iRacing just made a move that’s been brewing for years. The sim racing giant has officially launched iRacing Studios, a new umbrella brand that acknowledges what many of us have suspected, iRacing as a company is no longer just about hardcore PC simulation anymore.
After more than 15 years of being the gold standard for serious sim racers, iRacing has quietly expanded into console gaming with everything from arcade racers to licensed NASCAR games. Now, instead of pretending these are side projects, they’re owning it with a dedicated brand and website at iracingstudios.com.
Beyond Sim Racing
This isn’t iRacing abandoning its roots—it’s iRacing recognizing that racing games come in all forms, and they want to dominate every category. The iRacing Studios brand creates a clear distinction: the flagship iRacing service remains the uncompromising simulation we know and love, while the Studios brand covers everything else they’re cooking up.
The lineup under the new brand is surprisingly diverse. NASCAR 25, the official NASCAR game hitting consoles and PC later this year, sits alongside The World of Outlaws: Dirt Racing series, which has already proven that iRacing can translate their technical expertise to console audiences. Then there’s ExoCross, their take on futuristic racing that’s available now across PC and consoles.
But here’s the interesting part, they’ve announced iRacing Arcade is coming. Developed with the studio, Original Fire Games. This project represents iRacing’s most direct challenge to the arcade racing game market. It’s a bold move that says they’re not content to let other developers own the casual racing space while they focus on the simulation purists.
A Solution to the Branding Issue
The Studios brand solves a problem iRacing has been wrestling with for years. How do you maintain credibility as the world’s most serious motorsport simulation while also releasing games that are, by design, less serious? The answer is simple: you don’t pretend they’re the same thing.
By creating iRacing Studios, they’re essentially saying “We make racing games for everyone, but we’re still the kings of simulation.” It’s a strategy that lets them chase the broader gaming market without diluting the hardcore brand that built their reputation.
What This Really Means
The new brand isn’t just about marketing, it’s about infrastructure. The iRacing Studios website centralizes information about all their games, job openings, and business news. That suggests they’re building a proper game development operation, not just licensing their name to other studios.
For sim racers, this should be reassuring. The core iRacing service isn’t going anywhere, and the company name remains iRacing.com Motorsport Simulations, LLC. But now they have the structure to fund more ambitious projects across the gaming spectrum.
The Bigger Picture
This move comes at a perfect time. Racing games are having a moment, with everything from F1 24 to Gran Turismo 7 proving there’s appetite for both simulation and arcade experiences. Meanwhile, iRacing’s expertise in physics, tire modeling, and vehicle dynamics gives them a technical foundation that most game studios can only dream of.
The question isn’t whether iRacing can make good racing games, they’ve been doing that for over a decade. The question is whether they can translate their simulation expertise into games that appeal to casual players without alienating their core audience.
Racing’s Netflix Moment
Just like Netflix evolved from DVD-by-mail to streaming giant to content producer, iRacing is evolving from niche simulation service to full-spectrum racing game developer. The Studios brand gives them the framework to chase every segment of the racing game market.
For those of us who’ve been following iRacing’s evolution, this feels like an inevitable step. They’ve been building toward this for years, quietly expanding their portfolio while maintaining their simulation crown. Now they’re ready to go public with their broader ambitions.
The racing game landscape just got more interesting. iRacing isn’t just the simulation king anymore—they want to be the racing game king, period. And with their technical expertise and growing portfolio, they might just pull it off.
iRacing Studios Current Portfolio:
- iRacing – flagship PC motorsport simulation
- NASCAR 25 – official NASCAR game (console/PC, coming later 2025)
- The World of Outlaws: Dirt Racing – official World of Outlaws games (PC/console/Nintendo Switch)
- ExoCross – futuristic racing (PC/PlayStation/Xbox)
- iRacing Arcade – arcade racing with Original Fire Games (PC/console, coming soon)