British motor racing team McLaren Racing has announced the launch of its new gaming facility: McLaren Shadow Studio.
This will be based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, serving as an activity hub and space for the McLaren Shadow esports team, as well as McLaren Shadow ambassadors to train, race and produce content.
McLaren entered esports in 2017 to explore the performance opportunities that exist at the intersection of gaming and real-world racing. The McLaren Shadow Studio marks McLaren’s commitment to esports and gaming as it continues to give greater access and develop its competitive presence in the space.
When asked by Esports News UK if the new studio will be used internally or if McLaren will open it up to esports tournaments for outside parties and other teams, a spokesperson said: “We’re in the very early stages of the studio, but there will be some exciting projects upcoming that we will confirm.”
“We are delighted to launch McLaren Shadow Studio and build on the fantastic work the team has pioneered in the esports space. The McLaren Shadow esports team was launched in 2017 when we saw an opportunity in the space between virtual and real racing, to increase accessibility through giving people access to an incredible racing experience.”
Lindsey Eckhouse, McLaren Racing
Additionally, McLaren Shadow partners will continue to support the growth of the programme. These are as follows:
- Alienware, Dell Technologies’ premium gaming brand, powering the studio hardware and simulators with Alienware Aurora R10 PCs and Alienware 38 Curved Gaming Monitors
- Splunk, provider of the ‘Data-to-Everything’ platform, providing data analysis and live dashboards for the McLaren Shadow team to improve and build performance across the Gfinity V-10 R League, eNascar Coca-Cola iRacing competition and the F1 Esports Series
- Logitech G is supplying hardware to the studio including Logitech g923 racing wheels, Logitech g923 pedals, Logitech Pro X headsets and Logitech C922 webcams
- Tezos is offering an NFT fan experience based on the Tezos blockchain
- Bank QNTMPAY is driving a fan engagement programme around McLaren Shadow Studio, letting McLaren fans visit and experience the studio
Lindsey Eckhouse, director of licensing, ecommerce and esports at McLaren Racing said: “We are delighted to launch McLaren Shadow Studio and build on the fantastic work the team has pioneered in the esports space. The McLaren Shadow esports team was launched in 2017 when we saw an opportunity in the space between virtual and real racing, to increase accessibility through giving people access to an incredible racing experience.
“We pride ourselves on bridging this connection and helping us evolve into the next chapter by broadening our reach beyond esports into gaming. McLaren Shadow Studio underpins McLaren’s ongoing commitment, with the support of our fantastic partner network, driving our performance and progress.”
The news comes after the board of rival British team Williams approved a plan to invest millions of pounds in esports, and expects to double the number of dedicated esports staff year-on-year.
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
