Why an official Formula E video game is suddenly not impossible

Formula E CEO Jeff Dodds has revealed that the championship's upcoming Gen4 era represents the "right time" for an official video game, should the all-electric series choose to pursue one.

While Formula E features in several popular video games, such as Roblox, Trackmania and, most recently, Formula Legends, it has never had its own standalone title.

It is one of the few major motorsport championships without an officially licensed video game, with F1, MotoGP, NASCAR and WRC titles having existed for much of the 21st century.

Formula E differs from those championships not only because of its relatively short history — having existed for just 12 years — but also because it has a significantly younger demographic.

Those factors combined have meant that an official video game has not been a top priority for the championship.

"So we have a very conscious strategy around it," Dodds told RacingNews365 during an interview.

"We're obviously embedded in lots of other games, and we have a slightly different audience, as you know, to other motorsports. We have a younger audience.

"We're just younger than other sports. We don't have the same history and legacy that the other fan bases have. So whilst we have a very large fan base, it doesn't have 75 years of history or 60 years of history.

"So we're adding all the time, as you've seen recently."

Is Gen4 the right moment?

In addition to its relative youth, Formula E has never had the machinery required to make an official video game a realistic possibility.

Gen4 changes that. The car, which will be introduced next season, with the campaign expected to get underway in December, is a genuine game-changer.

It is the fastest-accelerating FIA single-seater, reaching 0-100 km/h (0-60 mph) in just 1.8 seconds. It also boasts a top speed of 335 km/h (208 mph) and, visually, looks every bit a modern single-seater. It is also expected to be quicker than a Formula 2 car.

Gen4 is opening several doors for the championship, with the excitement and anticipation surrounding it serving as evidence of that. Even last week's announcement that pre-season testing will take place in Madrid from 16-20 November generated a noticeable increase in fan engagement across social media.

Formula E has made no secret of the fact that more permanent circuits are likely to feature in the coming seasons due to the sheer size and performance of the Gen4 car. That shift could also make developing a video game easier, with track models more readily available to developers.

Based on the expected growth in the fanbase and the level of engagement likely once Gen4 makes its competitive debut, the prospect of an official Formula E video game appears more realistic than ever. The crucial factor, however, is whether it is a path the championship wants to pursue.

On Gen4 creating the opportunity for its own video game, Dodds explained: "Whether we actually transition into our own or not is one question. 

"Whether we invest our digital energy into sim racing as opposed to a video game, I don't know at the moment. But Gen4 would be the right time to flex that if we're going to, because I think there's so much interest in the new car.

"And, from a comparison point of view, as we've said, it's going to be faster than a Formula 2 car, and it's going to be not far off a Formula 1 car. It feels like the right time to do something if we were going to do something.

"During Gen3, that wasn't our strategy. Our strategy was to leverage the scale of other platforms and become part of their scale. If we wanted to do something separately, we'd look at it in Gen4. It's not worth doing now."