If you ever played Papyrus’ seminal Grand Prix Legends then you’ve read his name. Rich began working as a tester on NASCAR Racing (1994) and was with Papyrus at the end. In this interview, published in 2022, we discuss his time at the legendary studio and the design of Grand Prix Legends, including initial feelings of hurt at not being asked to join iRacing.
Originally working in military simulator design, this Michigan-based studio developed Zone Raiders for Virgin Interactive before moving to Electronic Arts for publishing their second PC title, Sports Car GT, when Westwood Studios (their SCGT development partner) was acquired by the software giant.
Known primarily for their mod-friendly SCGT and rFactor racing platforms, ISI also developed Formula One and NASCAR titles on PC for Electronic Arts, but perhaps their lasting contribution to the genre was the licensing of the isiMotor engine that allowed studios such as 2Pez, Blimey! Games, KW Studios, Motorsport Games, Reiza Studios, SIMBIN Studios, Slightly Mad Studios, The Sim Factory, Tiburon and rFactor 2‘s ongoing developer Studio 397 to begin with or release on an evolution of their software.
Another fork of the isiMotor engine, rFpro, continues to be developed and is used by a wide array of automotive companies for both road and motorsport simulation.
Join Jon Denton, Tim Wheatley, Simon Croft and guest(s) as they discuss sim racing and racing games past, present and future.
As I reported way back on March 1 the embattled Embracer Group have sold off all the Saber branded studios, including those holding the Dakar Desert Rally and SnowRunner intellectual properties. The buyback was organized by the original founders of Saber, and both Embracer and Saber intend to keep a “good relationship” going according to employee posts on LinkedIn.
The new company, entitled Beacon Interactive, spent $247 million to acquire:
Saber Interactive
Saber Armenia
Saber Belarus
Saber Porto
Saber Russia
Saber Spain
Saber Sweden
DIGIC Pictures
Fractured Byte
Mad Head Games
New World Interactive
Nimble Giant Entertainment
Sandbox Strategies
Slipgate Ironworks
3D Realms
They have the option to also buy:
4A Studios
Zen Studios