LONDON, UK: Guild Esports PLC (LSE: GILD), a global teams organisation and lifestyle brand, has signed a technical partnership agreement with Fanatec, a leading provider of simulated racing (sim racing) equipment and hardware designed for both gaming and motorsport.

The partnership marks Guild’s entry into sim racing, a fast-growing sector of the esports industry. Fanatec will supply Guild with a total of eight state-of-the-art sim racing rigs, related hardware and regular technology upgrades under a value-in-kind deal.

The rigs will form the centrepiece for a new Guild Sim Racing Facility (“the simulator facility”) being established at the Sky Guild Gaming Centre, located at the Company’s London headquarters, to serve as a new revenue stream for Guild.

In exchange, Guild will provide Fanatec with prominent branding around the simulator facility in the Sky Guild Gaming Centre, as well as logo placements on social media. The Guild Simulator Facility will additionally serve as a showroom for Fanatec, providing Guild with affiliate revenue from any on-site or digital sales.

The Facility will provide exciting and tailored simulator gameplay and experiential packages for corporates, the wider public, as well as rentable training facilities for professional teams. The new offering will be advertised across Guild-owned channels, partner networks, and the existing B2B communications channels and outlets used for Guild HQ services.

The Company expects the sim racing facility will begin to generate revenue from the third quarter of the 2023 calendar year. The move into digital motorsports also opens up a range of new sponsorship categories for Guild’s esports division with conversations already underway in this sector.

Sim racing takes place in state-of-the-art simulators that provide near real-life racing experiences at a fraction of the cost. It is amongst the fastest-growing areas of esports with global competitions run by Formula 1, Formula E, Le Mans and established esports operators such as ESL. The global gaming simulator market, of which sim racing makes up a significant proportion, is expected to reach US$10 billion by 2027 (source: Asia Sports Tech, 2022).

As sim racing games seek to accurately represent motorsports in gaming, incorporating real-world variables such as tyre wear, suspension settings and fuel usage, the realistic qualities of racing simulation have seen it become a pathway to traditional motorsports: former Formula One esports racer Cem Bölükbaşı competed in the 2022 FIA Formula 2 Championship, the feeder series to Formula One, following a successful esports career. This bridge with traditional motorsport makes the use cases of sophisticated rigs varied and of interest to a diverse customer base beyond sim racing esports.

Fanatec is a brand of Endor AG, based in Germany, and recently celebrated its 25th anniversary in developing and manufacturing sim racing equipment.

Jasmine Skee, CEO of Guild Esports, commented: “It’s an exciting time for Guild as we embark on our maiden venture into the world of sim racing, by leveraging our existing flagship site in London’s Shoreditch area at minimal capital cost, to generate incremental revenue streams for the Company. The Sky Guild Gaming Centre is rapidly becoming a versatile esports hub and our simulator facility will greatly enrich our offering to both corporate clients and the wider public. We’re also looking into how we can utilise these simulators to achieve competitive success, which may involve expanding our professional roster.

“We’re delighted to partner with Fanatec and are proud to name them our Official Sim Racing Peripherals Partner. With Fanatec’s cutting-edge hardware and expertise, we are confident in our ability to create an exceptional sim racing facility that will not only generate revenue but also serve as a platform for showcasing the incredible potential of esports.”

Luke Jones, VP of Commercial, Esports and Gaming at Guild Esports commented: “Having worked directly in both motorsport and sim racing for a number of years, I have witnessed first-hand the growth of the scene and its recognition by the motorsport community as a valuable element of the ecosystem. Publishers are now making greater commitments to sim racing, offering enhanced gameplay and new titles, which is bringing the excitement of motorsport to new and existing gamers. By connecting with this passionate and engaged audience, Guild has the opportunity to establish a strong presence in one of the fastest-growing sectors of esports.”

Belma Nadarevic, Chief Marketing Officer at Fanatec, commented: “We are very happy to be the official Sim Racing Peripherals Partner of Guild Esports – the home of British Esports. We want to help Guild Esports bring their name, their teams and their talents into the world of sim racing with the best cutting-edge technology of Fanatec Sim Racing Hardware. Together we look forward to a great partnership.”