Motorsport Games Granted Nasdaq Extension

Motorsport Games Granted Nasdaq Extension RD.jpg
Following a delisting notice in November, the Nasdaq has accepted Motorsport Games’ plan for regaining compliance and enacted a deadline.

Images: Motorsport Games

The beleaguered developer has been through the wringer of late, but as it gears up for the launch of Le Mans Ultimate in just 13 days, the Nasdaq has extended its stay on the stock market.

On 17th November 2023, Motorsport Games noted that it had received a deficiency letter from the New York-based exchange’s Listing Qualifications Department. Back then, the following items were flagged as potential issues:
  • A stockholders’ equity of $498,897, below the minimum requirement.
  • A market value of listed securities of at least $35 million or net income of $500,000 from continuing operations in the most recently completed fiscal year or in two of the three most recently completed fiscal years.
The owner of Studio 397, and therefore titles such as rFactor 2, was then afforded up to 45 days to submit a plan to regain compliance.

Evidently, that proposal was submitted and now the Nasdaq, according to a recent SEC filing, has given the Miami-headquartered developer until 15th May 2024 to regain compliance and specifically a minimum stockholders’ equity of $2,500,000.

No small task, when MSGM closed yesterday (6th January 2024) at a paltry $2.46, factoring in 2022’s 1-for-10 reverse stock split. Should a delisting be the determined outcome, Motorsport Games still has the option of appealing any decision.

How long will Indycar remain in rFactor 2?


Delisting itself could result in numerous scenarios (such as trading over the counter) and does not necessarily mean the automatic cessation of operations.

“The company plans to negotiate and implement equity financing transactions and negotiate reductions of its licensing liabilities,” reads the document signed by Motorsport Games’ CEO Stephen Hood.

What any potential ‘equity financing transaction’ entails rather obviously, is unclear. As for ‘licensing liabilities’, according to a separate SEC filing last year, it owed the BARC (TOCA – the BTCC promoter) ‘approximately’ $800,000 in licencing payments.

In November last year, IndyCar notified Motorsport Games of its intention to terminate the exclusive deals to create ‘video gaming products’ and ‘esports events’ (but, seemingly, leaving the door open for ‘simulation product’ rights). This followed the pausing of game development and redundancy of the Australian team creating it.

Yet, no further update has been provided since the initial “evaluating the validity of INDYCAR LLC’s notice of termination” notice. Therefore, there is a chance that this deal is still an asset that can be sold, much like the sales of NASCAR video game rights to iRacing in October 2023.

Le Mans Ultimate, by Studio 397 and Motorsport Games

Clearer Skies For Le Mans Ultimate’s Launch​

All this financial manoeuvring has hung over Motorsport Games like a dark cloud since the release of the ill-fated NASCAR 21: Ignition.

The news of a Nasdaq grace period is potentially good news for the team trying to get Le Mans Ultimate over the line for the 20th February.

With this now just days away, the focus must be on delivering the best simulation possible for the initial early access launch with this grace period providing a temporary reprieve.
About author
Thomas Harrison-Lord
A freelance sim racing, motorsport and automotive journalist. Credits include Autosport Magazine, Motorsport.com, RaceDepartment, OverTake, Traxion and TheSixthAxis.

Comments

As we say, 'time is a gentleman', or 'he who lives will see', just to say that at the end of all this beautiful mess we will see who will be right and who will be wrong...
 
IRacing boys in their crusade against MSG. I will buy LMU just because of them. I’m tired of iRacing boys.
If you truly have faith in MSG, nothing is stopping you from investing in the company (although this is not a recommendation to do so). I don't know what iRacing has to do with it, although if you are not an iRacing customer, there's a better chance you have some money left over... MSG is a publicly traded company which is why its finances will always be under scrutiny, and while many people here may have sympathy for the games' developers, it's hard to separate the game and the marketplace.
 
