iRacing and Indycar Sign A Multiyear Licensing Agreement

Things finally go back to normal, as iRacing and Indycar sign a multiyear licensing agreement which goes into effect immediately.

This means the return of the iRacing Indianapolis 500, Indycar branding and events, and an extension to the license for the Indianpolis Motor Speedway. The two brands had worked together for more than a dozen years, and the Indy 500 was one of the flagship iRacing special events until the end of 2022, when an exclusive license was granted to Motorsport Games.

That game failed to materialise, and the license was terminated in November 2023 (alongside British Touring Cars, and the sale of the NASCAR license to iRacing). Not only did it mean that American open wheel racing was unlicensed, but it also prevented private leagues running Indycar events and streaming them. And all of that can now return.

“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.”

The disruption was a massive pain for sim racers, but it turns out it may have actually resulted in some benefits, as the new license agreement includes ‘more provisions than previous iterations’. So along with the return of the iRacing Indianapolis 500 and INDYCAR SERIES official races, there will also be multiple leagues running INDYCAR Series events on iRating, suggesting more support for community-led sim racing. And that’s always a good thing.

While the licensing goes into effect immediately, the rebranding of the series, cars and events on iRacing will take place over the coming days, with details of the iRacing Indianapolis 500 available later in January 2024.

All of that is good news for sim racers, although it still means there’s no dedicated Indycar title for consoles on the horizon. So it’ll be interesting to see if the Penske Corporation owners have learned from their previous mistake and will now agree less exclusive licenses so that a wider range of sim racers and gamers can enjoy the series virtually.

Ironically after all this, iRacing now have the NASCAR license in addition to the Indycar agreement, and Motorsport Games have effectively gone from producing NASCAR games to focusing on World Endurance. If someone could just pick up the BTCC license, then things might have a truly happy ending for sim racing, if not for all of the investors and employees of Motorsport Games over the last couple of years.

You can sign up to iRacing, here (and credit your referral to ORD, which we’d appreciate!). And see all vehicles included in your basic subscription, or what you can access by paying more, in our full official iRacing car list, here. Or check out all of the included circuits, and the others you can buy, in our full official iRacing track list, here.