto Corsa and Assetto Corsa Competizione has left Kunos Simulazioni - goodbye and good luck Stefano Casillo!

Universally regarded as one of the most impressive coding talents in the sim racing landscape, in his role of founder and lead programmer at Kunos Simulazioni, Stefano Casillo (that's Ste'fano, not Stefano! - I remembered!!) has been at the forefront of sim racing development for almost two decades.

Working on some of the most highly regarded racing simulations of a generation, from the likes of NetKar Pro, Ferrari Virtual Academy, the original Assetto Corsa and now Assetto Corsa Competizione, Casillo has proven time and again his ability to bring together a sublime racing experience for sim racers the world over.

Of course, many talented men and women have worked together at Kunos over the years, and that work will undoubtedly continue in the years to come with or without Stefano, so don't worry about the future folks - I'm sure it is in safe hands!

Taking to his personal Facebook account this morning, Casillo has confirmed he is no longer a part of the Italian Kunos Simulazioni development team, having taken the opportunity to move on to pastures new as founder of the new Jaxx Vane Studio. I'm sure I speak for all at RaceDepartment in wishing Stefano the best of luck with his new ventures, and wholeheartedly thanking him for the things he has achieved in the (virtual) sport we all love!

The Facebook announcement post in full:

Today is a different morning for me.

For the first time since 2005 I woke up and I did not sit at my PC thinking about Kunos Simulazioni software development.

Yes, this might come as a shock, but as of today I am not directly involved with Kunos Simulazioni software development anymore.

Of course this is not like I had imagined my first day as "full solo indie" back in September when I decided it was time to move on from Kunos Simulazioni, it was a different time back then, before the Corona Virus shook our lives... so, at the end, this post doesn't happen in a mood as festive as I hoped for.

Because of this, and out of respect for all the guys there trying to deal with one of the hardest times humans had to go through since the end of WW2 I will keep this as brief and informative as possible.

My relationship with the guys in Kunos and Digital Bros is and always was amazing, there is no friction and no bad feeling coming from my decision, that follows over time the one me and Marco took in 2017 when we moved the ownership of our company under Digital Bros umbrella.

Enough time was given in order to make the transition as smooth and painless as possible, and thanks to the amazing talents in there I am sure the company will continue to be a shining light in the world of simracing because of the amazing talents in the team.

At a certain point I started to feel like I had nothing more to give to the SimRacing genre and it was time for me to go look for new inspirations.

My deepest thanks to all the guys who made Kunos Simulazioni possible, these have been the most exciting 15 years of my life and you guys made it special day after day. Marco, Simone, Gianluca, Aris, Luca, Manu, Alvio, Davide, Gergo, Alessandro, Kevin, Valeria, Fernando, Fabio, Itho, Giovanni, Fabrizio, Cristian, Pietro, Kirill, Timothy, Manuela. Plus all the guys in Digital Bros especially Rami, Raffi and Andrew who gave us the amazing chance to work on Assetto Corsa Competizione with an amount of resources we could have never dreamed of and made us feel as part of the family since day one. Love you guys, keep on rocking!

As for me, I am as excited and impatient as I can be, sitting at my PC with a blank empty screen, ready to see what comes next; many ideas and fantasies running through my head as I try to remind myself I am now back in the world of real Indie development and whatever I'll do next will have to be scaled to match this new reality.

My plan is to make this journey available to all of you willing to follow through the usual platforms, starting with my Youtube channel and eventually expanding to other platforms such as Twitch with frequent streams and update videos. It's going to be an open window into a world of passion, frustration, dreams, shattered dreams, hopes, disappointments, study, research, failures, re-writes, revelations,roadblocks, broken keyboards but hopefully also lots lots lots of fun.. see you out there.

Stefano Casillo

Lead Programmer and Founder

Jaxx Vane Studio

Original Source: Stefano Casillo Facebook

Yasko · Apr 3, 2020

Thank you for all your hard work over the years. Good luck to your new life.

Alex Townsend · Apr 3, 2020

Yasko said:
Thank you for all your hard work over the years. Good luck to your new life.

