Dmitry Kozko Sees Motorsport Games As A Key Partner For Nascar Teams And Drivers

Kevin James and the cast of The Crew on Netflix aren’t the only ones getting their feet wet in racing thanks to Nascar Heat 5.

Within the next few months, the lineup for the Nascar Heat Ultimate Summer Showdown will be revealed as part of Motorsport Games’ latest expansion.

The organization is planning out its future, including the launch of a brandnew Nascar game this year, as well as the expansion of its esports presence for all of racing.

“From the very formation of Motorsport Games, we’ve been thinking broader and wider,” Motorsport Games CEO Dmitry Kozko said. “An example of that was the start of our relationship with the Le Mans Series. We started to do esports in the beginning with a vision in mind that, one day, we’ll be creating a dedicated game franchise like we have with Nascar.”

Motorsport Games is rapidly expanding its portfolio after acquiring 704 Games, a video game developer with a license to create Nascar games, in August 2018. The deal meant that Motorsport Games, a branch of Motorsport Network, would hold exclusive rights to develop Nascar video games.

Monster Games and 704 Games combined efforts in 2015 to recreate the popular Nascar Heat series from the early 2000s. Thanks to Motorsport Games’ acquisition of 704 Games, Nascar Heat is growing in popularity.

The Race Team Alliance (RTA), which is Nascar’s version of franchises called charters, is also included in the deal. The 36 Nascar teams that have charters are automatically in the Nascar games that Motorsport Games produces, and they also qualify for entry in the eNascar Heat Pro League, which had races air on NBCSN last year. The league gives young race fans the opportunity to race for actual Nascar teams, developing a relationship that will essentially grow Nascar’s fan base and change its demographics.

“Over time, as the relationship evolved with having the eNascar Heat Pro League seasons one and two, they saw how we’re increasing viewership — we quadrupled it between season one and season two — earned enough of their respect that we’re onto something,” Kozko said. “We’re creating something valuable, not just for the gaming franchise, but for them, as well.”

Nascar worked with EA Sports from 1997 until 2008, producing several video games. However, after the licensing agreement wasn’t renewed and the quality of the games declined, Nascar needed a new partner. Eutechnyx published Nascar games from 2011 through 2015, but they weren’t popular among fans due to its lack of realistic racing.

Monster Games and 704 Games combined efforts in 2015 to recreate the popular Nascar Heat series from the early 2000s. Thanks to Motorsport Games’ acquisition of 704 Games, Nascar Heat is growing in popularity.

“If you’re not authentic to the experience Nascar has and project that through gaming, your game is not going to be successful,” Kozko said. “That lagged after EA and they were good at trying to bring some of that authenticity in the Nascar experience. We’re fortunate to get our hands on this and pair it with the individuals we have who are inspired by bringing the Nascar soul into the game.”

Motorsport Games raised roughly $60 million after its IPO in January, selling approximately three million shares. The firm also just announced its headquarters is being built in Miami.

Now, the brand is preparing to launch its first Nascar game that is different from the 704 Games version. The pressure is on for Motorsport Games to succeed thanks to its relationship with the RTA and Nascar.

But Kozko believes this is going to be the Nascar game fans have been waiting for.

“To compare the product with something historic we’ve had in our portfolio will be like comparing a building to a human,” he said. “It’s completely different with everything.”

Once the new Nascar game is launched in the third quarter of 2021, Motorsport Games will continue expanding into other racing divisions.

Last year, in the middle of the Covid-19 shutdown, Motorsport Games hosted a worldwide 24 Hours of Le Mans virtual race with big named drivers, such as Juan Pablo Montoya, Fernando Alonso, Jenson Button, Max Papis and more. Additionally, Motorsport Games now has a 10-year rolling license agreement with Automobile Club de l’Ouest for Le Mans and just signed an agreement with the British Touring Car Championship.

“Part of everything we’ve been building from scratch is to go deep into the virtual racing community altogether,” Kozko said. “One of our aspirations is to become the household brand name when it comes to virtual racing. That means you have to reach and speak to more than just the Nascar franchise. From the very formation of Motorsport Games, we’ve been thinking broader and wider.”

From April to June, in addition to the eNascar Heat Pro Series, Motorsport Games will also host the Nascar Heat Ultimate Summer Showdown. The four-part series comes after the brand’s success with the Winter Heat Series. For the series, BenQ will serve as the official gaming monitor provider.

“We’ll continue to split up more of these things up until the point we have something like the Pro League becoming complimentary to something bigger and better,” Kozko said.

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