New state-of-the-art sim racing centre hopes to take esports to the next level

A €300,000 investment in a state-of-the-art sim racing facility at the Montekristo estate in Ħal Farruġ is set to take the esport sector to the next level in attracting international events.

With 17 simulators, the centre comes with all the necessary facilities for adjudication and race direction of online and offline races, telemetry room, broadcast facilities, which also includes a multi-purpose studio that accommodates the hosting of race commentators as well as hosting informative and educational programmes.

Founder and CEO of World Pro Racing Justin Mifsud said the organisation coordinates international virtual championships, targeting serious and focused drivers who are looking to become “champions”, and provides the opportunity to get a seat in the world of motorsport through sim racing.

He also pointed out that apart from real athletes, sim racing involves other roles such as motorsport engineers. “This ranges from broadcast directors, camera people, video editors, social media content creators, community managers, stewards, race directors, in-game content creators and developers.”

Mifsud said over the last two years, the company made a big leap forward on an international level, through an enhanced online presence. This has led to around 500,000 monthly views.

Economy minister Silvio Schembri

“This forms a solid base on which to hold international events and strengthen worldwide partnerships, some of which can boast of over 200 million subscribers worldwide, like ESTV, and including the renowned Motorsport.tv together with ES1 the French Broadcasting partner and also TVM Sport, our local broadcasting partner,” he said.

This helped World Pro Racing to onboard international partners such as AMD, HyperX, Thrustmaster, GT Omega Racing, Panasonic, Datavideo, Medialooks and Esports Insider as its official international news publishing partner.

The facility will also help in attracting international esports stakeholders.

Situated at Montekristo Estate in Ħal Farruġ, this new centre seeks to provide opportunities to young people and students who are following courses in media studies, enabling them to build their digital related skills in a virtual environment, eventually leading to the possibility of a career in esports.

It will be accessible for all those who want to try this sport, and also to anyone wanting to enjoy such an amazing experience, as well as providing private training for professional drivers, dedicated sessions, team building activities, private championships and fun events for groups of friends and more.

Addressing the event, Economy Minister Silvio Schembri said the investment highlights government’s commitment in strengthening the esports sector.

“Malta’s vision for video games development and esports is a vision which, as can be attested here today, is paving the way for the establishment of a strong infrastructure which is evidently serving as the foundation for the ultimate Mediterranean and European central hub for the sector,” he said.