Guild Esports, Drive Lounge design sim racing programme together
25 March 2025
Guild Esports, one of the big names in esports in the UK, find themselves in the spotlight once again. Towards the very end of 2024, the London-based organisation signed a ground-breaking partnership with sim racing venue operator Drive Lounge and now, about three months later, the two partners have announced their first collaborative initiative. Together, Guild and Drive Lounge plan to create a grassroots sim racing programme with the goal of nurturing the next generation of British sim racers.
Scouting and developing talent
Those players and fans who follow Guild Esports closely might not be as surprised at the partnership with Drive Lounge as many other people were. The organisation has been spending more and more time and effort on sim racing of late, after all. Just a few months ago for example, at the start of December 2024, Guild clinched the Team Championship at the 2024 British F4 Esports Championship. The Driver Championship was won by Scuderia Ferrari and their racer, Graham Carroll.
The collaboration with Drive Lounge and the announcement of an entirely new programme for young sim racing talent in the United Kingdom looks to fit Guild’s latest efforts in the racing world perfectly. Besides race training, participants in the programme will also benefit from professional coaching, both in the sim chair and outside of it. On top of that, the organisers will also provide insights into the lifestyle and discipline that is required to have a chance as a professional sim racer for an organisation like Guild Esports.
“Becoming a professional sim racer requires more than just speed—it takes dedication, precision, and an expert understanding of race mechanics”, writes Guild Esports in their own press statement, “This collaboration offers a structured pathway for amateur drivers to refine their skills, compete at the highest level, and potentially secure a coveted spot on the Guild Racing team.”
Takeover by DCB Sports
Guild Esports has been active in the world of racing games for years, but it seems like their interest in sim racing really took off after last year’s takeover by DCB Sports. Without mentioning an acquisition price, the San Francisco-based investment firm announced in August 2024 that they had acquired 100% of the assets of Guild Esports, while also assuming all of the liabilities disclosed by the organisation. The new owners are mainly attracted to the world of esports and gaming due to the many potential cross-overs, especially with constantly improving gaming technology. Motor racing and sim racing are prime examples of a how esports and real life can complement each other in order to improve in all aspects.
"Esports is the perfect combination of sports, gaming and entertainment”, said Gary LaDrido, Managing Partner at DCB Sports, at the time of the announcement, “We've long followed esports and with Guild we have found the perfect opportunity for us to enter the sector for the first time. We look forward to working with Guild's impressive list of clients as well as building new relationships around the world. We are excited about partnering with Jasmine and management to deliver on its strategy of growing Guild into a leading international media brand."