NASCAR fans and video game connoisseurs had to wait two years for the development of “NASCAR 25” in a new partnership with iRacing. In the one month since the Oct. 14 release date, the publishing company has found the partnership to be a booming success.
“We needed to do something like that to have it be a success,” Steve Myers, executive vice president of iRacing, told Jayski. “Nowadays with what you’re spending to make these games, it’s a tough road. You can certainly see, looking at the rest of the industry, why there were some contraction going up because it’s very expensive to build these games. If you have something that’s doing less than that, it’s tough to look in the mirror and go, ‘do you want to do this?’
“I think we’re ecstatic with the way things have gone so far. We’re just starting. We’re thrilled that year one has such a positive momentum because we know what we have lined up for the future is going to add on that.”
Not including its launch on PC earlier this week, roughly 200,000 copies of “NASCAR 25” have been sold through PlayStation and Xbox users. It’s ahead of schedule in terms of sales, making the top 10 best-seller list for both consoles, according to GameDiscoverCo, an industry tracker. In October alone, it placed ninth in new releases on PlayStation and fourth on Xbox.
“We are over the moon, thrilled,” Myers added. “You put two years of work into something, you are worried with how people are going to receive this. Clearly, there was a market and customer base that was dying for this, so expectations were very high. It was very stressful. We feel good about what we’ve accomplished and what we’re even more excited about is the future and what we can build on.”
“NASCAR 25,” which features 2023 Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney, along with rising stars William Byron and Christopher Bell as the cover athletes, is far different from what iRacing is accustomed to providing consumers. Since its founding in the early 2000s, iRacing has given customers the experience of being in the driver’s seat through a realistic simulation. It helped launch the careers of several current NASCAR competitors, including Byron, 2024 Craftsman Truck Series champion Ty Majeski and rising competitor Parker Retzlaff.
Though iRacing had a prior relationship with World of Outlaws and created a pair of video games, taking on the NASCAR video game was a new challenge. The idea began when iRacing partnered with NASCAR and Fox Sports during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 to air the Pro Invitational Series. That helped elevate iRacing’s business to a new level, Myers explained. Simultaneously, iRacing was in the process of acquiring Monster Games, home to the NASCAR Heat series that ended in 2019. In October of 2023, iRacing added the NASCAR license, with the intention of developing the new console title with a two-year launch.
“It was probably a little longer than we wanted from what most games would be,” Myers said of the development period. “The truth is, that’s actually a short timeline for a franchise launching a game. One of the massive advantages that we have with the business is we had all of this content already built. All of the tracks and cars, we had that on iRacing. A lot of it we had to refresh, and we did refresh almost everything for the NASCAR title, but that was a long period of time to do that. That was a massive savings and almost a two-year development savings by having all of that content created. That short cut the development process.
“Two years seems like a long time, but in terms of launching your first game, it’s actually a pretty short amount of time.”
It was crucial to include all divisions in NASCAR: Xfinity (soon to be O’Reilly Auto Parts), Craftsman Truck Series and ARCA. In the career mode, “NASCAR 25” takes users through the process of advancing through the ranks with the competition, getting stiffer each rung up the ladder. It also includes the business side of the sport with players having to manage their budget, spending it creatively on the car’s body, chassis, engine and suspension as it takes a toll at the race track. Players also have to manage sponsors, hire crew members and build their reputation with on-track performance.
“It’s a good place to let people taste what this game is like, test it in a less difficult manner,” Myers added. “I think it allows a nice progression up to the Cup Series and shows off our skill and ability to authentically re-create these different driving cars on the same tracks – it shows off what we do as a business.”
Moving forward, iRacing is working through what the next versions of the game will look like, though should have an idea in the next month. Myers anticipates there will be another installment in 2026.
“We definitely have plans with what we want to do, it’s just a matter of trying to figure out what we can get done and when,” he stated. “This was a little later than we wanted to ship this title. I think that goes with year one, the official launch hurdles that you’re going to jump through. I think in year two, we will have a better understanding of what we need to do to hit the marks that we want to hit.”
Having an earlier release date is a “tricky topic,” Myers admitted. Pointing at EA Sports’ legendary Madden franchise, he knows that it has the luxury of launching ahead of the season, though it still aligns with the best period of the year to release a game. Ultimately, the release date needs to make business sense.
“I understand that people would love if the title would come out before Daytona, but it’s kind of a dead window in terms of retail sales,” he said. “As a business, if you release something in February, it’s tough to get all the way to the holiday season that is a viable product to generate revenue in the holiday season.
“We know we are an entertainment and servicing the industry, but we’re also a business, so we have to make those decisions on where to release products to best line up with opportunities for revenue.”
Regardless, iRacing plans to keep building on what it’s done with “NASCAR 25.” The next title will include the new Chevrolet body for 2026, as well as the Naval Base Coronado course in San Diego that NASCAR will visit next June.