What’s Happening?
The release date for NASCAR 25 was officially announced, yet you wouldn’t know it if you were following mainstream gaming media. IGN? Silent. Gamespot? Nothing. Kotaku? No mention. Polygon? Crickets.
For a game tied to one of America’s most recognizable motorsports, the lack of attention from major gaming outlets is puzzling and concerning.
What’s Happening?
NASCAR 25, the long-awaited NASCAR console game developed by iRacing, will be released on Oct. 14, with a later…
Why Is NASCAR 25 Being Ignored?
While racing games tend to exist in their own niche corner of the industry, titles like F1 24, Gran Turismo, and Forza Motorsport regularly receive widespread coverage from leading gaming websites.
So why not NASCAR 25?
One possible explanation could lie in the publisher. This marks the first time iRacing will release a full NASCAR console title since it acquired the NASCAR gaming license in October 2023. While iRacing has credibility in the sim racing world, it’s largely unfamiliar territory for the broader console market.
That begs the question: do iRacing and its publishing partners have the media connections necessary to promote a major console title? And if they do, are they actually using them?
NASCAR Gaming Can’t Rely on NASCAR Fans Alone
Even within the racing community, NASCAR console games have struggled in recent years to match the success of their open-wheel or street racing counterparts.
Part of the reason? A narrow marketing focus.
Reaching diehard NASCAR fans is only one piece of the puzzle. If NASCAR 25 wants to succeed, it must appeal to casual gamers, sim racing enthusiasts, and sports fans who may not currently follow NASCAR.
That means getting coverage in the outlets where those audiences live – mainstream gaming sites, YouTube gaming creators, Twitch streamers, and beyond.
Let’s put it into perspective: if every single subscriber of your favorite NASCAR gaming YouTuber bought the game, would that be enough to break even? Probably not. A game like this needs broader traction, wider awareness, and cross-industry attention to be viable long-term.
The Bottom Line
Announcing the release date of NASCAR 25 should have been a moment of excitement and visibility for NASCAR gaming fans. These fans have waited for this moment for almost four years following the release of the broken and almost unplayable NASCAR 21: Ignition.
Instead, this announcement has raised questions about promotion, strategy, and how seriously the industry will take this new era of NASCAR console gaming.
If iRacing wants to take NASCAR 25 to the next level, they’ll need to do more than just announce a date, they’ll need to make noise. And right now, it’s a little too quiet.
What’s Happening?
Since late 2023, NASCAR fans have been waiting for the release of iRacing’s upcoming NASCAR console game. In…
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