Better known today as the developer of Skyrim and Fallout, Bethesda once had a well-respected racing game franchise and were deep into development of a licensed Skip Barber Racing title that never released.
Originally known as Papyrus Design, the legendary Massachusetts-based software studio developed highly-regarded simulation titles and published with Electronic Arts, Virgin Interactive and Sierra before their shutdown by Vivendi, owners of Sierra, in 2004.
Co-founded by arguably the father of the modern racing simulation, David Kaemmer, the studio created NASCAR and IndyCar titles that consistently pushed the genre forwards.
Their groundbreaking Grand Prix Legends game engine was used in three NASCAR titles between 2001-2003, evolving to become iRacing after Kaemmer re-acquired former Papyrus assets for his new company.
Join Jon Denton, Tim Wheatley, Simon Croft and guest(s) as they discuss sim racing and racing games past, present and future.
A free-to-play simulation from Blimey! Games (creators of GTR, GTR2, GT Legends and what went on to become Slightly Mad Studios), originally available directly from the BMW Web site (see below). It was brought about as an advertising venture by German automotive company Bayer Motoren Werke (BMW) and early SIMBIN and Blimey publisher 10tacle Studios, and is based on the isiMotor (rFactor) engine.
There were four game modes; Test drive, time trial against a ghost car, race weekend and multiplayer race (against up to 15 A.I. or human opponents via internet or LAN).
BMW M3 Challenge included BMW’s all-new M3 Coupe – which wasn’t a race car, but was certainly high performance – along with the Nurburgring grand prix and short track configurations. You could also personalize the color and styling of your car.
Formed from a split with SIMBIN when Ian Bell formed his second company, they didn’t last long and ultimately Ian Bell’s third company, Slightly Mad Studios, acquired the assets.