The studio behind the renownedNASCARgames as well as a variety of other popular motorsport titles, Motorsport Games, is allegedly being blackmailed by an employee over missing wages. Over the years, Motorsport Games has produced numerous popular releases, including - but not limited to -NASCAR: Ignition 21,Factor 2, andNASCAR: HEAT 5, specializing in simcade experiences.
Built in accordance with the titular motorsport,NASCARgames have generally been positively regarded by the gaming community, though the titles' niche focus meant that they couldn’t achieve the same sort of global appeal asGran TurismoandForzagames have managed to pull off. While the Motorsport Games' output has been largely favorable, the studio has been having a hard time in other areas of business as of late.
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Specifically, sources have told Insider Gaming that one of Motorsport Games' employees has issued a threat to the studio CEO Dmitry Kozko, saying that they would release the source could for four of its older games:KartKraft,Indycar,NASCAR: Ignition 21, andNASCAR: HEAT 5from 2020. The problem, sources say, is that the studio allegedly hasn’t paid its employees since October 2022, and some of them no longer have anything to lose by resorting to blackmail.Indycar, it’s worth pointing out, is yet to release, and getting its source code leaked well in advance would be a major blow to Motorsport Games.
Compared toHeat 5,the newerNASCAR: Ignition 21received moderately negative reviews even though it was supposed to be more of an AAA production. This may have set the stage for the studio’s potential financial troubles which, in turn, could’ve led to the ongoing developer payout problems. Whatever the explanation might be, the anonymous developer blackmailing Motorsport Games said that the affected titles' source code would be released if all the missing payments aren’t provided in full by January 25.
While the Motorsport Games' offerings haven’t made their way onto lists of thegreatest racing games of all time, they do target a very particular niche that is fairly underserved in general. ShouldIndycar, one of the studio’s key future releases, get leaked ahead of its release window, however, this could lead to even bigger problems down the line - especially for the fans ofNASCARgames.
Some may yet recall thatNASCAR Thunder 2002was one of theoriginal Xbox console’s important launch titles. While the franchise hasn’t had an entry quite as impactful as that in quite a while now, it’s entirely possible that one of Motorsport Games' future productions could meet the same level of acclaim. That is, if the studio successfully resolves its alleged problems before the situation gets even messier.
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