I must be tired from being stuck at home the whole time, I read that as Good luck to your new WIFE...

MarkR · Apr 3, 2020

safi hellie said:
And what about the people practically crying and sending flowers?

I half expecting someone here to start a whip-round for his ~~untimely death and funeral~~ personal decision to leave the company he sold. I mean his salary and those 2 payments of €1.35m in cash (split between the owners) won't go far will it? Now the golden handcuffs are off another €1m plus in shares to sell too if he chooses (nicely timed exit as the 505 share price just recovered too). Although apparently we shouldn't talk about this public information and the finances of a publicly listed company...

Again I admire the business exit strategy he plotted for himself, without the sale to 505 it would have been near impossible for him to leave with such financial benefit and the company intact for those left behind. A real shame his emotions got the better of his logic in too many online interactions though and tarnish the legacy with quite a few customers.

Metla · Apr 3, 2020

Sounds like some jealousy to me, how does it effect anyone else in a negative way if he profits from his work, that's the benefit of combining effort with being smart.

Ben Lee · Apr 3, 2020

I don't suppose there is any indication as to what Jaxx Vane Studio will be doing?

randomcallsign · Apr 3, 2020

MarkR said:
I half expecting someone here to start a whip-round for his ~~untimely death and funeral~~ personal decision to leave the company he sold. I mean his salary and those 2 payments of €1.35m in cash (split between the owners) won't go far will it? Now the golden handcuffs are off another €1m plus in shares to sell too if he chooses (nicely timed exit as the 505 share price just recovered too). Although apparently we shouldn't talk about this public information and the finances of a publicly listed company...

As long as he got it legally, good for him.

Ben Lee said:
I don't suppose there is any indication as to what Jaxx Vane Studio will be doing?

I don't know what it is, but the name vaguely sounds like porn.

justfdl · Apr 3, 2020

randomcallsign said:
I don't know what it is, but the name vaguely sounds like porn.

If the physics and VR are good, I might give it a shot

safi hellie · Apr 3, 2020

Metla said:
Sounds like some jealousy to me, how does it effect anyone else in a negative way if he profits from his work, that's the benefit of combining effort with being smart.

Not jealousy. Also look at what some other games devs have sold their babies for, this is very small fry.
For example Microsoft acquired a game developer called Mojang for 2.5 BILLION......
Kunos was sold for what, £4 million?

My point is simply that i don't understand why some people are crying over this news?

Most of us should be locked down, fearful for friends and family and wondering what world we will be left with after all of this....
Yet people are crying over a bloke leaving a company he SOLD....

You can still buy AC, so not even sure how him leaving affects ANYTHING.
It is desperate "look at me i am more sad about this" attention seeking...

The bloke is perfectly fine, happy and ready to move on from kunos...WHY SO SAD??!

Rosemaier · Apr 3, 2020

safi hellie said:
Not jealousy. Also look at what some other games devs have sold their babies for, this is very small fry.
For example Microsoft acquired a game developer called Mojang for 2.5 BILLION......
Kunos was sold for what, £4 million?

My point is simply that i don't understand why some people are crying over this news?

Most of us should be locked down, fearful for friends and family and wondering what world we will be left with after all of this....
Yet people are crying over a bloke leaving a company he SOLD....

You can still buy AC, so not even sure how him leaving affects ANYTHING.
It is desperate "look at me i am more sad about this" attention seeking...

The bloke is perfectly fine, happy and ready to move on from kunos...WHY SO SAD??!

You clearly haven’t taken part in the journey...
It‘s called nostalgia.
You had to be there to understand.

dud · Apr 3, 2020

azaralamouri said:
Sim racing needs much much more developers. The models and concepts they work at are much more important than to be a one or two men arbitrary vision. Imo every single aspect of physics simulated needs institutes researching. Aris from konus said once that simulations role is way beyond playing. All car makers and racing teams use simulations to test and develop new technologies for example.

Sim racing needs more devs.

There is enough depth in the physics to keep many more programmers busy.

