SBJ Esports: Prodigy Racing League looks to create real drivers

Video game car racing enthusiasts will soon have the opportunity to prove their gaming and real-life racing prowess by competing in Racing Prodigy’s new competition -- the Prodigy Racing League. The impetus behind the league is to make motorsports more accessible “using esports as the pathway to race cars on real tracks.”

“Our plan is that iRacing and some of the other games and simulations will be the new way for racers to enter or aspiring racers to actually enter motorsport,” Racing Prodigy CEO David Cook told SBJ. “We can't cost-cut real motorsport enough to open it up to the masses. The only way that we can open up motorsport is if we get the financial barrier down to that of traditional sports. It has to be under $1,000, or in some cases under $100, to participate.”

Cook is no stranger to iRacing and using simulations to train drivers, having facilitated the first competitions at Mazda, where he saw many of the world’s best simulation racing players compete against the carmaker's top real-world racers in actual racecars. He watched as sim racers beat real racers. “We are all very aware that the skill set transfers from 'e2real,' or from simulations, to real, so this isn't a revelation or inside baseball,” Cook said. “This could be something where in two or three years we will see drivers start to get [signed to racing teams].”

Under a new “e2real” framework, the new competition series will see players compete in four titles -- iRacing, Street Kart Racing, rFactor 2 and RaceRoom -- over the course of 12 events taking place from June to October. The top 15 performers will be awarded a Prodigy Pass, the “golden ticket of motorsports,” to compete in real Radical SR1 race cars at Prodigy Week, which will be hosted Oct. 30-Nov. 1 at Atlanta Motorsports Park.

The league is already off to a good start on the partnership front, inking deals with Sim-Lab, Grid Engineering and Asetek SimSports. They will provide “high performance, industry leading products” as well as prizes for tournament winners and other select participants.

Players of racing games and those interested in competing in iRacing esports are starting to see more opportunities to compete (or just play). Recently, SBJ’s Tom Friend looked at the F1 Arcade set to hit Boston in March 2024 that will see customized Vesaro V-Zero full motion simulators. During the pandemic, Fox and ESPN were among the networks that filled air time with iRacing when NASCAR and other sports paused their schedules.

It’s growing so much so that the league has had an incredible news launch finding itself not only in niche gaming media news but mainstream news including coverage with CBS and NBC affiliates, as well as numerous car and auto racing publications.

The effort begins with iRacing on June 19 with the PRL iRacing GR86 Cup Open Challenge for participants ages 13+. -- Kevin Hitt

The synergistic sweet spot between an esports outfit and a stick-and-ball club is on full display on both sides of the English Channel, with London-based Tundra providing expertise to Paris Saint-Germain as the French soccer powerhouse looks to build a stronger presence in the soccer-based Rocket League game scene.

Tundra, which isn't new to the soccer gaming space, struck a strategic partnership with PSG recently to bring the club back into Rocket League esports. “In early days, we got our start in FIFA,” Tundra executive chairman Carleton Curtis tells SBJ. The move will help fledgling Tundra grow its name recognition and fanbase, while PSG gets expertise from professional gamers.

Integrating pro sports IP into Rocket League is nothing new for game publisher Psyonix, which has seen the likes of the NFL, NASCAR, F1, AC Milan, Nike and USL club San Diego Loyal take its marks and branding into the game for digital items such as purchasable skins for fans.

While Tundra is relatively new to esports and Rocket League, having only been playing since 2019, the team has already found success with a title in Dota 2’s The International tournament (the most lucrative esports event in the world).

Tundra was in negotiations with PSG for around a year. “Midstream in the season, we formed the strategic partnership,” said Curtis, whose previous stints include Activision Blizzard and a role in creating the David Beckham-back Guild Esports. The esports management side of the effort will be handled by Tundra, and marketing will be split 50-50. “There’s a ton of collaboration between our social and marketing team,” Curtis said, noting that PSG’s large social accounts will provide exposure for the Rocket League squad.

There is also the potential for PSG’s well-known players to activate around the deal, Curtis says. -- Hunter Cooke

Let's catch everyone up on where things stand vis-a-vis the planned walkout by League of Legends (LoL) players in North America. Here is a brief timeline on what has happened so far:

• May 18: Riot Games, publisher of LoL and organizer of its competitive circuits, announced a rule change to its League of Legends Championship Series (LCS) franchise requirements: No longer will franchised teams in North America have to field “academy" teams; it will be done instead on a volunteer basis.

• May 25: LCS players plan a vote on a walkout to protest Riot abruptly shuttering the farm league affiliate mandate for franchised teams.

• May 27: LCS players vote “overwhelmingly” in favor of walking out of the Summer Split in protest of Riot Games’ decision to remove a mandate for teams to have a farm league roster.

• May 30: The League of Legends Players’ Association (LCSPA) announces a hastily made plan to meet with Riot to discuss issues that could result from a work stoppage.

• May 30: Riot officially delays the LCS Summer Split by two weeks as both sides look to work out issues.

• FlyQuest, the esports outfit controlled by Florida Panthers owner Vinnie Viola, acquired two key women’s esports rosters: the former CLG Red rosters, which contained a legendary Counter-Strike roster, as well as a Valorant Game Changers roster, notes SBJ's Hunter Cooke.

• Sweden-based Ninjas in Pyjamas partnered with FILA to release an apparel collection highlighted by a tech-enabled jersey, reports SBJ's Joe Lemire.

• Embattled Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick talked to Variety for a cover story and addressed toxic workforce claims as the company’s Microsoft deal hangs in balance.

• The head of esports organization Gen. G tweeted that Riot Games needs to change the business model for League of Legends esports.

• Wisdom Gaming has “let go of 17 staff in a round of layoffs,” former employees told Esports Insider. The layoffs are the “fourth round of cuts by Wisdom in about a year as the company faces financial hardship.”

• Jeremy “Disguised Toast” Wang tweeted that his esports venture is on track to lose nearly $1 million this year, with spending being “twice as much” as he expected. Wang talked to SBJ in March about how he has been opting to build around influencer streaming as its centerpiece vs. competitive play.