Marco Massarutto Statement on Digital Bros Buyout

[Paul Jeffrey]

Marco Massarutto, Licencing Project Manager for Kunos Simulazioni and Assetto Corsa, has today released a brief statement regarding the recently announced Digital Bros takeover news that broke yesterday.

Speaking via his personal Facebook page, Massarutto have been quick to dispel concerns by fans wishing to know what the future of Assetto Corsa holds in light of the new financial investment by the Digital Bros Group. Massarutto has gone on record to confirm that both he and fellow co founder Stefano Casillo remain at the helm of Assetto Corsa, retaining their original roles and responsibilities with the development studio.

Furthermore Massarutto has assured fans that the move to take over Kunos by Digital Bros will not effect either the simulation or the playing experience in any disenable way, it will simply act as an opportunity to bring more funding and resources to the development of Assetto Corsa going forward.

For those of you interested in reading what Massarutto has to say about the move, you can read the full Facebook statement below:

"Ok, let's clarify this before it becomes the bigger flame of the year.

By today, Kunos Simulazioni is part of Digital Bros Family, and me and Stefano by today are shareholders of Digital Bros. That's it. We are still the founders of Kunos, we are still IN, also keeping our respective positions and responsabilities, with just few exceptions: the budget we'll manage by now doesn't come anymore from our personal profits, but from Digital Bros, our bigger AC fan. Keeping the same... policy, strategies, DNA, development team, goals. So, if this news would not been made public, you couldn't realize that something is changed, because - by a gamer/simracer point of view - nothing is going to change.

The reason why this news comes like a bombshell is because Digital Bros is a listed company, therefore this kind of operation must a) kept confidential until the negotiation is over, b) go public when is done. That's it.

For whom are afraid that today a piece of their simracing world has gone, let me remind them that Digital Bros has published - under its label 505Games - the console version of Assetto Corsa, and it doesn't seem to me that AC on PS4/XB1 is an arcade game: definetely it isn't. Therefore, before to scream in any direction that "Kunos has been bought, The World is Over", please sit down, breath and think. Because the only news you should be interested is that by today, we have more resources, time and power to do our job, even better than before.

So: think easier, live better, stay strong. The Future is Bright.

Have a nice weekend"
​

So following on from the initial mixed reaction from fans of Kunos and Assetto, it looks like the move to align with Digital Bros isn't necessarily a case of the core team "jumping ship" but rather an astute deal to ensure a stronger more financially secure partner is on board to support further development of the game. Of course at this early stage of the deal one would expect a period of quiet as all parties gather perspective and settle into the new arrangement, so I wouldn't expect a vast amount to change in the immediate future. Just how much weight Digital Bros will have with regards to the development direction of the game, or how much of a say in the future of Assetto Corsa will be shared amongst the new structure remains to be seen. At this stage the announcement looks to be only positive news for Kunos and AC, as more money and more support whilst maintaining the core team behind the title can only be a good thing for the future of this sim.

Time will tell if this is the case.

Do you think this is a good more from Kunos? Will Digital Bros bring beneficial resource to the table, or cause more harm than good? Let us know your opinions in the comments section below!

 

[Tom Blackett]

Phew, Assetto is still in safe hands.

 

[Paul Jeffrey]

Yeah I feel better about it now following that statement. Hopefully its just a simple case of getting in more money, and preserving the profit earned already by the studio.

Really they would have been wise to announce it themselves first, with an appropriate explanation as to the rationale involved.

But hey, it got us all excited for a bit didn't it

 

[bubbles]

Now I can keep breathing... Thanks Marco

 

[Andy Kettler]

The devs should learn to use the news section in their AC forum instead of posting things on the private facebook profiles

 

[fortyfivekev]

December: Stefano's really done it this time, he's got to go.
January: Stefano, we love you, please don't go.

Gotta love the simracing community.

 

[amarbelt]

The devs should learn to use the news section in their AC forum instead of posting things on the private facebook profiles

Maybe he is not allowed by the new owners

 

[AccAkut]

therefore this kind of operation must a) kept confidential until the negotiation is over, b) go public when is done. That's it.

them guys still clearly underestimate just how fast news like this spread in our times. That statement should have been posted basically the moment it was allowed to be posted. Those few hours of unclearness did not help Kunos.

 

[UMC 22]

Actions speak louder than mere words. A statement like that was obviously going to appear in short order after the takeover, but it really doesn't mean a lot. I'll feel better and thank the devs when I see actual proof that AC and it's future are geuinely still "safe".

 

[#SPMedia]

Well, that deescalated quickly...LMAO!

 

[JayJayRaceinho]

December: Stefano's really done it this time, he's got to go.
January: Stefano, we love you, please don't go.

February ... Who was Stefano again?

 

[Lars Hansen]

Really they would have been wise to announce it themselves first, with an appropriate explanation as to the rationale involved.

They couldn't, not with 505 being a listed company.
There are some pretty strict rules concerning information-sharing when it comes to listed companies.
I have the same issue by working for another listed company.
Meaning I have had the delightful pleasure of reading about downsizing in the business-sections of the press, before actually getting told by my managers, that people were getting fired.
It's a little surreal, but there ya go.

 

[JayJayRaceinho]

The devs should learn to use the news section in their AC forum instead of posting things on the private facebook profiles

... would only reach a handful guys with most people being banned from there

 

[Skybird05]

Really they would have been wise to announce it themselves first, with an appropriate explanation as to the rationale involved.

"The reason why this news comes like a bombshell is because Digital Bros is a listed company, therefore this kind of operation must a) kept confidential until the negotiation is over, b) go public when is done."



Its NOT wise to bring yourself into legal troubles or introduce the risk of a deal negotiation failing because you break confidentiality agreement.

 

[JayJayRaceinho]

but it's kinda disappointed there is no teaser for AC2, even if they just made it like Sector3 with their UT4-Engine teaser.... take a Z4GT3, paste it into a night-picture of SPA and ...... voila.... we are working on a UT4-Engine based racing game

 

[Vincent.C]

#Reset said Marco. What it means ?

 

[Iketani]

The next Digital Bros game will be "Assetto Mobile Racing"

 

[Sepp666]

So there is that new chance that we will see the official laserscanned Le Mans Track?! Cool thing.

 

[Ralf Brinkmann]

Actions speak louder than mere words. A statement like that was obviously going to appear in short order after the takeover, but it really doesn't mean a lot. I'll feel better and thank the devs when I see actual proof that AC and it's future are geuinely still "safe".

Why not the other way around? Why not feel bad when AC actually changes to something bad?

 

[Matheus Machado]

As I said yesterday, another smart move by Marco.