iRacing Acquires Orontes Games, Developer of Racing Game ‘DRAG’

iRacing today announced that they have acquired the very small and skilled developer of the racing game “DRAG”. The purchase includes their engine, which in my opinion is very advanced (and I’d happily consider DRAG a simulation if set in a real-world environment).

In my opinion, having played DRAG, this is a move towards rallying. But I could be wrong (it’s happened before – lol).

Check out the full press release:

iRacing Acquires Orontes Games – Developer of Racing Game DRAG and Proprietary Game Engine
iRacing Expands Portfolio and Enhances Development Capabilities

Chelmsford, MA – December 22, 2021 – iRacing and Orontes Games announced the acquisition today. Founded by Christian and Thorsten Folkers in 2016, Orontes Games released an Early Access version of their game DRAG in 2020, on the digital game distribution site Steam. Built upon their proprietary game engine, this online racing game features high fidelity next-generation graphics and advanced vehicle physics.

With lead developers Christian Folkers and Thorsten Folkers joining the iRacing team, iRacing adds even more depth to its overall team. Both Christian and Thorsten will continue to work on their game engine, develop additional games, as well as bring their expertise and technology to iRacing. iRacing will also be helping the Folkers, who are based in Germany, build a larger technology team.  

“We have been on the lookout for opportunities to strategically expand our capabilities and reach. With the release of DRAG, we saw a team with tremendous potential to help. From our first conversations we have been extremely impressed with Christian and Thorsten”, said Tony Gardner, president of iRacing. “They are extremely creative and highly skilled developers, and we are excited to have them join our talented team here at iRacing. Their addition will allow us to further enhance iRacing and position us to potentially expand our offerings in the future.”

“We are extremely excited to be joining iRacing – the proven leader in the simulated racing space”, added Christian Folkers. “iRacing and Orontes Games share many of the same development philosophies so this is a natural fit for both of us. We remain passionate about DRAG and plan to continue development and we look forward to working with the entire iRacing team as we push the company to the next level.” 

Over the past two years, iRacing has increased its headcount significantly allowing for quicker and broader development of their product, also called iRacing – for both content and features. Gardner continued, “Our existing team will stay 100% focused on making iRacing an even better racing simulation/game, in fact, we are looking to add even more resources focused on the iRacing product.  However, having a larger team to take advantage of business synergies, technologies, shared assets and skills will make the products better and the overall company stronger. This acquisition further demonstrates our commitment to keeping iRacing the leading motorsport software company on the market.”