Straight4 statement on Project Motor Racing

[MagpieRacer]

I know Austin Ognoski was out the door quickly, but this is not good news in the hope for a big recovery and revival. Not good at all.

 

[Fezzik]

Money banked. Now cut the costs, sack the staff and screw the playerbase.

 

[THOMASBARNES]

well that's disappointing

 

[pez2k]

Money banked. Now cut the costs, sack the staff and screw the playerbase.

Situations like this for independent devs are usually the reverse, that the game hasn't sold well enough to be able to pay everyone's salaries. I don't think anyone involved is banking any money at this point.

 

[DapperDan07]

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I know Austin Ognoski was out the door quickly, but this is not good news in the hood for a big recovery and revival. Not good at all.

Austin was saying a lot before the release day and went very quiet once the game released

 

[MagpieRacer]

Money banked. Now cut the costs, sack the staff and screw the playerbase.

Situations like this for independent devs are usually the reverse, that the game hasn't sold well enough to be able to pay everyone's salaries. I don't think anyone involved is banking any money at this point.

I want to believe it's more like @pez2k situation, but given the reputation of those involved, it does feel an awful like what @Fezzik has said.

If they're still committed to fixing this and turning it into something good, they need to get a roadmap out ASAP.

 

[Fezzik]

Situations like this for independent devs are usually the reverse, that the game hasn't sold well enough to be able to pay everyone's salaries. I don't think anyone involved is banking any money at this point.

This was not an indie release. It had a publishing deal with Giants and a very well-funded marketing campaign. It was also at the top of the PS5 preorder charts. The publisher and the studio heads will certainly have made money.

 

[Enzo_P1_GTR]

I guess those steam numbers matter more then some here wanna make you believe the game bomb.

I don't support people losing there jobs that's always bad but I also dont support a developer that has the nerve to release a game in that STATE.

I guess I'm out $76

 

[notarjy]

I was worried this was the case, it seemed like a good game to pick up a year or so after launch once they have proven long term support. So much for that.

 

[MagpieRacer]

I guess those steam numbers matter more then some here wanna make you believe the game bomb.

I don't support people losing there jobs that's always bad but I also dont support a developer that has the nerve to release a game in that STATE.

I guess I'm out $76

In their defence, Steam isn't the only platform for this game, even on PC. It was at or very near the top of the PS5 preorder charts so the Steam numbers really won't reflect how many people are playing.

Granted it may not be many, but don't go by those numbers to determine its success.

 

[DapperDan07]

Another patch is coming tomorrow apparently

 

[Fezzik]

For all the people that bought the Year 1 bundle, I hope they at least fulfil that obligation and release the content.

 

[TypeRDC5]

Game development seems like an awful career to be involved in.

You work (in some cases way too many hours) hard to get a game released on time and then as soon as the game is released you lose your job just before Christmas.

 

[pez2k]

This was not an indie release. It had a publishing deal with Giants and a very well-funded marketing campaign. It was also at the top of the PS5 preorder charts. The publisher and the studio heads will certainly have made money.

Lots of independent studios have publishing deals, it's not feasible to manufacture and distribute game discs without one, and the publishers often run the marketing. Straight4 is still independently owned, and they don't have the massive bank accounts of companies like Ubisoft to ensure that they can keep the lights on after a poor release. Preorders were high but I can't imagine too many people since then have gone out to buy it after it landed with such a loud and public thud on day one.

The publisher is probably the party that gets paid first, I'd be surprised if that's not part of their contract in order to recoup their investment. That just makes it less likely that Straight4 is making any sort of big profit up front.

It was only a matter of days ago that Three Fields announced that they were laying off all of their staff because preorders and sales of Wreckreation weren't enough to repay their publisher THQ Nordic. This is sadly all too common now with game budgets reaching unmanageable levels.

 

[Joey D]

A half-baked Ian Bell creation?

 

[GOTMAXPOWER]

This is a sad update, it reads as though the publisher has pushed the developer to release the game far before it's ready to ship and the customers have voted with their wallets. I didn't buy yet because whilst it's a game I was excited for and still see the potential in it's not one which is worth £85 as it is, I guess too many others thought the same. I hope the team that do remain can fulfil the content for the season pass because lots of that sounds good and would tempt a lot of us fence sitters in once the price is more reasonable.

There is a bigger warning in there too, sim racing is an over-saturated niche with a very tribal set of players, I would love for somebody to unashamedly make a proper simcade, there is a gap in the market screaming to be filled for us sofa sitting pad racers.