Why are you giving credit to MSG for rFactor2?
I think it doesn't really take a lot to guess where rF2 would be without MSG. People can sh*t talk about the company as long as they desire, but there wouldn't be any of the BTCC content, Indycar content or Endurance content within rF2 if it wasn't for MSG. It's pretty safe to say that there wouldn't have been the UI that we have now nor Racecontrol. You can't seperate MSG from the development of rF2. There are MSG employes working on rF2 and LMU. You can basicly go back to the time of the first Le Mans Virtual before MSG acquired S397 and take a look how the sim looked back then to have a taste of how it was and where we are now.
 
Premium
The plans for developing LMU predate the acquisition of S397 by MSG.

LMU is the product of the agreement between MSG and the ACO to develop a game/sim based on the WEC series.
In theory that could be created from the ground up as a completely new game with a newly created development team. However, it would obviously be easier to take something that could be modified to suit.
So deal was done for S397...

I'm going to purchase LMU on Day One. Happy to invest in the future rather than sit on the sidelines and complain.
It's true of any business... if you don't use it then don't complain if they go under.
 
I think it doesn't really take a lot to guess where rF2 would be without MSG. People can sh*t talk about the company as long as they desire, but there wouldn't be any of the BTCC content, Indycar content or Endurance content within rF2 if it wasn't for MSG. It's pretty safe to say that there wouldn't have been the UI that we have now nor Racecontrol. You can't seperate MSG from the development of rF2. There are MSG employes working on rF2 and LMU. You can basicly go back to the time of the first Le Mans Virtual before MSG acquired S397 and take a look how the sim looked back then to have a taste of how it was and where we are now.
There's one thing throwing money and expanding processes that were already implemented, and an entirely different thing creating something from scratch. Studio 397 had rF2 from 2016 to 2021 independently without MSG. For example the Endurance Pack was released in 2018. After the MSG acquisition the majority of content was from other licenses that were supposed to be in a separate game. No new content for some time. Let's not bring up the UI as a success, after it went through 2 iterations after literally years of development (started when S397 was independent), to essentially offer the same options in a more flashy but slower way.
 
There's one thing throwing money and expanding processes that were already implemented, and an entirely different thing creating something from scratch. Studio 397 had rF2 from 2016 to 2021 independently without MSG. For example the Endurance Pack was released in 2018. After the MSG acquisition the majority of content was from other licenses that were supposed to be in a separate game. No new content for some time. Let's not bring up the UI as a success, after it went through 2 iterations after literally years of development (started when S397 was independent), to essentially offer the same options in a more flashy but slower way.
What are you trying to tell me? That it is a bad thing to invest money to further develop games with their content and features? Are you going to hold it against developers that they reuse certain assets or get them from 3rd party developers or other sources? Even if it comes from their own ecosystem? Do we wanna make a list how many assets in the current games we play are recycled or have their source not in the respective games where they are used? There are several 3rd party cars in AC now that started as modding projects. Do you want to hold it against Kunos that they used something that they didn't build on their own? Do we wanna make a list how many assets from SMS found their way into PC1, PC2 and PC3, now AMS2 and and later GTRevival? Are you aware that the showns GT1 cars for GTRevival are content created by RSS? How much of the stuff in AMS2 has it's roots in AMS1? Why not slap ISI on their hands for including Matsusaka, Longford, the NSX or other stuff in their game? The March 761 the BT44 and the M23 were modding projects aswell.

It shouldn't matter from where a studio is getting their assets as long as they pay for the licenses and pay the people creating the content and as long as the quality is right. Buying/getting content from somewhere else and not creating it inhouse is actually very common practice in game development these days. ;)
 
Enough is enough. No money to these fradulent businessmen at Motorsport Games. Please tell us, what is point of releasing LMU? For this company about to collapse? For Studio-397 that have been supporting rFactor 2 and its PS2 graphics since forever? Where is rFactor 3, how many more years must we wait? Whatever shady money source MSG is giving S397 they were able to pump out some of the leftover BTCC DLC. But now, time is running out.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Gotta imagine how demoralising this is for the devs. There is literally nothing they can do to save this. They need to get near or over six figures in sales from a product that the audience knows is in serious doubt of being completed
Most of the top s397 devs have left.
 
