What is F1 Arcade
A startup that goes on the run, that’s how it can be defined F1 Arcade, which opened its doors at the end of 2022 in London in the suggestive location overlooking St.Paul’s Cathedral. The core of the project is the offer of the experience of a driving simulator to the fans, but involving them on several levels: “We eat, drink, compete and earn. From Rookie to Elite, everyone can choose their level. Which means that even a complete beginner can challenge a seasoned pro. Gather your group of friends, grab a cocktail, climb into the driver’s seat and experience the thrill of a social game. Are you ready to enter the fast lane?” it reads on the official site.
Formula 1 has licensed the use of its name to the creators of the ambitious project, the Londoners of Kindred Concepts Limited. But in the large spaces of F1 Arcade there are not only the classic simulators (Vesaro V-Zero), but also games to sharpen reflexes such as Lights Out or React. Participants will enter a kind of closed economy, earning the ‘arcadian‘, the coin designed to motivate enthusiasts: in fact, they can be converted with drinks, other games, used to participate in prize draws for tickets for F1 races, for merchandising and exclusive events. Arcadians can be purchased in the dedicated Hub or won by competing in the simulator or accrued within a loyalty program. The whole playful aspect is accompanied by the experience food and drinkwith dishes from all over the world, accompanied by champagne, cocktails, fine wines and beers.
It is aimed at America
The plan is absolutely articulated and foresees theopening as many as 30 locations over the next five years, with locations already identified across the UK, US, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. The starting point, as mentioned, was London (December 2022), then there will be Birmingham (November 2023), then it will land in the USA and more precisely in Boston, at the beginning of 2024.
Obviously, given the great success that Formula 1 is experiencing in the United States, there are big plans in the States: Boston’s F1 Arcade will have 69 simulators and more than twenty permanent offices will be opened in the next five years, with the aim of increasingly retaining the American public.
Dollar rain
Just in recent days F1 Arcade has announced that it has brought together a investor group and to have collected something like 38 million dollars. Among them are Liberty Media and Formula 1 – demonstrating that there is a lot of focus on the project -, but also well-known faces of the Circus such as Zak Brown (CEO McLaren) and the drivers Lando Norris (McLaren) e Logan Sargeant (Williams).
The success achieved so far by the London office has been enormous – we are talking about 8 thousand fans every weekend -, so much so as to have introduced the ‘Watch Parties’, creating real meeting places for enthusiasts to watch the Formula 1 championship races together.
For these ‘Watch Parties’ the prices are not very popular: the generic ticket for the race costs 39 pounds (45 euros); instead, for a front row seat, accompanied by real-time data and a glass of Ferrari Trento, you have to pay 69 pounds (80 euros); while attending from an exclusive area – with the consumption of food and drink – has a price of 109 pounds (127 euros).
But those who decide to try the simulator experience should know that – paradoxically – they won’t be competing with the official F1 game (produced by Codemasters and developed by EA Sports). In fact, the simulators use rFactor2.
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