During a recent financial Q4 2021 earnings call for developer and esports organiser Motorsport Games, an upcoming plan was shared, and the BTCC game’s release date is now listed as ‘TBD’.
The exact wording from the schedule is “BTCC new title anticipated release date to be determined.”
Originally announced as in development in 2020, Motorsport Games is creating the first official solely-BTCC game since TOCA 2 Touring Cars by Codemasters in 1998.
It was due to be released this year, and in fact, the game’s official website still states, ‘Coming 2022’. This new slide from the earnings call, hosted on the company’s investor relations website, does raise questions as to if this will remain the case.
An earlier slide does highlight that the BTCC licence remains until 2027 with Motorsport Games for both games and esports.
Still, the presentation has estimated timescales for all other upcoming titles, such as rFactor 2 updates, new NASCAR tiles, IndyCar and 24 Hour of Le Mans, but not BTCC.
Following the messy launch of NASCAR 21: Ignition, in which we highlighted “many NASCAR gaming fans will be left wanting”, it seems as if its next new-motorsport series release could be pushed back.
A 2022 NASCAR game is still listed for release, however, alongside, interestingly, a console release of the KartKraft simulator.
It was also noted during the earnings call transcript that the President of Motorsport Games, Stephen Hood, is no longer working at the company – having brought with him extensive experience in racing game development, namely the Formula 1 titles by Codemasters.
He was interviewed about the BTCC game by GTPlanet in 2020, stating: “We’re not making an arcade game, but we don’t need to make a high-end, hardcore simulation.”
We contacted Motorsport Games’ public relations team, but it was unable to comment at the time of publication. As soon as we hear more BTCC gaming news, we’ll let you know.
Full disclosure – Traxion.GG is part of Motorsport Games and the Motorsport Games family of brands. All Traxion.GG content is editorially removed from Motorsport Games video game development and created by a dedicated team.
Header image – Colin Turkington (GBR) – Team BMW BMW 330i M Sport, Donington Park, Motorsport Images