They only got an extension, they fail on that like they have with other things they are out. Then we might just get better communication as they will have to answer to the user not the investor which i believe their is only 1 big mike who owned motorsport network, kept gaming side in the sale. acquiring s397 gave them a game engine to build other games, if they cannot do this sim/game spot on i believe they will dump the rf2 engine for something else, probably the unreal engine as the CEO comes from code masters and I'm sure they used that engine.
 
What are you trying to tell me? That it is a bad thing to invest money to further develop games with their content and features? Are you going to hold it against developers that they reuse certain assets or get them from 3rd party developers or other sources? Even if it comes from their own ecosystem? Do we wanna make a list how many assets in the current games we play are recycled or have their source not in the respective games where they are used? There are several 3rd party cars in AC now that started as modding projects. Do you want to hold it against Kunos that they used something that they didn't build on their own? Do we wanna make a list how many assets from SMS found their way into PC1, PC2 and PC3, now AMS2 and and later GTRevival? Are you aware that the showns GT1 cars for GTRevival are content created by RSS? How much of the stuff in AMS2 has it's roots in AMS1? Why not slap ISI on their hands for including Matsusaka, Longford, the NSX or other stuff in their game? The March 761 the BT44 and the M23 were modding projects aswell.

It shouldn't matter from where a studio is getting their assets as long as they pay for the licenses and pay the people creating the content and as long as the quality is right. Buying/getting content from somewhere else and not creating it inhouse is actually very common practice in game development these days. ;)
No, it's not a bad thing to invest money. That still doesn't make rF2 a "success" of MSG. And I was also trying to tell you that a bunch of content was released before MSG. Quote "there wouldn't be any of the BTCC content, Indycar content or Endurance content within rF2 if it wasn't for MSG" is obviously misleading, as there was Indycar as well as Endurance content way before MSG. The fact that rF2 received content via the MSG "ecosystem" is great, I welcome it. The more content the better, wherever it comes from, as long as it's high quality. But the intention of MSG was to monetize the same license potentially even more (next to the official games that didn't happen eventually). They would have not bought and Indy or BTCC license just for the sake of expanding rF2.
 
For Studio-397 that have been supporting rFactor 2 and its PS2 graphics since forever? Where is rFactor 3, how many more years must we wait?
PS2 graphics? You must have stopped updating rF2 years ago.;) With all the updated content rF2 looks more than fine. And rFactor 3? Most other companies would have called the current rFactor 2, rFactor 3 already, with all the updates it received, and would have asked you to buy a new game.
 
"the focus must be on delivering the best simulation possible for the initial early access launch".

Does everyone realize there is not any best simulation if it is an early access??? At best it will be a promising title, which is the best state which can be expected.

The hugher the expectations the harder the fall. If we don't want that new game to fall, let's just take it as it is, an early access game with full of things missing or badly implemented.
 
Does everyone realize there is not any best simulation if it is an early access??? At best it will be a promising title, which is the best state which can be expected.
No we are uneducated people with racing simulators costing more than the average person spends on their real life car. We have no clue :D
 
Last edited:
Premium
It's all semantics @roadyroad.
That's the problem with the English language when written... especially in forums such as this this.
Clearly the intent is to get LMU in the best possible state when it's released in Early Access.
That means that some things will be missing or incomplete in just 11 days time. It seems no VR, some vehicles missing, etc.
They will be looking to make sure that RaceControl will be able to handle the Le Mans Virtual without hiccups later in the year.
 
Last edited:

Latest News

Article information

Author
Thomas Harrison-Lord
Article read time
2 min read
Views
6,376
Comments
66
Last update

What is the reason for your passion for sim racing?

  • Watching real motorsport

    Votes: 421 69.4%
  • Physics and mechanics

    Votes: 265 43.7%
  • Competition and adrenaline

    Votes: 285 47.0%
  • Practice for real racing

    Votes: 124 20.4%
  • Community and simracers

    Votes: 168 27.7%
Back
Top