But the question is whether the money in the market allows multiple developers go crazy on physics specialized programmers. Remember that for all the code they write there also needs to be^H^H^H should be testing. True end-to-end testing of car physics would be something like automated racing in the buildbot. That is $$$ that is probably only affordable by the top dog companies - and those are likely to look at how much more revenue this brings.

An open source game where people go crazy as volunteers has a better chance to amass physics personpower, but as we know open source games then often fall short in the art and content department, and testing is also an issue.

Butzemann · Apr 3, 2020

I do not care about the future of Kunos, or silly questions about money. When I red the news my first question was: What is his next project?

Cheers

PartyPePe · Apr 3, 2020

Stefano claimed that he will start streaming development next week on his Twitch channel

MarkR · Apr 3, 2020

His next game? Only rumours of course but these seem plausible to me:

Option 1: Lord of the Cats: The Ban Hammer of Eternity

A physics/text adventure crossover. Apparently, it's going to be a true hero’s journey about a lord* and his trusty cat setting out to find the Ban Hammer of Eternity. As there are well over 10,000 triple screen-wide pages of text discussing the exact physics of the Ban Hammer, a big argument with someone who used to wield one versus the purely theoretical calculations, I skipped to the end. Sorry for the spoilers here but I have to tell you it concludes with the lord and his cat on an island where he wields the ban hammer with impunity to make sure only those who agree with him and his devoted followers are ever heard from again. The game ends with this on-screen text: "They all lived 'appily eva afta as everyone agreed with me, even a popular Meta review site which gave it 100%** and best 'puter game eva award.***"

* Origin and authenticity of the title unverifiable.
** Based on only 4 reviews by local journalists who were given a free all-expenses trip to the island.
*** Excludes the rather rubbish half-finished console cash grab edition.

Option 2: The bestest ever simulation racing game with the mostest simulationy value ever. Releasing in Early Access exactly one day after the non-compete agreement expires. Surprisingly some of his old team might also join soon after too. No career mode, no console versions eva. Almost 'everyone' will rejoice that the racing game genre is saved from extinction (assuming in the meantime all other racing game studios also decide to quit.....). Almost 'everyone' else saw this one coming a mile away, shrugged and carried on.

Option 3. An umbrella eSports racing platform - far fetched I know, it'll never catch on.

Option 4: A surprise.

As the apple rarely falls far from the tree my crystal ball tells me it’ll be option 2. You heard it here first. It won’t be a popular decision everywhere and I can tell you the people over on Cat Game Department are already claiming it’ll be the end of the cat game genre, if he goes that way, despite the existence of the very positive reviewed I got a cat maid (no link, NSFW, careful if you search for it!) and other alternatives.

[For those of a sensitive nature this post is a satire about a high profile, often controversial and divisive figure in the racing game sphere - no, no, no not Ian Bell, please do try to keep up]

RichardHessels · Apr 3, 2020

If you love creating/programming new projects, but your job demands you run a company as CEO and please your workers.
Than you decide to do something new.

Tsfc · Apr 3, 2020

Grazie mille, Ste'fano! E buona fortuna!!

Boby Kim · Apr 3, 2020

Farewell sir. May the force be with you

mms · Apr 3, 2020

Thanks for everything you have done for the sim-racing community, AC brought me to the sim-racing, and I'm sure many others can say the same.

I wish you good luck and success in whatever you end up doing next!

Usus Gecko · Apr 3, 2020

Paul Jeffrey said:
One of the key men responsible for Ferrari Virtual Academy, NetKar Pro, Assetto Corsa and Assetto Corsa Competizione has left Kunos Simulazioni - goodbye and good luck Stefano Casillo!

Universally regarded as one of the most impressive coding talents in the sim racing landscape, in his role of founder and lead programmer at Kunos Simulazioni, Stefano Casillo (that's Ste'fano, not Stefano! - I remembered!!) has been at the forefront of sim racing development for almost two decades.

