Late Monday afternoon, Motorsport Games held a Town Hall style Q&A session regarding the launch of NASCAR 21: Ignition in October. Many of the NASCAR gaming community were displeased by the lack of quality within the game at launch. Motorsport Games President, Dmitry Kozko, acknowledged this at the beginning of the Q&A. After this, a series of questions that had been previously submitted to the developers were given to the team. This town hall gave fans an idea of what to expect for not only NASCAR 21: Ignition but future installments as well.
What can fans expect for NASCAR '21: Ignition?
Motorsport Games has not completely given up on Ignition. The game has had many bumps dating all the way back to the launch of the game. Despite these setbacks, Motorsport Games did state that the team would be working on new additions for Ignition at least through the first half of 2022. Additions such as stages and online lobby start issues should be fixed as soon as January 25th. Motorsport Games stated that the six-player minimum for private online lobbies worked best in testing, but the feature will continue to be monitored for the game and potentially adjusted. Motorsport Games did announce the Playoff DLC pack and Legend, Bobby Labonte will be released Thursday, January 27th. Some of the complaints about features in Ignition were intentional. Motorsport Games cited authenticity as the reason for the lack of Fuel and Tire Indicators as well as not allowing custom schemes in career mode. Other features such as Rearview Mirrors were held back due to "scale backs."
What about future games?
While the future for NASCAR 21: Ignition may look a bit bleak, there are plenty of features being considered for future NASCAR installments. After all, Motorsport Games has the licensing for NASCAR games through 2029 after their acquisition of 704. So what features are being considered for future games? First, and foremost, is the Next-Gen car. This is the primary focus for Motorsport Games concerning 2022's installment. Motorsport Games wants the Next-Gen to drive as perfectly as it can. This will mean that feeder series such as the NASCAR Xfinity and Truck series will have to wait another year. Other considered features such as League Management, Shifter support, victory celebrations, and manual pit stops are all being considered. Another feature being considered is the ability to run custom paint schemes in online lobbies. This feature is one that Motorsport Games wants to add to their games, but one that must be added carefully. Proper reporting systems will have to be implemented to avoid any offensive or obscene paint schemes from being run. Most importantly, Motorsport Games has promised to be more transparent with their community about issues. This, hopefully, is a step in the right direction in opening the lines of communication between developer and consumer.
What can consumers do?
A lot of consumers are feeling burnt after the poor release of NASCAR 21: Ignition. However, it is important that fans keep giving feedback to Motorsport Games. A team cannot fix what they are not aware of. The future for NASCAR gaming can still be bright. The start was slower than we had anticipated, but the foundation has been set. Motorsport Games will continue to strive for the best product to give out to fans. In turn, fans can give their feedback on what they would like to see added to the future of NASCAR gaming.