 

[MagpieRacer]

There is a bigger warning in there too, sim racing is an over-saturated niche with a very tribal set of players, I would love for somebody to unashamedly make a proper simcade, there is a gap in the market screaming to be filled for us sofa sitting pad racers.

I think you're right here from a PC perspective, but from a console perspective it's far from oversaturated and there's a massive open goal waiting for someone to just nail a full featured sim for consoles. As it stands the baton falls to MSG and Kunos to fulfill this prophecy with Le Mans Ultimate and AC Evo.

Sounds like AC Evo will be good for sofa racers too. Just no release window on it yet.

 

[RACECAR]

Wow. It has not even been a month.

 

[lilcat89]

That stinks to hear. I was close to preordering it, but life got in the way, and I wouldn't have had any time to play it until after the beginning of next year. I might still pick it up then, but now just waiting. The release seemed all over the place and game certainly wasn't ready. This all has a smell of a financially motivated publisher pushing deadlines without care for the product that is pushed out.

 

[GOTMAXPOWER]

I think you're right here from a PC perspective, but from a console perspective it's far from oversaturated and there's a massive open goal waiting for someone to just nail a full featured sim for consoles. As it stands the baton falls to MSG and Kunos to fulfill this prophecy with Le Mans Ultimate and AC Evo.

Sounds like AC Evo will be good for sofa racers too. Just no release window on it yet.

I hope you're right about AC Evo because on the face of it it sounds great, I don't have a lot of faith in Kunos with console releases though, it feels like with their past games they can't keep up with developing on multiple platforms and they seem to be struggling to make this game on just the one for now. That's why I put so much faith in PMR, none of Ian Bell's other games were perfect but they had a tonne of content and were good enough to enjoyable on console. LMU I'm not sure on, if it's like ACC it's probably not for me.

 

[ColinNZ]

Ouch! I guess they didn't sell enough copies for Giants to recoup the publishing costs.

 

[doblocruiser]

I remember I said I might get burned....ffs ....terrible news and doesn't fill me with confidence at all. I wonder if key players are out and GIANTS putting up the funds to get this mess sorted.

That aside, I love my time with the game 🤷

 

[breeminator]

Game development seems like an awful career to be involved in.

It has been the same for 30+ years. Games companies are able to attract people to work for them because people like the idea of working for a games company much more than they like the idea of working on e.g. banking software. So they are able to offer lower pay and worse working conditions and still get people to work for them.

And re the Steam numbers, the Crew games are also available on console, AND Motorfest was even an Ubisoft store exclusive for a while before being released on Steam, so Steam isn't even the only PC platform, yet even The Crew 2 has 6x the Steam players of Project Motor Racing. The PMR launch definitely did not go well.

 

[Bonneville120]

Turd games can be salvaged if the love and passion is still there. Look at No Mans Sky. That said, adult gamers really shouldn't be getting stung in 2025. You should know by now not to preorder anything unless it's made by a dev with a bulletproof track record, like Rockstar.

 

[peniu]

 

[The Crock]

Crap game or not, no one deserves the economic bombshell of a layoff dropped on them at the most expensive time of the year. I feel for those guys/gals.

It doesn't look like they will turn it around, I'm afraid. Anyone with any business sense can see what's gonna happen here. Game may as well be dead, and that's not hyperbole. Yea maybe they get the DLC out but I think it's over.

 

[RACECAR]

View attachment 1497880

I get that this stuff sucks, but he really is not helping reacting like this.

 

[McLaren]

I get that this stuff sucks, but he really is not helping reacting like this.

I think Peniu is pointing out the irony since that post from Ian is 2 years old.

 

[RACECAR]

I think Peniu is pointing out the irony since that post from Ian is 2 years old.

Ohh, just looked at the date.

 

[Fezzik]

This is a sad update, it reads as though the publisher has pushed the developer to release the game far before it's ready to ship and the customers have voted with their wallets. I didn't buy yet because whilst it's a game I was excited for and still see the potential in it's not one which is worth £85 as it is, I guess too many others thought the same. I hope the team that do remain can fulfil the content for the season pass because lots of that sounds good and would tempt a lot of us fence sitters in once the price is more reasonable.

There is a bigger warning in there too, sim racing is an over-saturated niche with a very tribal set of players, I would love for somebody to unashamedly make a proper simcade, there is a gap in the market screaming to be filled for us sofa sitting pad racers.

The funny thing is that it might be iRacing as a publisher who fill the simcade console void. Nascar is great, hopefully the Indycar game is the same quality and they see the gap for a sportscar/GT game.