Opinion: Why Le Mans Ultimate is worth saving

After years of turmoil following controversial exclusive licencing deals for IndyCar and the British Touring Car Championship, the failed NASCAR 21: Ignition game and the cessation of several projects, Motorsport Games looked like it had turned the corner with Le Mans Ultimate.

Job cuts were seen as necessary evils to right the ship pre-LMU release. For the most part, development team Studio 397 was protected, as it had around one year to build upon rFactor 2, make significant upgrades, and create a licenced Le Mans game.

That plan now looks to be in tatters. Word reached Traxion earlier this week that a spate of redundancies was taking place across the company. This was far from the first time – but it was especially notable considering all the positive noises emanating from the Miami-headquartered outfit following Ultimate’s release.

Just weeks prior, it released a significant title update, a second DLC pack and a video where CEO Stephen Hood extolled the virtues of the PlayStation 5 Pro and how the platform would be a good fit for consoles.

It now feels like that message was not to sim racers, but possible investors.

The company released a statement yesterday (4th October) that seemed to me like a public cry for help, exploring the possibility of a new owner or possible merger. I hope this can happen, as the official FIA WEC driving simulation is worth saving.

Le Mans Ultimate understands the most important element for sim racers 

For some, it’s how crisp the virtual reality support is. For others, the raucousness of the engine sounds. Alternatively, the vibrance of a multiplayer scene is king.

But, in my opinion, how a vehicle behaves through a curve is the most important element of a sim racing game.

I want the car to speak to me, telepathic on the edge of adhesion.

A sim can have glossy visuals, exacting car models and a complex skill ranking system. But, if the vehicles move in a way that lacks perceived authenticity, I’m less interested.

I was recently driving a racing game which features LMDh (or GTP in American series) cars – which given the virtual ubiquity of that ruleset, could have been any.

The experience was visually appealing, the car sounded suitably raw, weather conditions were challenging and I felt reasonably connected to its tyres. In isolation, this would have been a perfectly acceptable sim racing experience.

Except… I drove that same car in Le Mans Ultimate moments later.

The savage brutality of the engine, once it had kicked in following a brief stint on electric-only power, was a shock to the system. The ensuing lock-ups and spins were humbling. Turns out, I’m not the next Sébastien Bourdais. Shame.

Eyes-wide, it clicked. This is what driving at Le Mans must be like. This is how a racing simulation should be.

Sadly, I’d had to wade through the motorsport equivalent of bog snorkelling to get to that realisation. The game had crashed upon launch. The loading times were sluggish. The pause menu had more lag than a Koala on Nytol.

It was as if Le Mans Ultimate didn’t want me to drive it. Pas de course aujourd’hui. Come back when the early access period is over.

Persevering, after a period of acclimatisation, the Cadillac V-Series.R danced. I was a conductor, fully in control of the tempo, with total focus on the job at hand. The V8 orchestra in the same state of mind.

During the night, thundering down the Mulsanne Straight I had entered a flow state, as if I and the simulated mid-engine missile were joined at the wrists.

And yet…

Being picky, I would say that developer Studio 397’s former work on the venerable rFactor 2 delivered slightly sharper responses through the wheel.

The rate of development progress since February has been impressive.

Yet, its lack of basic features such as a single-player championship mode, formal VR compatibility and an absence of LMGT3 machinery still make it feel far from a complete product – which, at least, it isn’t advertised as.

Crazy to think mere weeks before the February 2024 launch, Le Mans Ultimate was set to eschew the early access get-out clause.

I suspect that would have been the nail in the coffin for the imperilled parent company Motorsport Games there and then.

Mercifully, it was released at a lower price point with a publicly acknowledged work-in-progress build. Initially, sales were reported by the company as “ahead of expectations”, emboldened by a generally warm reception and sales of premium DLC.

Now, though, with the company seemingly up for sale, or looking for a partner to merge with, the livelihoods of the remaining team are on the line, alongside the entire Le Mans Ultimate project.

There is online sentiment, across social media and Discord channels, rejoicing in Motorsport Games’ apparent difficulties. “Studio 397 can then take on LMU themselves and make it great,” said someone, probably, likely wearing a tinfoil hat.

I struggle with this hypothesis. I believe that Motorsport Games is Studio 397. Studio 397 is Motorsport Games. The two are conjoined.

Its current Hypercar-focussed driving game may be listed as ‘published by Studio 397’ on Steam, but this is a marketing exercise to distance the company’s one great hope from the tarnished reputation of the mothership.

I’m not suggesting it is impossible, but it is essentially one company, portraying itself as two. Licencing, for instance, could become a sticky mess. I find it hard to see how the plucky Dutch-founded development team could rise from the ashes to save itself.

A possible ACC replacement is at stake

The timing of this embroglio of politics, share prices, downloadable content and damaged reputations comes at a time when an open goal for Le Mans Ultimate is present.

Preminentent GT-racing platform Assetto Corsa Competizione is on life support. Another officially licenced sim racing title, its Kunos Simulazioni development team is fully focussed on the upcoming Assetto Corsa EVO.

Consequently, ACC has only received minimal support in recent months. I don’t think it’s ‘dead’, the strong communities it has built up remain engaged. I also don’t think it is beyond the realms of possibility that a third party is employed to keep it running, theoretically.

But Le Mans Ultimate has a stunning driving experience, a burgeoning car and track roster, and some innovative ideas like the asynchronous co-op mode. Unlike the SRO-affiliated racer, it has a native multiplayer ranking and a special event system to boot.

It is on the ascendancy, while ACC flatlines.

Yet, the company responsible for it could run out of money at the worst possible moment. If for one hope a resolution can be found sooner rather than later, otherwise a potential world-beating racing experience could go to waste.