IndyCar and iRacing announce multiyear license agreement, sim racing reunion

iRacing and IndyCar announced a new multi-year licensing agreement Tuesday, reuniting the sim-racing giant and the world-famous series after a year apart.

The agreement includes the return of the iRacing Indianapolis 500 special event and the use of IndyCar in private events and for online streaming.

“The INDYCAR SERIES and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway are racing properties that need to be included in iRacing,” iRacing President Tony Gardner said. “There is no better way for fans to experience sim racing than on iRacing, and whether it’s the INDYCAR SERIES’ Indy 500, NASCAR’s Brickyard 400 or IMSA’s Battle on the Bricks, there is nothing like racing at Indianapolis. I am so pleased to be able to bring these events back to the iRacing community.”

In December of 2022, IndyCar's brand was removed from iRacing after the series signed an exclusive gaming agreement with Motorsport Games in 2021. Though the Dallara IR18 remained on the platform, events could not be contested at real-life IndyCar locations in official iRacing series, dubbed "U.S. Open Wheel," and the car could not be used when streaming individually or in private leagues.

IndyCar terminated its contract with Motorsport Games in November 2023 one day after the company informed investors it had stopped working on IndyCar's console game. This came after repeated delays in the project, and outcry from iRacing's IndyCar sim racers that the series was abandoned on the service.

Motorsport Games has suffered through layoffs, financial issues, broken contracts and technical issues with the company's biggest event, the virtual 24 Hours of LeMans.

iRacing acquired NASCAR's exclusive sim racing license from 704 Games, a Motorsport Games subsidiary, in October.

“We are very excited that our most avid gamers and fans will have full access to the INDYCAR SERIES through this licensing agreement with iRacing,” said Ben Hendricks, INDYCAR senior manager, eSports & emerging virtual experiences. “They are longtime partners, and we look forward to official INDYCAR SERIES racing on iRacing for many years to come.”

The licensing agreement goes into effect immediately, and iRacing members will see the rebranding of series, cars and events over the coming days. Details of the iRacing Indianapolis 500 will be available later this month, according to IndyCar's press release.