rFactor 2: Ferrari 488s & Le Mans To Be Delisted

rFactor-2-Ferrari-Le-Mans-License-Expiring.jpg
Images: Motorsport Games / Studio 397
Two icons are set to disappear from the buyable rFactor 2 content roster: Le Mans and two Ferraris will no longer be available for purchase once 2025 commences.

Studio 397 and Motorsport Games are laser-focused on Le Mans Ultimate, so naturally, rFactor 2 has hardly seen any news since the official WEC game launched into Early Access in February of 2024. As the year winds down, however, there is a bit of news surrounding the sim - the Circuit de La Sarthe in Le Mans and the Ferrari 488 GT3 and GTE cars will no longer be available for players to purchase from January 1, 2025 onwards.

An expiring licensing agreement means that the content pieces cannot be sold anymore. Anyone who owns them, however, will still be able to run them. They are also part of the current Steam Sale and will also be part of the Steam Winter Sale, which should commence right before Christmas.

rFactor-2-Le-Mans.jpg


The two versions of the 488 are the only Ferrari cars available as first-party content in rFactor 2. Of course, that does not keep the community from creating mods for vehicles with the iconic prancing horse on them. Le Mans, meanwhile, used to be a staple for rF2, especially when Virtual Le Mans was the center of attention during the COVID pandemic.

For Motorsport Games, this is not the only content that cannot be sold anymore once 2024 is over. The publisher also cannot sell its NASCAR games any longer after December 31, 2024, since the NASCAR license has switched hands to iRacing. The latter are currently developing NASCAR 25.

Are you planning to get the outgoing Le Mans and Ferrari content for rFactor 2? Let us know in the comments below and join the discussion in our rF2 forum!
About author
Yannik Haustein
Lifelong motorsport enthusiast and sim racing aficionado, walking racing history encyclopedia.

Sim racing editor, streamer and one half of the SimRacing Buddies podcast (warning, German!).

Heel & Toe Gang 4 life :D

Comments

Been waiting for something head scratching from them... This is it... Why pull the track a lot of the content is made for?

Whose racing a Vanwall at Bahrain over Le Mans?
They're not pulling it, the original agreement has this end point and they're not renewing it.

Arguably what would be the point paying to renew it when anyone interested in Le Mans in rF2 would just buy LMU instead anyway, with more modern cars and a more rounded product.

(I'm playing Devil's Advocate a bit there, I do understand the attraction of it for alternative content; I'm not a fan of LMU due to how restrictive its track list is)
 
They're not pulling it, the original agreement has this end point and they're not renewing it.

Arguably what would be the point paying to renew it when anyone interested in Le Mans in rF2 would just buy LMU instead anyway, with more modern cars and a more rounded product.

(I'm playing Devil's Advocate a bit there, I do understand the attraction of it for alternative content; I'm not a fan of LMU due to how restrictive its track list is)

They're not renewing it, however it's being removed from the store, otherwise pulled from the store... Which means any leagues in rF2 planning to run it have to port a version of it for their new comers... Which undercuts S397 as they'd normally send them to the store to buy it...
 
rFactor 2 is still the best physics and FFB with LMU, nothing wrong to still play rF2 today, you can have more tracks and cars with rF2 than LMU, the Le Mans experience in rF2 is still the best with LMU, the problem with these both games, it's everything else appears like simcade after ;), except for iRacing or Raceroom....
 
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They're not renewing it, however it's being removed from the store, otherwise pulled from the store... Which means any leagues in rF2 planning to run it have to port a version of it for their new comers... Which undercuts S397 as they'd normally send them to the store to buy it...

Yes, but the point is they're choosing to reduce the costs because they don't think there's enough of a potential incoming audience to justify it.
 
They're not renewing it, however it's being removed from the store, otherwise pulled from the store... Which means any leagues in rF2 planning to run it have to port a version of it for their new comers... Which undercuts S397 as they'd normally send them to the store to buy it...
Well it doesnt undercut them at all does it. The cost of the licence would far outweigh the people that haven't already got it that would buy it for use in a league.
 
I'm still missing some rF2 content and the sale is a great time to pick up the missing pieces, but I think I'm gonna pass since I get the impression MSG is just gonna let the game die. They already have as far as I can tell. Shame, really, as rF2 has been my fave game for many years
 
I'm still missing some rF2 content and the sale is a great time to pick up the missing pieces, but I think I'm gonna pass since I get the impression MSG is just gonna let the game die. They already have as far as I can tell. Shame, really, as rF2 has been my fave game for many years
In fairness to them the game is 11 years old. Not many companies support their games for that long
 
RF2 desperately needs some new content, even the new BTCC one would generate some interest around the game again. Right now, it feels like a dead product unfortunately
 
Hopefully the modding community will pick up the challenge like it did for AC and who knows, like for AC it might be the best thing that happened for RF2 and take it to new highs.
there is no need for mod in rF2, the tracks made by s397 are so superior, like the official cars, the content in rF2 is already so superior to any sim, it's very good like that, the mods only give a lower quality, we can enjoy it offline for all the life, and a new game with BETTER physics and FFB wont come soon, the ISI god of the simracing is not in the game anymore.
 
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Are S397 in troubles? Quite a progressive action.
To me rF2 and LMU are two different sims with different purposes.
For instance you could easily use modern Le Mans track for e.g. a classic V8 old-timer meeting or other non-Le Mans event classes.
Just like the F488 performs very well at VIR, Portland, Road Atlanta, Sebring, Daytona RC, Lime Rock, Sears Point, Laguna Seca and other American tracks against similar class cars.

The two sims should stand the distance each instead of these FIA inspired stop blocks.
 
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Nobody loves rF2 right now. But it will eventually be like RBR. Because devs of all other "big" simulations just simply has no principles and their passion is weak.
 
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there is no need for mod in rF2, the tracks made by s397 are so superior, like the official cars, the content in rF2 is already so superior to any sim, it's very good like that, the mods only give a lower quality, we can enjoy it offline for all the life, and a new game with BETTER physics and FFB wont come soon, the ISI god of the simracing is not in the game anymore.
Wow, while I'm a fan of rF2 official content, you're totally ignoring the tracks & cars that aren't official and will never come about because as far as most of us can tell, there won't be any more official rF2 content forthcoming. Modding will be the only thing keeping the game alive.
 
The rF2 Silverstone license expired a couple years ago. I recall MSG saying there would be no more licenses that would expire, so I'm rather surprised by this announcement. Leaves us with another reason to not trust MSG statements.
 
Wow, while I'm a fan of rF2 official content, you're totally ignoring the tracks & cars that aren't official and will never come about because as far as most of us can tell, there won't be any more official rF2 content forthcoming. Modding will be the only thing keeping the game alive.
the official content is more than enough for me, for other content I have official others games ;)
 
I'm still missing some rF2 content and the sale is a great time to pick up the missing pieces, but I think I'm gonna pass since I get the impression MSG is just gonna let the game die. They already have as far as I can tell. Shame, really, as rF2 has been my fave game for many years
This is some very wierd way of looking at a product like rF2. How is a product like rF2 going to "die"? It isn't going anywhere, people who buy the content can use it for the years to come and some creative people are still adding 3rd party content to it. Lately there has been an update that garantuees offline mode support aswell. Do you have the impression that GTR2 has died because license agreements with Ferrari or Porsche weren't extended? Or do you have the impression that AC has died after Kunos stopped supporting it?
 

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