The Gumball 3000 – a yearly point to point rally taking in some of the most epic locations across the globe – has just announced a racing game based on the event is set for release in 2024.
The Gumball 3000 began in 1999 when British entrepreneur Maximillion Cooper created a 3,000-mile road trip for he and his supercar-owning friends to tackle, inspired by the 1976 movie The Gumball Rally. The event grew in the following years, attracting celebrities and sports stars with further exotic machinery, and went on to spawn a clothing brand, a charitable foundation and a PlayStation 2 game in 2002.
There are few details on the new game available, but we can confirm it will be available for PlayStation, Xbox and Mobile devices, with the creation of an esports team also planned for 2023 to help reinforce an esports element in-game.
The new title is scheduled for release in 2024 and will be developed by Warsaw-based studio SimFabric in association with GR Games. SimFabric have little pedigree in making racing games or sims, releasing the likes of Farm&Fix 2020 and Mushrooms: Forest Walker, so it will be interesting to see how the project pans out and how they plan to implement esports within the title.
Cooper, in an interview with supercar enthusiast and Gumball 3000 participant Jodie Kidd, stated: “We’ve signed a deal for another Gumball videogame. [It will release] in 2024, which coincides with our 25th anniversary, [It will be] multi-platform; Xbox, PlayStation, Mobile… So basically, next year we’re jumping headfirst into the esports world and will launch a Gumball esports team… the esports world has gone crazy, and I want to be part of that!”
Cooper has a strong background in business, so Gumball 3000’s emergence as an esports outfit is likely not to be a half-hearted affair. Cooper has invested heavily in GR Games too, so will have a keen interest in making the project a success. All very exciting news for a man who is known for planning and organising grandiose events with high-profile collaborations.
Like many people, my abiding memory of the Gumball 3000 was the 2001 event where the cast of American TV show Jackass took part. With the help of an MTV film crew, Johnny Knoxville, Steve-O et al drove across Europe with their usual brand of anarchic humour, helping bring the Gumball 3000 to a wider audience. And because it featured supercars by the dozen, I was hooked.
Do you think the Gumball 3000 esports team and game will make waves? What is your best memory of the event from the past 23 years? Let us know in the comments below!
Image sources: Motorsport Images, Gumball 3000