Working on some of the most highly regarded racing simulations of a generation, from the likes of NetKar Pro, Ferrari Virtual Academy, the original Assetto Corsa and now Assetto Corsa Competizione, Casillo has proven time and again his ability to bring together a sublime racing experience for sim racers the world over.

Of course, many talented men and women have worked together at Kunos over the years, and that work will undoubtedly continue in the years to come with or without Stefano, so don't worry about the future folks - I'm sure it is in safe hands!

Taking to his personal Facebook account this morning, Casillo has confirmed he is no longer a part of the Italian Kunos Simulazioni development team, having taken the opportunity to move on to pastures new as founder of the new Jaxx Vane Studio. I'm sure I speak for all at RaceDepartment in wishing Stefano the best of luck with his new ventures, and wholeheartedly thanking him for the things he has achieved in the (virtual) sport we all love!

The Facebook announcement post in full:

Today is a different morning for me.

For the first time since 2005 I woke up and I did not sit at my PC thinking about Kunos Simulazioni software development.

Yes, this might come as a shock, but as of today I am not directly involved with Kunos Simulazioni software development anymore.

Of course this is not like I had imagined my first day as "full solo indie" back in September when I decided it was time to move on from Kunos Simulazioni, it was a different time back then, before the Corona Virus shook our lives... so, at the end, this post doesn't happen in a mood as festive as I hoped for.

Because of this, and out of respect for all the guys there trying to deal with one of the hardest times humans had to go through since the end of WW2 I will keep this as brief and informative as possible.

My relationship with the guys in Kunos and Digital Bros is and always was amazing, there is no friction and no bad feeling coming from my decision, that follows over time the one me and Marco took in 2017 when we moved the ownership of our company under Digital Bros umbrella.

Enough time was given in order to make the transition as smooth and painless as possible, and thanks to the amazing talents in there I am sure the company will continue to be a shining light in the world of simracing because of the amazing talents in the team.

At a certain point I started to feel like I had nothing more to give to the SimRacing genre and it was time for me to go look for new inspirations.

My deepest thanks to all the guys who made Kunos Simulazioni possible, these have been the most exciting 15 years of my life and you guys made it special day after day. Marco, Simone, Gianluca, Aris, Luca, Manu, Alvio, Davide, Gergo, Alessandro, Kevin, Valeria, Fernando, Fabio, Itho, Giovanni, Fabrizio, Cristian, Pietro, Kirill, Timothy, Manuela. Plus all the guys in Digital Bros especially Rami, Raffi and Andrew who gave us the amazing chance to work on Assetto Corsa Competizione with an amount of resources we could have never dreamed of and made us feel as part of the family since day one. Love you guys, keep on rocking!

As for me, I am as excited and impatient as I can be, sitting at my PC with a blank empty screen, ready to see what comes next; many ideas and fantasies running through my head as I try to remind myself I am now back in the world of real Indie development and whatever I'll do next will have to be scaled to match this new reality.

My plan is to make this journey available to all of you willing to follow through the usual platforms, starting with my Youtube channel and eventually expanding to other platforms such as Twitch with frequent streams and update videos. It's going to be an open window into a world of passion, frustration, dreams, shattered dreams, hopes, disappointments, study, research, failures, re-writes, revelations,roadblocks, broken keyboards but hopefully also lots lots lots of fun.. see you out there.

Stefano Casillo
Lead Programmer and Founder
Jaxx Vane Studio

Original Source: Stefano Casillo Facebook

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All the best for you Stefano, thanks for your great work !!

ShredatorFIN · Apr 3, 2020

At some point he talked about a sailing sim. Maybe that

safi hellie · Apr 3, 2020

Rosemaier said:
You clearly haven’t taken part in the journey...
It‘s called nostalgia.
You had to be there to understand.

LOL...

I am still on the journey thanks, still play a heavily modded AC and absolutely love it...
Do i care if Stefano is still working for the company he sold ages ago?
Nope..
Am i still allowed to use AC?

He couldn't even add night racing...... yet there i am....with full 24 hour weather system....
Maybe he should never of sold out in the first place?