Motorsport Games To Acquire Digital Tales, Superbike Game Developer

Motorsport Games today announced it will acquire Digital Tales USA LLC, developers of the World Superbike mobile game.

While they specify in the release that this is primarily to strengthen their position in mobile markets, it hasn’t skipped my notice that we haven’t had a PC-based World Superbike game in a while… I wonder if their intellectual property (their SBK license), or simply getting them out of the way so they can license it themselves, is just as valuable as the upcoming mobile game or VR franchise.

Full press release below:

MOTORSPORT GAMES SIGNS BINDING TERM SHEET TO ACQUIRE MOBILE DEVELOPER DIGITAL TALES USA AND ITS UPCOMING NEW SUPERBIKE OFFICIAL MOBILE GAME FRANCHISE
Leading racing video game company’s upcoming acquisition will add to brand’s extensive growth since January 2021 IPO

MIAMI, FL — March 24, 2021 — Motorsport Games Inc. (NASDAQ: MSGM) (“Motorsport Games”), leading racing game developer, publisher and esports ecosystem provider of official motorsport racing series throughout the world, today announced it has entered a binding term sheet to acquire Digital Tales USA LLC, the mobile game developer that creates official mobile games for the FIM Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK). This acquisition would expand and continue to diversify Motorsport Games’ development expertise, particularly in the mobile sector, while also introducing two-wheel racing to its product portfolio.

“The planned addition of the Digital Tales team to the Motorsport Games family is the latest step in our ambitious strategy and commitment to make Motorsport Games a leader in the virtual racing world, both by enhancing our mobile games and adding motorbike racing to our offerings,” commented Dmitry Kozko, CEO of Motorsport Games. “Our best-in-class gaming experience for racing fans continues to deepen as Motorsport Games forges ahead towards accomplishing new milestones for games and live events. Expansion of our mobile product portfolio is essential to us scaling to a broader mobile gaming market which reaches nearly 2.6B players around the world.”

The proposed addition of the Digital Tales team, along with its SBK Official Mobile Game franchise, would complement Motorsport Games’ existing roster of racing game licenses, including NASCAR, 24 Hours of Le Mans and the British Touring Car Championship.

“We are delighted to join the Motorsport Games family and help further enhance our new SBK Official Mobile Game for our fans across the world,” said Giovanni Bazzoni, President of Digital Tales USA LLC. “Through both our previous work on the SBK Official Mobile Game, our forthcoming collaboration with Motorsport Games and our shared passion for racing, this deal will allow us to keep building the flagship two-wheel racing product for the sim racing community.”

As part of the company’s larger strategic growth plan, the pending acquisition of Digital Tales follows the recent completion of Motorsport Games’ KartKraft purchase from Black Delta and the signing of a binding term sheet to acquire Studio397 BV and its industry leading rFactor 2 racing simulation platform. Collectively, these swift acquisitions are expected to further solidify Motorsport Games’ unrivaled presence across all disciplines of global motorsports and its goal to become the premier racing entertainment company of the future. Following its recent IPO, Motorsport Games intends to become the industry standard for virtual racing.

Motorsport Games’ commitment to expand its entertainment capabilities and virtual event offerings was also exemplified through its recently launched online destination Traxion which serves as an entertainment hub for virtual racing where users can access the latest news and reviews on global games and esports content for the entire industry. Traxion also doubles as a platform for community, encouraging users to learn, interact and connect with the games they love as well as others who share the same passion for racing. With competitive esports and a growing calendar of live events, such as the record-breaking and iconic 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual race (2020 event had 22.8M linear television and OTT views, 48.9M+ social impressions), Motorsport Games is upending the esports status quo to build the racing entertainment company of the future.

Through these strategic acquisitions, launches and partnerships (including, when completed, the acquisitions of Digital Tales, Studio397 BV and its rFactor 2), Motorsport Games is cultivating the widest range of motorsport gaming entertainment available across any discipline, bringing the best developers and industry technology anywhere in-house and crafting unmatched virtual experiences and esports. Under the company’s umbrella, Motorsport Games now will offer the premier karting experience available (KartKraft) and expects to offer the team behind the best-in-class racing simulation platform (Studio397/rFactor 2) and the mobile leaders in two-wheel racing (Digital Tales). Motorsport Games is also the home of industry-wide racing news (Traxion) and the exclusive rights to one third of the Triple Crown of Motorsport (24 Hours of Le Mans). Motorsport Games’ global footprint continues to expand, with a presence in markets such as the United States, Europe and Australia. With future games, events and product launches on the horizon, as well as continued progress in constructing an excellent team of racing game experts, Motorsport Games intends to be perfectly positioned to become the leader in the world of virtual racing.